Where's the wheat?

[pathwayholding]

My country grain mill arrived today and I've got nothing to mill. I'd like to get some hard winter wheat to use now and some to keep on the shelve for long term/future planting.

I know hard winter wheat from a hole in the ground. Can the stuff you buy in 25lb plastic containers be used to make bread and plant a wheat field? Do I have to worry about water content of the wheat? What's a reasonable price for 25lb containers? Do you have to freeze the containers to kill any critters in the wheat? Any recommendations for a reputable supplier who has reasonable prices? Anything else I need to know?

path

[neparose]

First off, Congrads. on the mill! I'll try and take a stab at your questions and hopefully others will chime in too. I've seen wheat for sale in #10 cans from Emergency Essentials. also in 45 # super pails but theres a purchase weight necessary to get the shipping rate. But they also have other grains as well, like oats, spelt,barley, pop corn, and red, white and soft wheat. I buy mine from Dutch Valley foods and they ship to a local franchise to cut shipping costs. Prices seem to vary according to from whom you buy but the killer is in the shipping, unless you can find it local. Yes, you can freeze it to kill critters. In fact its a good idea if your looking at storing the grain for longer term. Do some searchs on wheat berries and BE SURE to calculate that shipping cost before you buy! Jackie Clay did a good article some where here in the archives on the diferences of wheat types and thier uses. Red is good for breads but some people dislike the bitterness they claim to taste. Hard white is also for breads, and soft wheat is for your pastrys, cakes, ect... Hope this helps some. Also, check out the King Arthur Flour web site for some good whole wheat recipes. It does tend to "cook up" different than bleached white. Keep us posted on your adventures in milling!
rose

[pcrowder]

I get some of mine from Pleasant Hill Grain - they also have barley, rye, and white wheat berries too. They also ship really fast, and there is a standard set shipping price. www.pleasanthillgrain.com The rest of mine I get straight from the field during harvest, but it has to be "cleaned" before use. That's why I have the stuff from PHG - to use till I hand-clean the other stuff .

Congrats on the mill!!!!!!!!!

[yotetrapper]

This may be a stupid question, lol, (if the answer is 64) but how many pounds of flour does 64 lbs (the amount shipped by pleasant hill) of wheat berries make?

[DM]

Grinding the wheat doesn't change the "weight", it changes the volume. So, one pound of wheat makes one pound of flour.

DM

[NCLee]

Congrats on getting your mill!!!!

Yes, do check out the King Arthur site. Here's a good starting point for learning about types of flour. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/flour/home.html Spend some time exploring their site for other good info.

I don't have a mill, yet, but hope to get one before wheat harvest around here. Hope to buy it straight from the field. Then, the same thing for this fall's corn harvest. Cleaning is relatively easy. Just toss it in the air in front of a good fan to blow out the remaining chaff and dust.

If you want to grind corn, stop by Sam's Club and buy a 50 lb bag of popcorn. If memory serves, it's around $12. While I haven't tried it myself, I've heard that it makes great corn meal.

Check the bags of flour and cornmeal in your grocery store. See if you can locate a local milling company. I found out there's one about 10 miles from me, by doing that. Then, check to see if they will sell you grains that have already been cleaned. Don't know that you can do that, but it may be worth a try. It's another option that I plan to check out when I get a mill.

Hope some of this helps.
Lee

[pathwayholding]

Wow! Thanks all. As usual I learned a bunch.

I'm starting to feel like the kid who got an easy bake oven for Christmas and no baking mixes. I'm thinking of heading to the local health food store that I've bought grains from in the past. He's horribly overpriced but I'd get to play, I mean, mill, now. I can get a small quantity of each type of grain there and then take my time finding a decent price/shipping price for a bulk supply.

Okay, and how cute is this? They mill a small amount of wheat through each mill before they ship it. They sent the milled wheat in a little baggie with the mill. Maybe I'm suppose to start a baby box for it? lol

path

[cubcadet]

I have gotten the best service and the best prices at Whole Foods Markets. They generally can get any grain, beans, too. Wheat can be got real cheap, when it`s in season. I go for certified organic. That way, you can be sure that there`s no trash in it.

[humbug]

Congratulations on your mill. I got mine a couple of years ago and I love it. There are four types of wheat. Hard red wheat is used for bread making but makes a darker denser loaf of bread. The bread will be chewier and more what many picture as whole wheat bread. Hard white wheat is my preferred bread baking wheat. It makes a lighter more airy loaf. I use a lot of this. Soft white wheat is used for making cakes, cookies, pastries..etc. The last type of wheat is durham, used for making pasta. I have not used this type of wheat yet.
If you can try to buy your wheat locally. The shipping is very expensive on it. I did ship some when I was in Nevada but remember it being expensive. Sometimes Walmart will have bags of wheat on the bottom shelf near the flour. I am lucky enough to buy it locally here in Montana. I only live 20 miles from the Wheat Montana store.

www.wheatmontana.com

Wheat flour tends to go rancid very quickly so anything I don't use I store in the freezer until needed.

I hope this helps...
Hum

[neparose]

Hey Pathway, I just did my days worth of grinding and heres how the weight/volume thing worked out. 2 cups of wheat turns into 3 cups of flour. 2 cups of wheat = 13 1/8 oz. of wheat. Your weight/volume will vary according to where you put your setting to, but this should give you an idea where to start. Happy grinding!!
rose

[pathwayholding]

Not only have I not gotten my wheat but we haven't even put the darn mill together yet. I wanted to set it up more permanently than clamping it to a counter when we use it. I talked hubby into drilling some holes through the top of the workbench so we can mount it there. Now I've got to get some long bolts/nuts to secure it.

path

[neparose]

I had the same problem of where to put mine. What I ended up doing was bolting it to a old hutch I have in the kitchen. I was going to pitch the thing out because its not an antique or a family heirloom. Just looked like crap and was taking up valuable kitchen floor space. So now the grainmill is bolted down on the end, with a marble slab covering up the rest of the top. Viola`! my new pastry station! I totally understand your frustration. I finally had to threaten the hubby that I WOULD use HIS power tools to install it if I had to. By next afternoon I was happily grinding away....lol! Dont get too bummed, you'll get there.
rose

[Laura]

You can buy wheat berries at Whole Foods, or other "Health Stores" if you want to get going right now.

I belong to a co op called "United Buying Club".
http://www.unitedbuyingclubs.com/RESOURCES/FABC/FABC_Home.htm

I can buy wheat berries (hard of soft) in 25 and 50lb bags.

HTH
Laura

[NCLee]

Take a look at this grinder stand. While it isn't for a grain grinder, the design has possibilities for almost any type of equipment that has to be clamped down for use.

http://www.thetreeofliberty.com/vb/showthread.php?p=798854&posted=1#post798854

It's on my shop projects to-do list.

Lee

[jasperg357]

If you have a LDS Cannery near your home they usually will sell to non-Mormons. The cannery near my home in Ga. sells hard red winter wheat and hard white wheat they sell in bulk and in number 10 cans. Number 10 cans cost $2.60 a can and the cans have a 30+ year shelf life the 25 lb bags cost $5.90 a bag. Here is a link to the LDS website you can check there to see were the nearest cannery is to your location if you want to get your wheat there. Sure can't beat the price.

http://providentliving.org/channel/0,11677,1706-1,00.html

[flourgirl]

fresh organic wheat at reasonable prices at (Deleted - Members not allowed to post active links to their retail site. PM the poster for the link).

[DM]

For those looking for wheat, i'm sure i saw 25 pound bags of wheat (not flour) here at a walmart. They were in the flour section, so check your ww...

DM

[pathwayholding]

I bought 2 bags of the Walmart wheat a few weeks back. It's hard spring wheat. I'll have to check my notes to see what it's good for I guess.

path

[Anon001]

It's a good bread flour. Any hard wheat is good for bread.

[pathwayholding]

Thanks Paul. Saved me the look up. So what's the winter and spring mean anyway? When it's planted? When it's harvested?

path

[Artemis]

Yes, I've gotten in my hand crank wheat grinder, and am looking forward to using it for breads and such. Like you I need to find my source of wheat. I've seen places to order where it feels like you'll be getting a lifetime supply (I don't eat THAT much bread!) plus as someone mentioned, the shipping is prohibitive. I'm going to track down just enough that I have it to hand until I am able to grow my own. (Which should be in a couple of years.)

[Cavediver]

Yes, I've gotten in my hand crank wheat grinder, and am looking forward to using it for breads and such. Like you I need to find my source of wheat. I've seen places to order where it feels like you'll be getting a lifetime supply (I don't eat THAT much bread!) plus as someone mentioned, the shipping is prohibitive. I'm going to track down just enough that I have it to hand until I am able to grow my own. (Which should be in a couple of years.)

My wife and I bought a 5g bucket of hard white wheat a few months back(about 40lbs). Making 1 1.5lb loaf every 5 days or so I've already used almost a quarter of that bucket. It gets used much faster than you would think!

[TEX]

I have ordered from this place and was pleased.

Their shipping is $12.95 flat - no matter how much or how little you order.

http://www.frontiersurvival.net/shop/cgi-bin/cp-app.pl?usr=51F4268390&rnd=1218029&rrc=N&affl=&cip=12.14.174.210&act=&aff=&pg=specials