Milling and Cooking with Fresh Whole Grains - Tip #2 Part 1: The Waste Not Want Not War

Tip #2 - The Waste Not Want Not War - Part One.

For some people, being a good or frugal steward of their resources is learned by example or it just comes naturally.  Not so for me.  Learning how to measure and gauge the amount of whole grains to mill each time I baked took some time and effort.  Along the way I wasted excess grain or used 'old' flour which had been milled days before only to keep from waiting it - all the while knowing the older flour was not what was BEST for us nor was using ’old’ four the reason I mill grains in the first place.  Because of my desire not to waste our supply of grain and to not eat 'old' flour, I had to devise a cunning plan to keep from wasting the flour once it had been milled. 

By trial and error, I found that there are two means of being sure to make the most of the grains and not waste the flour they produce.  Measuring accurately before milling is the first of my two weapons in this Waste Not Want Not War.

Let us look at how to measure properly before we mill those little kernels of nutritional 'gold'.  Most wheat, spelt and rye (kernels that are the size and shape of a grain of rice) will make one third again as much flour as the measured whole grain itself.  For example:  If I place 1 cup of the described type of grain in my Nutrimill and grind it on the finest ground setting, I will end up with approximately 1 and 1/3 cups of flour.  So to make my usual whole wheat bread recipe which calls for 3.25 cups of flour, I know that I can measure 2.5 cups of wheat (I mix 1 cup of Hard Red Winter and 1.5 cups of Hard White Spring) and end up with about 3 and 1/3 cups of fresh, ready-to-use whole flour. The tiny bit left that does not go in the recipe, dusts the counter for forming the loaf!  

The larger the grain the more flour/meal it will produce, up to half again as much.  Buckwheat and corn will mill almost half again as much flour per measured grain. After a little bit of figuring I have not had nearly any waste of fresh flour for most of my regularly prepared recipes. Also, don’t forget, I have another weapon in my arsenal of this Waste Not Want Not War.  That is your NEXT Tip!