Suggestions for beginner: grain grinding and using

[Gracie]

Have never purchased or ground grain, but those of you who have: please, for a beginner, what grains would you purchase, what type of grinder would you suggest for just starting out, and what would you make with the grain you grind. I have read some of the topics on this, but it is a bit intimidating to this old lady...so much info. on something I have no knowledge of. We are trying to plan for the "possible", but are finding how limited we currently are, and must somehow, catch up! Gracie

[bee_pipes]

There's a whole bunch of stuff on the forum about grinders and grains:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/yabb/forum.pl?board=foo-other-food;action=display;num=1205331449
http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/yabb/forum.pl?board=foo-other-food;action=display;num=1209595080;start=10#10

There's much more information out there - check all the food forums for old posts.

Regards,
Pat

[Shamrock1121]

A good book on the subject is "Flour Power" The complete guide to 3-minute home flour milling - by Marleeta F. Basey (she may have an up-dated version of this book). Check your local library for a copy, or have them get it through inter-library loan.

Mills - see the links bee pipes (Pat) shared.

Classes of wheat:

HARD Red Winter or Spring: Winter wheat is planted in the southern 2/3 of the U.S. in the fall and the plant goes dormat in the winter. Spring wheat is planted in the northern regions in the spring so it doesn't winter-over. Hard wheat varieties are best used for yeast breads because they have a higher protein (gluten) content.

SOFT Red Wheat: Less gluten and appropriate for pastry, quick breads, where you wan't less gluten development.

Hard WHITE Winter or Spring Wheat: Also best for yeast breads.

Soft WHITE Wheat - Less gluten and best used in pastry, quick breads.

White wheat does not have the acidic taste associated with whole wheat flour and is my personal favorite to use. The plants for red and white wheat are alike in all respects other than the bran color. There are 1-3 genes that determine the bran color of red wheat. White wheat has none of these genes, therefore the bran is a very light color and doesn't have the acidic taste. Baked goods have a lighter color and milder flavor.

Durum Wheat: This variety of wheat is grown in the north. It has the most protein of all wheat types and is best used for pasta/noodles, not bread. There are two types of protein that make up the gluten group - glutenins and gliadins. Glutenins give the elastic quality for bread while gliadins contribute to the viscosity and extensibility. There are more gliadins in durum wheat, which is why it's best used for pasta.
--------------------

Wheat Montana Hard Spring Wheat - Prairie Gold
www.wheatmontana.com - is the best wheat I've ever used for bread. The red variety - Bronze Chief comes in a close second, but has a more acidic taste and dark color associated with whole wheat.

When choosing wheat for bread you need to use hard wheat varieties. It doesn't matter if they are winter or spring wheat, it just needs to be hard wheat varieties so that you have enough gluten for bread.

For pastry, quick breads, cookies, (anything requiring low-gluten and less gluten development) choose soft wheat. I get my Soft White Wheat from Bob's Red Mill - www.bobsredmill.com

Avoid buying wheat where they don't know anything other than --- it's WHEAT! If you wonder what type of wheat you have, soft wheat mills into a very soft to the touch, almost talcum powder-like flour. Hard wheat is somewhat gritty - especially hard winter wheat (which has smaller berries than hard spring wheat). There is more endosperm in Spring wheat varieties.

I also use a 3:1 ratio of soft white wheat and oat groats (or spelt instead of oats) for making "cake" flour - for even less gluten. Great for sponge cakes, or other delicate cake. I also sift out the bran when making a delicate cake from wholegrain flours.

I use a large variety of grains/seeds/beans. Besides milling them into flour, I also use them whole, make my own multi-grain cereals (looks like chopped grain), farina (or cream of rice or wheat), homemade cracked wheat, sprouts, flakes, etc.

You'll find a lot of great recipes using whole wheat flour at the Kansas Wheat Commission - http://www.kswheat.com/general.asp?id=171

a favorite around here are the Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies: http://kansaswheat.org/general.asp?id=470

-Karen

[mom]

Karen, trying to figure out costs. How much flour could you make out of say 25lbs of wheat.

Thanks

[Gracie]

Pat and Karen, thanks a million for your responses. I went to Amazon.com in hopes of purchasing a used copy of the book, "Flour Power", only to find it is for sale for, $999.00, no joke. Come to find out this book is currently out of print and stock, sooo, it's off to the library I must go. Again many thanks. :) Gracie

[Shamrock1121]

Karen, trying to figure out costs. *How much flour could you make out of say 25lbs of wheat.

Thanks

Wheat flour is a 100% extraction (you get out all that you put in). Therefore, you mill 1-pound of wheat, you'll get approx. 1-pound of flour.

25# wheat = 25# flour
For me, that's 35-37 one-pound loaves of bread - approx. 2-1/2 cups of flour per 1-pound loaf. Because of differences of protein levels and other ingredients in bread, flour amounts will vary.

From: AAOOB Foods -

*45# wheat in a 6-gallon pail yields 158 cups ground flour

*1 pound (3 cups) yields approximately 4 cups flour

*A scant 2/3 c. wheat = 1 cup flour

*Approx. 3 cups flour for a 1-1/2# loaf (fits an 8-1/2x4-1/2-inch pan).

One source states - white wheat, in fact, usually has a "higher extraction rate" than red wheat - meaning that a bushel of white wheat kernels will make slightly more whole wheat flour than the same amount of red wheat.

You might enjoy this page of "Wheat Facts".

http://www.wheatfoods.org/AboutWheat-wheat-facts/Index.htm

-Karen

[mom]

does anyone know where you can buy wheat in far east Texas?

Thanks

[BadKarma]

You might try your local feed stores for buying whole grains liked wheat, corn, etc. A good coffee grinder with steel teeth are excellent for cornmeal and such.