Hello, and welcome! I am so excited you are here. If you love sweets, breads, and sauces, but want to feel good about the ingredients inside them, you’re in the right place!
Let me be real with you: this is not a strict health food blog. While I do my best to eat a certain way in my everyday living, every once in a while, (eh, more than that) I like to indulge. That’s why, Hannah’s Chaotic Kitchen is all about being health-conscious while still embracing the beautiful and delicious reality of a home cooked meal and treat. That means no cutting out the best parts- the butter and the sugar!
That’s why I started this site- to recreate the foods we all love while using nutritious, real food ingredients that satisfy a craving while putting your mind at ease about what’s actually going in your body.
The Pillars of My Kitchen
In my kitchen, I focus on two major changes to upgrade my food:
Fresh Milled Flour: I mill my own whole grains at home before every bake, because the nutrition and flavor of fresh flour is unmatched.
No Seed Oils: I trade heavily processed seed oils for traditional fats like butter, lard, and olive oil. I also use avocado oil, a very popular choice nowadays. Each fat has its own time and place.
Why Fresh Milled Flour?
When you buy standard flour from the store, it has been stripped of the most nutritious parts- the bran and the germ- so it can be shelf stable for longer periods of time. They then enrich the flour with synthetic versions of only a few of the many nutrients they just stripped away. That’s just one of the reasons I made the switch. By milling whole grains right before baking, we keep as many of our vitamins, fiber, and flavor intact in our flour as possible
However, baking with fresh milled flour can feel like a guessing game when you first start. It absorbs liquids differently, and getting the right texture takes practice and a few techniques. That’s where I come in! I have spent my time experimenting and figuring out the ratios of certain grains to achieve the textures I’m looking for in each of my recipes.
If you’re reading this and you would like to know more about fresh milled flour, I highly recommend looking into Sue Becker. I Listened to an episode of “Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark” with Sue Becker as her guest, and it was very informative.
Coming Up!
While my focus is baked goods, I’m not stopping there. Here’s a sneak peak of what’s coming from my kitchen:
The Classics: Breads, cookies, cakes
Pizza Night: Homemade pizza dough and a quick homemade pizza sauce
Condiments & Extras: Everyday staples like salad dressings, condiments, and more
Seasonal Bakes: Seasonal recipes to help you celebrate the shifting seasons
Follow Along!
Whether you’re experienced in the kitchen with your own grain mill, brand new, or just someone looking to cook and bake with cleaner ingredients, there’s a seat for you at my table!