Storing Wheat

[Genoa]

I am starting to bake our bread again, after years of rarely, if ever, baking bread. I still have a lot of refining of my recipes and techniques to do---but that's another question.

 

I plan to get a grain mill, and today I've been thinking about what kind of wheat berries I should keep on hand. Right now I'm just using flour---a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat or 10-grain flour in most of my breads. I have been trying to gradually increase the amount of whole wheat used in our bread, but so far I'm finding I have better results if I use less whole wheat flour than all-purpose flour.

 

The place where I plan to buy wheat has three kinds of wheat berries available---hard red wheat, hard white wheat, and soft white. It's my understanding that the first two would provide whole wheat flour suitable for bread and the last would result in pastry flour. So what would be equivalent to all-purpose flour? Do I blend them together, or what? In other words, could I produce a not-too-heavy wheat bread by combining hard wheat berries with soft wheat berries? Or do I need to do something else?

 

Thanks for your input.

[ATHagan]

If you're wanting to make yeast raised bread then leave out the soft wheat. Use only hard wheats for that purpose. I keep both hard red and white at the house and we use a 50:50 mix of them for our bread wheat.

 

If you want all-purpose flour for non-yeast bread purposes then I'd go with either all soft of a 3:1 soft:hard mix myself.

 

.....Alan.

 

 

[Genoa]

Thanks, Alan. I was asking about yeast breads, but I will need the information for other items, as well so I appreciate your including the information about using a 3:1 soft:hard mixture for other baking. So far, all I've used for my bread baking is flour I've bought, not ground myself. I don't know whether it's hard red or white. I guess to get a real feel for what it's like I need to go get the grinder and actually grind some wheat myself. Is there much difference between the red and white hard wheats, in terms of the heaviness of the finished loaf? Or is it just a matter of taste?

 

Do you add extra gluten flour to your yeast bread to help with the rising, so they aren't brick-like? I prefer a somewhat heavy, whole grain bread with a lot of nuts and seeds, a variety of grains, and whole wheat, but I'm having trouble developing a recipe that doesn't produce too heavy a loaf of bread, without using some all purpose flour. Most of the recipes I've been trying call for a mixture of either bread flour or all purpose flour with whole wheat---using less whole wheat than other flours. If I increase the amount of whole wheat too much, the bread becomes very heavy. If you were following a bread recipe, would you simply substitute whole wheat flour for the mixture of flours in that recipe (either using a bit less whole wheat flour or increasing the liquid in the recipe)? Maybe I just need more practice.

 

Do you have any bread recipes you'd recommend, or any tips to help me accomplish this? Thanks again.

[ATHagan]

So far as the lightness of the bread is concerned I haven't found any difference between red and white hard wheats if the protein is comparable. There is a difference in flavor and color though. My kids find the all red wheat to be a bit strong tasting, but I find the all-white to be a bit too... white. So we have compromised on the 50:50 mix.

 

I do usually add a tablespoon of gluten to the loaf when I make bread, but I've made it without too. Much depends on your technique and any additional ingredients you add. Eggs and milk help to improve the gluten. Most anything else detracts so if you'll be adding a lot of other grains or whatever you may want to try some additional gluten.

 

I'm afraid I can't help much with a recipe because I rarely make bread the same way more than three or four times. I am endlessly experimenting with adding this or that which of course endlessly changes the way the bread behaves.

 

I will give you two tips though. I find the sponge method works best for me of all the methods I've tried. This is basically all of the water in the recipe to which you add the gluten (if you're going to use it) and enough of the flour to make a thickish, but still pourable batter. Then add your yeast, stir well, cover with a damp cloth and let it work for at least a couple of hours. I typically mix mine just after breakfast then finish the bread just before or after supper. I usually let the sponge work all day, then finish mixing the bread. One bulk rise, shape the loaves then proof them.

 

The other tip is that the dough is better wetter than drier. Stiff dough is bad for raising poorly. If it's a bit stiff when I finish mixing and kneading I'll often give it a few spritzes with a spray bottle after putting it in the bowl to rise for the first time.

 

.....Alan.

 

 

[Genoa]

Thanks---I had discovered the improvement with a wetter rather than drier dough. I like your idea of spritzing the dough with water. I have a couple books on order from the library that include recipes for bread with a longer, slower (some overnight) fermenting time to help develop flavor and lighter texture---similar to what you're suggesting with the sponge method. In the meantime, I'm going to implement your sponge method.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my many questions. I think you've pointed me in the right direction.

[CrabGrassAcres]

I use only freshly ground wheat. I like the mix of half hard white and half hard red. I put 3 eggs in per loaf and use molasses instead of sugar. I also keep the dough very moist. My loaves are nice and light.

[Genoa]

Thanks-so good to hear that others have achieved good results using 100% whole wheat. One question---I have been trying to keep the dough on the wet side, but I do find it difficult to knead. How do you manage to knead the dough enough without sticking to it?

[Ambergris]

White is for making Southern biscuits, like you'd use White Lily for.

[westbrook]

I have done some searching in the archives and found some related information for you. I know it is a lot of reading and following links... but.. perhaps you will find the answers to your questions.

 

 

http://www.mrssurvival.com/forums/ubbthrea...&page=0&fpart=1

 

more on yeast

http://www.mrssurvival.com/forums/ubbthrea...true#Post222060

 

freshly ground wheat, why is bread like a brick?

http://www.mrssurvival.com/forums/ubbthrea...true#Post200985

 

 

bread facts… store bought vs making

http://www.mrssurvival.com/forums/ubbthrea...true#Post168105

 

 

 

[Genoa]

Thank you! I'm heading out the door right now, but I will come back later and definitely read all those links.

[Crazy4Canning]

Genoa,

 

Be sure to check out Bob's Red Mill (www.bobsredmill.com) for whole grain recipies. Literally all of their recipies are a slam dunk whenever I make them.

 

I found their cookbook at Costco this past December for $20 and snapped it up - a really great resource. They also have lots of free recipies and tips on their website.

 

In answer to your question about whole wheat and white flour, I've found (as has BRM) that you NEED the gluten in the white flour to aid the whole wheat in rising. It's actually necessary, otherwise, you get THE BRICK, and I'm not talking about an indestructible cell phone.

 

Seriously though, BRM is a really great resource - I absolutely LOVE their store.

[westbrook]

bump