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About

Welcome to Common Grains, where we’re all about making real, healthy, whole-grain cooking common (and easy!) again.

I know what it feels like to love bread and bagels, rolls, tortillas … just to be told by someone who means well that wheat is unhealthy. So you cut it out of your diet, but end up coming back because it tastes good! How did we get here? Why are grains, after eating them for thousands of years, suddenly bad for us?

Good news, they aren’t! Highly-processed and refined grains are new to humans but whole grains, eaten as nature made them, provide vital nutrients like B vitamins, fiber, protein, and healthy fats.

That’s why together, we’re falling in love with our favorite foods again, re-learning the power of whole grains.

Why Common Grains?

Hello, friend! I’m Jackie Martin and by day I am a communications executive but by night, I’m the self-appointed cook for my four-person family.

I used to make *quick* kid-friendly meals that were standard American diet-fare, but after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes during my second pregnancy, I was forced to pay attention to what was in my food.

I realized I had to really learn how to cook from real ingredients. It was the only way to eat what I wanted but control the ingredients and quality of my food.

When I first decided to try bread making, I started with a basic, 5-ingredient recipe that my mother-in-law recommended. I failed AT LEAST a half-dozen times … but finally mastered it. Then, I began reading book after book on whole grain baking and cooking, finding myself taking go-to recipes and streamlining them to better work for my busy lifestyle.

I’d share my breads with friends and family and they would ask for recipes, but would struggle with the nuances to get it right. I’d make a how-to video for them or send pictures … and finally, Common Grains was born!

Let's get going

Ready to radically change your relationship with bread? Here is where to start:

I’m so excited that you’re here!

Jackie

Learn more

Recipe index

Easy whole grain recipes

Grain basics

Become a whole grain expert

Milling at home

Grind your own flour

Sourcing & storing

Finding and keeping whole grains

Tools & supplies

What you need and what you don't

Health benefits

Maximize nutrition from whole grains

Most recent recipes