R. D. Livingston’s The Whole Grain Cookbook

[BakerAunt]

Whilst wondering through the library book sale yesterday, I came upon The Whole Grain Cookbook, by A. D. Livingston. I have plenty of wholegrain cookbooks (although a lot of them are still packed away where I cannot get to them), but this one, published in 2000 by Lyons Press, is not one of them. The blurb say Livingston is the author of a dozen cookbooks, writes a regular column for Gray's Sporting Journal, and lives in Wewahitchka, Florida. The recipes--some for baking and some for cooking--are quite varied, with most grains covered, as well as seeds, such as buckwheat. He's a proponent of grinding your own grains, and all of his whole wheat recipes call for doing so. He also has a chapter on beans and peas.

In his introduction, he states that his "emphasis is on whole grain cookery, which in the case of bread for example, almost always yields a heavier, darker and sometimes harder result." One recipe, Oat 'n Barley Bread, uses 2 cups oat flour and 1 cup barley flour, along with honey, olive, oil warm water, salt, and a package of yeast. It says to let rise until doubled, but it does not seem to me that there is enough gluten for it to rise very much at all, much less double in size. He comments that it "seems to keep forever," and "is flat, heavy, filling--and quite tasty," which makes me wonder if it keeps well or if it just seems like forever. He doesn't say what size loaf pan to use, which I notice is an omission that occurs frequently in the cookbook. I'm tempted to try the oat-barley recipe, just to see if it is a bread that would do for when we do a longer trip and run out of bread. However, I hate wasting ingredients if it is not palatable.

I looked online for reviews, but I could not find any that suggested anyone had actually baked any recipes from the book, and the copy I bought, except for one turned-down page, does not appear to have been used. Has anyone here heard of it?

I'll probably try some of the recipes. He credits other sources for some, such as Arrowhead Mills, Darina Allen's The Complete Book of Irish Country Cooking, and Beatrice Ojakangas' Scandinavian Baking Book and gives his adaptations, so that suggests he likes to experiment.

I only paid $1 for it, and the library benefited.

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[Mike Nolan]

I've got several whole grains baking books, with a few exceptions I've been somewhat disappointed in the results.

One of the books I have on grinding your own grain spends about a third of the book preaching about heath benefits that aren't supported by research.

[BakerAunt]

I've probably baked most from the King Arthur Whole Grains baking book, which is more about easing people into whole grains, although there is another book from two sisters who own a flour mill (not the at home kind) that has given me some good recipes. Most of my whole grains recipes have been gathered from here and there. I'm not sure that I will trust Livingston on yeast recipes, but there are some others I will likely try, such as the Millet Muffins, as I have ground millet flour in the freezer that I need to use. I bought it for the KAF disappointing Maple Millet Scones I baked earlier this year.

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