Question: How can I transform my old recipes to include whole grains? Do things taste as good when substituting with whole-wheat flour? What about that white whole-wheat flour made by King Arthur? Is that a whole grain?

— Joanne Thompson Pease, Torrington, Conn.

Answer: Amy Scattergood, co-author with Kim Boyce of the whole-grain baking book, Good to the Grain, says whole grains are more flavorful than white flour. But expect to experiment in converting your old recipes. "The easiest way to begin to make the transition is to substitute whole wheat flour for one-third or one-half of the amount of all-purpose flour called for," she says. "You can see how it goes, then increase the amount of whole wheat beyond that. It shouldn't change the recipe much if at all — and you can substitute one for one in many recipes — but it will change the flavor somewhat."

As for King Arthur's white whole-wheat flour, I checked in with Allison Furbish, the company's Web media coordinator. White whole wheat flour is a whole grain and is nutritionally equivalent to red whole-wheat flour but lacks "the pigmentation and flavor of its red cousin," she said via email.

Don't completely substitute whole grain for white, Furbish says. Start with
25 percent whole flour and work up, possibly, to 50 percent whole grain.

"In addition, we'd recommend adding an extra teaspoon of liquid per cup of whole wheat flour, since the bran absorbs more liquid," she says. "Further, for yeast bread, we recommend mixing the dough and letting it rest for 15 minutes or so to absorb the liquid, so that you can add more liquid if necessary before kneading."