Free's bread thread....quest for the perfect 100% whole wheat recipes
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freemotion
Food Guru
Me&, is that using storebought flour or home-ground, if you ground it yourself, what type of wheat did you start with? (Sorry, I can't keep track of who does what!me&thegals said:
)I have no objection to using ingredients such as vital wheat gluten, and will if that is what it takes, but right now my project is to develop a skill that will come in handy if needed one day.
However, I would still like to make the perfect 100% whole grain bread with purchased ingredients, as long as they are wholesome and healthy ingredients. So powdered milk is out, but I can't think of an objection to the gluten, as long as it isn't melamine!lwheelr
Lovin' The Homestead
If you use hard white wheat, it is unnecessary to add gluten, because it is higher in natural gluten than hard red wheat (the typical wheat flour).
You can find Hard White wheat labeled as Hard White, or sold as Prairie Gold, or Golden 86.
You can find Hard White Wheat flour as Prairie Gold Flour in many grocery stores and whole food stores, usually in a yellowy tan bag. It costs marginally more than regular whole wheat flour, but is SO worth it, because you don't have to use gluten, dough conditioner, etc, you can just substitute it in your breads and it works.
If there's one great "secret" to easy whole wheat bread, that has gotta be it. I only store hard white wheat now, for our family use. I store hard red for the animals because it is more available and sometimes a little bit cheaper (not always). I sprout whichever one I have on hand, but will usually sprout hard red if I have it, just so I save the good stuff for baking.
Sadly, our wheat mill has died, and we have been unable to repair it. We did just get a cheap metal hand grinder in the mail today, which we actually ordered so we could make cracked grain for the animals, so I guess it will get a workout until we can afford a new electric mill (we just use way too much flour to mill it all by hand).
After being able to mill my own fresh flour, knowing the nutritional benefits, I'll never be happy with commercial degermed and aged flour again.
You can find Hard White wheat labeled as Hard White, or sold as Prairie Gold, or Golden 86.
You can find Hard White Wheat flour as Prairie Gold Flour in many grocery stores and whole food stores, usually in a yellowy tan bag. It costs marginally more than regular whole wheat flour, but is SO worth it, because you don't have to use gluten, dough conditioner, etc, you can just substitute it in your breads and it works.
If there's one great "secret" to easy whole wheat bread, that has gotta be it. I only store hard white wheat now, for our family use. I store hard red for the animals because it is more available and sometimes a little bit cheaper (not always). I sprout whichever one I have on hand, but will usually sprout hard red if I have it, just so I save the good stuff for baking.
Sadly, our wheat mill has died, and we have been unable to repair it. We did just get a cheap metal hand grinder in the mail today, which we actually ordered so we could make cracked grain for the animals, so I guess it will get a workout until we can afford a new electric mill (we just use way too much flour to mill it all by hand).
After being able to mill my own fresh flour, knowing the nutritional benefits, I'll never be happy with commercial degermed and aged flour again.
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- #34
freemotion
Food Guru
Laura, check out craigslist and also put ads on there in the farm and garden section. You'll find something eventually. I love my All Grain Mill, even though I've had some trouble. I was finally able to get ahold of the person who runs/owns the company and got some great tips and instructions, and got a copy of the manual, so I am up and running again. I got this mill for $60 off craigslist. I will buy the proper container to mill into so I can use it inside the house instead of on the driveway....BRRRRRRRR!!!
The wheat berries I have most of are Prairie Gold hard white and soft white. I have a lot of hard red left over from collecting it a bit at a time from Whole Foods and Bob's Red Mill at my local grocery store. I have a bunch of Kamut that I discovered I cannot use in my stone mill...it glazed my stones yesterday so now I have to clean them with popcorn. Gotta go buy some cheap popcorn, because a cup of organic popcorn wasn't enough and I don't want to waste it. Off to the grocery store!
So, still want an answer, Me&, if you get a chance....for all that hard red I have, or for others who only have access to grocery store flour if that is what you are using...
The wheat berries I have most of are Prairie Gold hard white and soft white. I have a lot of hard red left over from collecting it a bit at a time from Whole Foods and Bob's Red Mill at my local grocery store. I have a bunch of Kamut that I discovered I cannot use in my stone mill...it glazed my stones yesterday so now I have to clean them with popcorn. Gotta go buy some cheap popcorn, because a cup of organic popcorn wasn't enough and I don't want to waste it. Off to the grocery store!
So, still want an answer, Me&, if you get a chance....for all that hard red I have, or for others who only have access to grocery store flour if that is what you are using...
lwheelr
Lovin' The Homestead
What kind of mill do you have? I may have a spare container.
Use 1/3 hard red wheat flour, and 2/3 hard white in everything except bread.
Boiled wheat - hard red is great for this. Just put it in the crockpot when you go to bed - 1 cup wheat to 3 cups of water (or more if your crock steams a lot). By morning it will be puffed and ready to use.
Eat as cereal - add milk and sugar, raisins, etc. CAREFUL! if you are not used to wheat, this will cause cramps and diarrhea if you get too much! So start with half a cup!
Add to oatmeal.
Add to soup.
Toss on salads, toss into casseroles, etc.
Put 1/2 to 1 cup into zip baggies, and pitch that into your freezer. Ready to either nuke, or quickly thaw in some hot water so you can use immediately.
Wheatgrass (plant in trays, cut when a few inches tall) - juice it if you have a juicer, or blend very fine in a milk and banana shake for a morning veggie pick me up.
Sprouted wheat berries. You can use these in soup (cook some after you toss them in), in breads, or you can dry them to use later, or grind the dried berries to add to breads (about 1/2 cup per loaf).
Wheat pasta - hard red works ok for this, though durum wheat works best of all (100% whole durum wheat flour makes wonderful pasta). Ravioli is pretty easy to make - pretty much any simple pasta dough recipe will do. Roll it out thin, cut in circles. Put a spoonful of mixture on it (2 cups cottage cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup grated parmesan, and 1 tsp parsley), fold over and press closed with a fork. Drop in a pot of boiling water and boil for about 2 minutes (if one explodes, they are done). Serve with a VERY SMALL amount of spaghetti sauce (important to only use a bit dribbled on, so it does not overwhelm the light flavor of the ravioli). Ravioli is one of the easiest things to make from homemade pasta that is impressive and completely delicious, you can serve it for company (add some herbed veggies, a nice salad, and a loaf of fresh Italian bread to provide a warm and comfy yummy meal).
Tortillas - hard red works fine for tortillas. 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup of fat (pretty much any kind), blended together, and then water added to make a SOFT dough (you can play with the water/flour balance, but you want the dough soft enough to roll out easily). Roll out into 8 rounds, and cook on a hot skillet until bubbly with the bubbles browned. Don't overcook or they'll get hard. Warm them up before wrapping. If your family does not like them for wrapping, then cut them up and fry them in hot oil and use them for chips, or you can brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, roll up, and they'll usually like that!
Dumplings - hard red is ok for dumplings, though biscuits will come out harder than if made with hard red.
Never use soft white for bread, it just does not have enough gluten. Hard white and soft white are very different. Soft white makes terrific pasta, biscuits, pie crust, or anything else that you want flaky and non-gluteny.
Use 1/3 hard red wheat flour, and 2/3 hard white in everything except bread.
Boiled wheat - hard red is great for this. Just put it in the crockpot when you go to bed - 1 cup wheat to 3 cups of water (or more if your crock steams a lot). By morning it will be puffed and ready to use.
Eat as cereal - add milk and sugar, raisins, etc. CAREFUL! if you are not used to wheat, this will cause cramps and diarrhea if you get too much! So start with half a cup!
Add to oatmeal.
Add to soup.
Toss on salads, toss into casseroles, etc.
Put 1/2 to 1 cup into zip baggies, and pitch that into your freezer. Ready to either nuke, or quickly thaw in some hot water so you can use immediately.
Wheatgrass (plant in trays, cut when a few inches tall) - juice it if you have a juicer, or blend very fine in a milk and banana shake for a morning veggie pick me up.
Sprouted wheat berries. You can use these in soup (cook some after you toss them in), in breads, or you can dry them to use later, or grind the dried berries to add to breads (about 1/2 cup per loaf).
Wheat pasta - hard red works ok for this, though durum wheat works best of all (100% whole durum wheat flour makes wonderful pasta). Ravioli is pretty easy to make - pretty much any simple pasta dough recipe will do. Roll it out thin, cut in circles. Put a spoonful of mixture on it (2 cups cottage cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup grated parmesan, and 1 tsp parsley), fold over and press closed with a fork. Drop in a pot of boiling water and boil for about 2 minutes (if one explodes, they are done). Serve with a VERY SMALL amount of spaghetti sauce (important to only use a bit dribbled on, so it does not overwhelm the light flavor of the ravioli). Ravioli is one of the easiest things to make from homemade pasta that is impressive and completely delicious, you can serve it for company (add some herbed veggies, a nice salad, and a loaf of fresh Italian bread to provide a warm and comfy yummy meal).
Tortillas - hard red works fine for tortillas. 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup of fat (pretty much any kind), blended together, and then water added to make a SOFT dough (you can play with the water/flour balance, but you want the dough soft enough to roll out easily). Roll out into 8 rounds, and cook on a hot skillet until bubbly with the bubbles browned. Don't overcook or they'll get hard. Warm them up before wrapping. If your family does not like them for wrapping, then cut them up and fry them in hot oil and use them for chips, or you can brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, roll up, and they'll usually like that!
Dumplings - hard red is ok for dumplings, though biscuits will come out harder than if made with hard red.
Never use soft white for bread, it just does not have enough gluten. Hard white and soft white are very different. Soft white makes terrific pasta, biscuits, pie crust, or anything else that you want flaky and non-gluteny.
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- #36
freemotion
Food Guru
I have an All-Grain Flour Mill, an older one, model A-33x.lwheelr said:
lwheelr
Lovin' The Homestead
Don't think I have one that will fit that. I have a Whisper mill bin (I won't EVER buy one of those mills again, talk about bad design, and just as loud as my K-tek!), and a Vita-Mill bin (like a K-tek but not texture adjustment).
I can't go to Craigslist for a new mill. I am in the middle of Wyoming, and Craigslist has ONE listing for the entire state of Wyoming. Too far to travel to get one, even if someone in Wyoming DID have one. Horse trailers, yeah. Cows, yeah. The odd goat or llama. But no chickens, no rabbits, no incubators, and very little small farm stuff. I could go to Fort Collins, but that is a ways to go. We had to go to Grand Junction Colorado for goats, and to Salt Lake City for bunnies, and north to Torrington for ducks and chickens.
No way I'd find a wheatmill there, or a cream separator, or milking bucket, or hoof trimming supplies...
I can't go to Craigslist for a new mill. I am in the middle of Wyoming, and Craigslist has ONE listing for the entire state of Wyoming. Too far to travel to get one, even if someone in Wyoming DID have one. Horse trailers, yeah. Cows, yeah. The odd goat or llama. But no chickens, no rabbits, no incubators, and very little small farm stuff. I could go to Fort Collins, but that is a ways to go. We had to go to Grand Junction Colorado for goats, and to Salt Lake City for bunnies, and north to Torrington for ducks and chickens.
No way I'd find a wheatmill there, or a cream separator, or milking bucket, or hoof trimming supplies...
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- #38
freemotion
Food Guru
Just to update, I've made the bread recipe/method I posted a couple of pages back a few times now and we really like it. We use it for toast, grilled sandwiches, and french toast.
It needs to bake a little longer than I am inclined to bake it....it looks quite done, yet the middle is a little undercooked. So leave it in a few minutes longer than you think you should until you get the time right for your oven. The crust ends up a bit darker than I prefer, but it is still very, very good.
It needs to bake a little longer than I am inclined to bake it....it looks quite done, yet the middle is a little undercooked. So leave it in a few minutes longer than you think you should until you get the time right for your oven. The crust ends up a bit darker than I prefer, but it is still very, very good.
ohiofarmgirl
Sipping Bacon Martinis
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hey baby.. just stopping in to smell the fresh bread
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- #40
freemotion
Food Guru
I just had to send dh to the store to buy eggs so I could make this! 
Stupid hens! Stupid rats!
Oh, well, all of the meat birds are cooling in the downstairs fridge, plus the last roo from the spring broody hatch, so I have one less water bucket and one less pen to feed twice a day, and one less bucket of grain soaking to sprout! Woo-hoo!
It is gonna smell good in here in around suppertime. I'm also making pie crust and will make a pork pot pie for supper with leftover pork shoulder. Wanna come over?
Stupid hens! Stupid rats!Oh, well, all of the meat birds are cooling in the downstairs fridge, plus the last roo from the spring broody hatch, so I have one less water bucket and one less pen to feed twice a day, and one less bucket of grain soaking to sprout! Woo-hoo!
It is gonna smell good in here in around suppertime. I'm also making pie crust and will make a pork pot pie for supper with leftover pork shoulder. Wanna come over?
