[ad_1]
me they like to cook with whole wheat flour, because most other flours are refined by eliminating their most nutritious parts, namely the bran and wheat germ, which are usually wasted or, at best, fed to cattle. The added benefit is that it makes a tastier and more nutritious dough, although when I want a slightly lighter bread or dough, I sift it, which means the bran is left behind. This can be toasted and used to coat the bread or mixed into a sourdough and left to self-polish (i.e. break apart so it works more harmoniously in the dough).
Sometimes though, I omit the bran entirely, in which case I save it to make cupcakes, bran muffins, or and get up. My wife often remembers dipping a sponge cake into a cup of rooibos (or red bush) tea as a child in South Africa. Her grandmother always added a pinch of anise to her biscuit mix, so I’ve included some too. However, sifting your own flour yields only a little bit of bran at a time, maybe a few tablespoons at a time, so collect it in a jar until you have enough.
South African Bran Biscuits
These cupcakes take quite a long time to dry, so it’s worth making a large batch. Once made, they will keep for months and months, if stored in a can in a dry closet. While drying the biscuits in the oven, consider making the most of the energy required by taking the opportunity to dehydrate various fruits and vegetables such as apple rings, beetroot slices, or mushrooms.
200 g of wheat or oat bran
500 g wholemeal flour
2 teaspoons of sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon of anise
200 g muscovado sugar
150g of mixed seeds (for example, hemp, poppy, pumpkin)
200g of nuts (e.g. dates, apricots, sultana raisins), finely chopped
250g butter, Melted
250 g of buttermilk (or live yogurt)
Heat the oven to 190 ° C (170 ° C fan) / 375 ° F / gas 5. In a bowl, mix the wheat or oat bran, flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, anise , mixed seeds and nuts. Add the melted butter and buttermilk until everything is well combined, then pour into two lined loaf pans (or large square cake pan).
Bake for an hour, then remove and cool. Lower the oven to very low – 100C (80C fan) / 200F / ¼ gas. Cut the cake base into 24 fingers, place on a baking sheet and bake again for about three hours, or until the biscuits are completely dry. Let cool again and store in an airtight container.
