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Grinding wheat - my experience

Linda C <chasebusiness@sbcglobal.net>
Sat, 16 Jul 2005 21:33:30 -0700 (PDT)
v105.n031.2
Hi, Lisa.

You are right where I was a few years ago and I totally understand 
your needing to make your way slowly.  That's good, but if you're 
like me it won't be long until you're in it up to your eyeballs and 
loving it.  I started for health reasons in my family.  I made my own 
bread from white flour for years and knew I needed to change, but 
didn't want dry, tasteless brown bread that no one would eat.  I 
started by getting a 'new' coffee grinder and began adding whole 
wheat flour to the white flour.  (You can only grind 1/2 to 1 cup at 
a sitting.  It overheats easily.)  I got the hard red wheat grain 
from the health food store and over many months increased the 
amounts, but I still wasn't happy with the texture.  It was still a 
little courser than I wanted for sandwich bread.  A friend introduced 
me to using Prairie Gold wheatberries and it makes awesome whole 
wheat bread.  I bought the Ultramill for grinding.  It was about $130 
and has a lifetime warranty on it.  It has served me well.  I also 
get pastry grain and have ground oatmeal in it, as well.  I have 
since switched to Golden 86 (I think is the name) and get it from 
Walton Feed.  We were able to get a good price and low shipping 
because a truck driver brought it to us cheap on his way back.  I got 
250 lbs about over 2 years ago and everyone thought I was 
nuts.  Well, I opened my last bucket a few weeks back and hope to 
order more.  I bake cakes, pastry, cookies...everything with my 
pastry and golden wheat.  It takes a little practice to adjust the 
recipes a little, but it's not hard.

My bread recipe is:

2 T quick yeast
1 1/2 cups flour
2 T honey or agave
1 to 1 1/2 cups warm water
2 cups buttermilk
2 T butter
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup sweet whey powder
whole wheat flour as needed

Mix the yeast into the flour, then add the honey and water.  Mix well 
and let it sit until you see the yeast activate (bubble).  In the 
meantime I put the buttermilk and butter in microwave for 3 
minutes.  It separates and looks funny.  No problem.  After yeast is 
activated and buttermilk is just warm, add buttermilk/butter to yeast 
mixture and blend.  Add gluten and whey powder and begin adding whole 
wheat flour 1/2 cup at a time until it is slightly sticky.  Knead 
until you can stretch a pinch of dough a little without a break (that 
window test).  Don't add flour until it's dry, but a nice playdough 
consistency.  Put in a large bowl to rise double.  Put your hands 
around edge of dough and gently deflate, stretching dough under 
itself and rounding into a flattened ball.  Leave in bowl to rise 
again.  Deflate again and divide in two loaves formed and place in 
greased pans.  Rise until a couple of inches above pan and place in 
hot oven (350 F).  Bake 40 minutes or until golden on bottom of 
loaf.  *** The amount of flour it takes depends on moisture content, 
humidity, etc.  So just practice until you're satisfied.  My last two 
batches have been so perfect I can't keep it around.  Good Luck!

Linda