You can usually replace the white flour with whole grain flour for up to 1/2 of the specified amount with little change from the original texture/raising. Add gluten, usually 1½ to 2 tablespoons per cup of whole grain flour. Yes, one must experiment a bit, but that's mostly to get the texture and lightness you prefer. BTW, gluten is best if kept frozen, because its shelf-life is extremely short. Just measure the frozen gluten powder right into the measured whole grain flour, stir and it will be thawed before the yeast needs it. If one uses molasses or honey instead of sugar, then the amount of liquid added should be adjusted downwards, to about ¾ of the equal amount. That means that if one changes ¼ cup white granulated sugar to ¼c [which is 4 tblsp] honey and the recipe calls for 1 cup water, remove 1 tablespoon of water from the cup. (That sounds worse to read than it is to do!). Brown sugar is white sugar with molasses added, so it is somewhat wetter than white but not as wet as honey... I find it easier to toss in an extra teaspoon of flour for each tablespoon of brown sugar. OR one can use ¼ less honey than the specified amount of sugar. That can get a bit tricky because the yeast needs "X" amount of sugar in order to rise properly and lessening the specified amount of sweetening can cause the bread to be dense/heavy. I don't really recommend it, but you may find it fun to play around. Are you doing everything by hand, or are you using a bread machine?

I use a LOT of freshly milled spelt. It bakes up differently than sprouted spelt flour. Some things to note, there is less gluten, and a different type of gluten, in spelt than what you are used to with wheat. Gluten absorbs moisture, so less gluten, less absorption of hydration to begin with. Sprouted spelt flour is usually much dryer because of the process of drying it after sprouting. Wholegrain (freshly-milled) sprout flour has a fairly good amount of moisture in it - around 10-15%. The lack of moisture from processing may contribute to some of the crumbling. So use a little less sprouted spelt flour, or increase the hydration by a little. Try using some sprouted spelt recipes and see if you get better results. (See link below.) -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Summers Sprouted Flour Company

Second the KAF "Whole Grain Baking." As with any recipe book, you won't necessarily like everything you try, but there's a wealth of information on whole grains, some helpful strategies for incorporating them into your baking and tips on other amendments (like orange juice) which can counteract the bitterness of some grains. I also second Grainlady's recommendation for the Kansas site. Just allow enough time for your visit; it's a rich resource. I'm fortunate to be an hour's drive from Bob's Red Mill, which is a great resource. I've also found them to be very meticulous about the flour they shelve in stores. I've never run across a rancid bag yet. That's handy for something like a flour you might use infrequently (like garbanzo) or a new flour you just want to try. Another source I've found is brewing suppliers. Of course, you have to be in or near a metropolitan center, but I've found a wonderful variety of malted grains perfect for English-style Granary loaves. It's fun to browse the bins "taste-testing" different grains. Carol

Personally, I wouldn't make quick breads of any kind with King Arthur White Wheat Flour because it's too high in protein/gluten to get really good results - whole wheat pastry flour would be a better choice, as Terri pointed out. The increase in gluten is probably the cause of the texture changes you experienced. Making quick breads is all about keeping gluten-development to a minimum. This includes the type of flour used and the amount of mixing. When substituting whole wheat flour for all-purpose in a recipe, you may benefit from reducing (as in leaving it out completely) the amount of whole wheat flour by 1 or 2 tablespoons per cup to compensate for the higher gluten. Because the KA whole wheat flour has more gluten, as well as bran in it, both will absorb more hydration than all-purpose flour would and can alter the texture. It's easier to reduce the amount of flour, rather than increase the hydration. When using KA White Wheat Flour it would be even more important to keep mixing to a bare minimum so you don't over-develop the gluten in the flour (which is higher than all-purpose). I mill my own flour and use the same wheat (13.1% protein) as they use for King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour. I purchase it from the local stone mill that mills King Arthur White Whole Wheat for this region. I normally mill SOFT white wheat (Bob's Red Mill) for quick breads because it has a much lower protein/gluten content; OR use a 3:1 mixture of hard white wheat and spelt to lower the amount of protein/gluten. I made crumb cake muffins yesterday, and as another option to reduce the gluten I used 3/4 hard white wheat and 1/4 high-maize resistant starch (to reduce the gluten, lower the glycemic impact and increase the fiber), and the muffins were very light and tender. The original recipe called for all-purpose flour. Good luck with your new trials. What a great recipe to have to "work on" (LOL)! -Grainlady