Whole Grain Baking Classes

 

Tips to remember when using freshly ground grains:

1. Rainy weather will have some effect on your bread rising.

 

The moisture gets trapped more easily in the wheat or grain that has just been ‘cracked’ by milling. It’s more susceptible to absorbing moisture than dead flour that has sat on a shelf for months. So you may need to slightly adjust the water amount in your recipe or add more gluten to the mix to get the bread to rise. I personally avoid bread on rainy days and focus on tortillas and other flat or quick breads.

 

 

2. Measure correctly to avoid excess flour after grinding.

 

One of the BIGGEST reasons for grinding grains is the immediate release of all those nutrients. If you end up with a cup or more of flour just sitting there, oxidizing, dying and loosing nutrients...it not only wastes precious fresh flour - it defeats the purpose. A good rule of thumb to follow is: Grains usually produce half again as much as you put in the mill. For example: 2 cups of grain will produce approximately 3 cups of flour. Write the amount of grain next to your recipe once you have perfected it. Waste not want not!

 

 

3. Different (wheat) grains work better for different recipes.

 

Freshly ground whole wheat is wonderful! But not all recipes work the same with one type of wheat. A brief list of wheat types and food types is: HARD RED is best for breads and items that require high rising. HARD WHITE will also rise well, but has a less heavy ‘taste’ and ‘look’ than the red. Both can be mixed equally to make a deliciously light bread. SOFT WHITE is best for pastries and flat breads such as pancakes, tortillas and biscuits. Biscuits hold together better with soft white wheat - just don‘t twist that biscuit cutter.