Ask Stella

SPECIALTY FLOURS/INGREDIENTS in STELLA'S RECIPES

Question: "Where would I find the flours that you have listed if my local grocery store does not carry them?  For example - brown rice flour and soy flour.  Also unprocessed bran flakes and wheat bran flakes?"   - Robin, Pennsville, NJ

Hi Robin. Thanks for writing! I'm so glad to know you're enjoying the cookbook.  I'm happy to answer your questions.

First, make sure you've looked at the right aisle in the grocery store or asked at customer service.  Brown rice flour or soy flour is usually not in the same aisle as the white flour, sugar, and cake mix; it's usually in the natural/diet foods aisle.  You could also try locating a natural/organic food store in your area.  I am not sure where you are but if you have a Whole Foods market or some other store like that but they have all of these products in bulk for even greater savings.  Look under "Health" in the phone book if you don't know the name of a natural foods grocer in your area.  Other than that, www.bobsredmill also sells these types of products online at a low cost.  The Bob's Red Mill product line is fairly popular so it is usually carried in a natural foods store - you'd save on shipping if you find a local store.

Also, the unprocessed bran flakes/wheat bran flakes you mention in your question actually  refer to the same ingredient.  "Unprocessed bran flakes" is what the box cover says but if you read the fine print, it will tell you they are wheat bran flakes (as opposed to oat bran..which I've never seen in flake form anyway).

It may seem a lot of trouble to go through just to make the Bran muffins or cranberry almond muffins in the cookbook but remember that you can easily freeze muffins and microwave as needed for a quick snack or use the flours & bran flakes to make breading, bulk up egg white pancakes, or even add to a protein shake for fiber or complex carbs.

I'm working on a muffin recipe with ground flax meal so you may want to grab some of that too!

~ Stella

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