Pleasure of Whole Grain Bread OSI

Hensperger, author of The Bread Bible, puts to rest the stodgy image of whole-grain baking and its hockey-puck results. Grain-filled versions of familiar breads, such as Multigrain Sandwich Buns made with instant mashed potatoes and Sesame Semolina Bread, are reliable, but when Hensperger lets her imagination run wild, she scores with such fanciful fare as Fig-Pumpernickel Quick Bread and Oaten Rolls with Herbs and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. She also includes recipes for nonbread food: Buckwheat Blini, Three-Grain Vanilla Waffles and Quinoa Tortillas. All types of grains are featured (Oven-Baked Four-Grain English Muffins contain millet, oats, wheat flour and amaranth flour), as are specialty flours such as chestnut (in Chestnut Bread with Hazelnuts). A mail-order index makes these products accessible, and clear descriptions of the grains are full of historical facts (barley is named in a set of Babylonian clay tablets--the first known mention of any grain in writing). The photos of the breads are stunning, and this book's larg-size format makes it extremely kitchen-friendly. (Jan.)