I started using them in 2007. This is the simplest and quickest method for rolling out 1 or 100 crusts. These were popular in professional kitchens when they were first available. The easiest way I found to use them is different than the suggested method on the back of the cardboard cover. 1. Use a LONG non-tapered rolling pin for best results. 2. Put down two sheets of plastic wrap, overlapping, so you have enough space for the rings to fit on and some space beyond the rings. If you can locate rolls of Reynolds Extra Wide Plastic Wrap (50% wider than a regular roll), you will only need one sheet (and well worth the effort and cost to use one large sheet). 3. Place dough down on top of the plastic wrap. 4. Place two more sheets of plastic sheets to cover the dough. 5. Put the ring down over all the sheets of plastic wrap. This way the ring stays clean. 6. Roll out dough that is sandwiched between the sheets of plastic wrap until the ring is filled. 7. You may get a bit frustrated at first because as you roll the plastic wrap may bunch, or the ring will move as you roll the dough out, but hang in there, it all works out and you will have a perfectly round crust. 8. Run the palm of your hand over the entire crust when finished and make sure it's level all around. 9. Using the plastic wrap, you do NOT need any extra flour (bench flour) and it's easy to transfer to your pie plate. 10. You may want to transfer the crust to a cookie sheet (while still in the plastic wrap) and chill for 20-minutes or so until it firms up again. 11. When you want to put it in the pie place, put the rolled crust on your counter and carefully peel off the two top sheets of plastic wrap. Simply pick up the bottom plastic wrap at two corners and flip it into the pie plate. 12. Alternative method.... I have a small inexpensive thin rimless cookie sheet I bought specific for the transfer of the crust. Put the pastry, plastic side down, on the cookie sheet. Put your pie plate on top, centering it. Flip cookie sheet and pie plate. Remove cookie sheet. Gently press pie dough into your plate, plastic still attached. When you are satisfied with the fit, gently peel off the plastic wrap. Your hands, the ring, and the counter remain clean - as an added bonus ;-). NOTES: -If the plastic wrap is sticking to the crust because the ambient temperature in your kitchen is too warm, place it back into the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm again. -I normally would fit the crust into the pie plate, flute, and put the top sheets of plastic wrap back loosely over the fluted crust and refrigerate it until ready to fill. -If it's a double crust pie, roll out both crusts, leave one flat in the refrigerator, and fit the bottom one into the plate - leaving the plastic wrap intact in the refrigerate until ready to fill. -If the plastic wrap bunches or gets caught in the dough, just pick it up off the top of the dough, smooth it out again and continue rolling. This may be a problem if you have a short rolling pin. I hope you enjoy your Perfect-A-Crust rings as much as I have. It's too bad they quit manufacturing them. They were a really popular selling item at King Arthur. -Grainlady

It's not so much being "green", it more about being cheap - ahem - frugal. Nothing I do will save the planet, but the bottom line, the energy savings sure are nice ;-). For a "tried and true" recipe for whole grain biscuits... I start with a wholegrain baking mix recipe I came up with a number of years ago (I usually make 1/2 a recipe and freeze it). I use this recipe whenever Bisquick is called for in a recipe.: Good-For-You Baking Mix 2 c. freshly-milled spelt (or unbleached all-purpose flour) 2 c. white whole wheat flour 3/4 c. Morning Moo's Whey-Based Milk Substitute (powder) 1/2 c. quick-cooking oats 1/2 c. cornmeal 3 T. baking powder 1 t. salt 1 c. coconut oil (or softened butter) In a large container thoroughly combine all the dry ingredients. Add the fat, and using a hand-held electric mixer, blend in the fat until evenly dispersed. Store, tightly covered, in the freezer. Good-For-You Biscuits 3 c. Good-For-You Baking Mix 1 c. kefir curd (or plain yogurt) Combine baking mix and yogurt just until moistened. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake in 425-degree F. oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden. Makes 16 drop biscuits. For cut biscuits, pat dough 3/4-1-inch thick. Cut into 2-inch squares (or size you like) using a pizza cutter. ---------------------------------- WHOLE WHEAT BUTTERMILK BISCUITS 2-1/4 c. soft white whole wheat flour 2 T. flaxmeal 2 t. baking soda 1/4 t. soda 1/2 t. salt 1/3 c. softened butter or coconut oil 3/4 c. homemade kefir or buttermilk Mix dry ingredients. But in fat. Add kefir or buttermilk and mix lightly, just until the ingredients come together. Pat dough out 3/4-1-inch thick and cut with a pizza cutter into 2-inch squares. Bake in a preheated 425-degree F. oven for 15-minutes. -Grainlady

We've been gone on a little fall trip, so I hope you didn't think I was ignoring your post. Glad you were able to find some information. Here's my 2 cents... -Grainlady SPELT - the ancient form of the wheat we have today (fyi - kamut, is the ancient form of todays durum wheat). Spelt has enough gluten to make a fairly good loaf of bread, and is good as a substitute for all-purpose flour in most baked goods, especially things where low-gluten is beneficial, such as quick breads, cakes, cookies, etc. If making a loaf of 100% spelt bread, don't expect a nice lofty loaf of bread, like you would get with high-protein bread flour, unless you also add some vital wheat gluten. The gluten in spelt is much less than all-purpose (or other wheat flour). It has 5,000 parts per million; compared to wheat which begins at 50,000 per million and goes up. Therefore, it takes much less kneading (when making a yeast bread) to develop the gluten. Due to the reduced amount of gluten, you may need less hydration if you substitute spelt flour for all-purpose wheat flour. Spelt is also called dinkel. A good cookbook on the subject is "The Spelt Cookbook" by Helga Hughes. All kinds of useful recipes. I mill spelt berries and use spelt almost as much as I do wheat, but usually in combination with wheat flour for yeasted or naturally-leavened breads. You'll find spelt flour readily available at most well-stocked health food stores. You can usually find it in wholegrain and white spelt (the bran and the germ removed). There is also sprouted spelt flour, which makes it easier to digest - available from Summers Sprouted Flour Co. OAT FLOUR: can be milled from the whole grain (2/3 c. oat groats = approx. 1 c. oat flour), or you can mill your own from oatmeal. It can't be substituted 100% for all-purpose flour due to lack of gluten. To make your own ground oat flour (yield: approx. 1 cup): 1. Place 1-1/2 c. oatmeal (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked) in a blender or food processor. 2. Blend or process for about 60 seconds. 3. Store in tightly covered container in cool dry place up to six months (keeps best refrigerated or frozen). 4. Use for baking, bread, thickening or dredging and browning. When used in baking, substitute up to, but not more than, 1/3 of the all-purpose flour called for with oat flour. Oat flour has a slightly sweet taste, and the crumb of foods will be more moist and crumbly (due to lack of gluten). SORGHUM is a flour I've developed a number recipes with. We have a mill outside of town that mills sorghum, and I developed the recipes for a tour of the mill. Once again, it is gluten-free and will not substitute for all-purpose. You will often find it used in glute-free baking. Sorghum Flour Information A. Problems substituting gluten-free grains. - You may need to use additional ingredients to reduce dryness, increase volume and tenderness, and enhance flavor. - Sorghum Flour tends to be gritty, so use with a mixture of other textures, like oatmeal. You can also use a soaked flour technique. - Add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of corn starch to every cup of sorghum flour to improve smoothness and moisture retention. If you are allergic to corn, arrowroot flour can be used measure for measure where corn starch is used. Guar Gum, a binding agent, can be used in place of xanthan gum for corn sensitive individuals. Use HALF as much guar gum to replace xanthan gum. Guar gum contains fiber and can irritate very sensitive intestines. - Use xanthan gum as a binder and for moisture retention. Add 1/2 t. of xanthan gum per cup of sorghum flour for cookies and cakes; or 1 t. per cup for breads. [Xanthan gum helps to prevent gluten-free "goodies" from crumbling, a job normally performed by gluten. Xanthan comes from the dried cell coat of a microorganism called Zanthomonas capmestris. Though it sounds like a chemical, it is actually an all natural ingredient. Xanthan gum is derived from the fermentation of corn sugars, all corn sugars are removed in the processing os xanthan gum. Xanthan gum contains NO corn protein and is considered to be corn-free.] - Add a little extra oil or shortening if you feel your recipes are too dry. - Add an extra egg or egg white for improved smoothness and crumb structure. - Add a little extra baking powder and/or soda to boost rising properties. - Mix recipes longer. - Sorghum flour works well combined with other grain/seed/bean flours. It cuts the bitterness of bean flour. When using bean flour, the small white beans provide the least amount of "bean" flavor. It can't be substituted for all-purpose flour due to lack of gluten. ---------------- Nutella White Sorghum Flour Cookies 1/2 c. Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread 1/2 c. butter 1/4 c. white sugar 1/4 c. brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 c. white sorghum flour 1/2 c. dried potato flakes 1/4 c. flaxmeal 1/2 T. cornstarch 1 t. baking powder 1 t. baking soda 1/2 t. salt Preheat oven to 325F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat Nutella and butter with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy. Beat in the egg just until mixed. In a medium bowl, combine the white sorghum flour, dried potato flakes, flaxmeal, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix, BY HAND, only until ingredients are incorporated. Using a portion scoop, make dough into 1-inch balls. Place on prepared cookie sheets. Bake about 12 minutes. Remove cookie sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to rest on the sheets for 2 minutes then remove to a wire rack to completely cool. (These cookies are very soft when they come out of the oven, but get crispy when completely cool.) Makes 65, 2-1/2 to 3 inch cookies. ------------------ Sorghum/Spelt Banana Bread 1 c. mashed banana 1/4 c. agave nectar (or honey) 1/2 c. kefir (OR plain yogurt, buttermilk, or milk) 3 T. coconut oil (or butter), melted 1 egg lightly beaten 1 c. white sorghum flour 1 c. white spelt flour (OR wholegrain spelt flour) 2 T. flaxmeal 1 T. cornstarch 2 t. baking powder 1/2 t. baking soda 1/2 t. salt 1/2 t. cinnamon 1. Mix liquid ingredients (including bananas) in a small bowl. 2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. 3. Make a well in center of dry mixture; add liquid ingredients, stirring until moistened. Do NOT use an electric mixer for this. 4. Spoon into two Junior loaf pans (7-1/2x3x2-1/4-inches) coated with cooking spray. 5. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 30-35 minutes or until a pick inserted in center comes out clean. 6. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a rack. 7. Yield: 2 small loaves, 13-14 slices each loaf. --------------- I have other recipes for cookies and one for brownies, if you are interested in them.

Yup, I've seen them on eBay. The press is one of my recurring flirtations...keep looking at them but haven't taken the leap. This all got started again because I'm reading The Milagro Beanfield War...the mentions of beans and enchiladas and green chiles.... Mid-week, I ducked into the dollar store looking for a cheap magnifying mirror which they didn't have but they did have some really fresh looking Brown's Best pintos. 1# pkgs for a dollar or 2# pkgs for a dollar. So I bought all the 2# pkgs they had, all 4 of them. Added a nice marrow-y ham bone from Easter, onion, celery, chile d' Arbol & garlic. Amazing creamy beans. (I love to heap warmed up leftover beans on eggs for breakfast.) Then you started talking about Tamale Pie and massa and the next thing I know, I have chicken fajitas marinating, more beans have cooked and, since DSI is coming for dinner, I'm also making home-made flour tortillas. Which I can't (or should not) eat. So I'll be eating my fajita without a tortilla or wrapped up in one of the crummy store-bought corn tortillas from the pantry. sigh...Luckily, I'm almost finished with the book. :)( By later in the week, I'll prolly be off onto some other cuisine.