Here is what I’ve been up to for the last little while, learning, experimenting, and having a grand old time!
The bag of hard wheat berries was purchased at the Bulk Barn, a retail outlet that sells all kinds of things in bins, where you use a scoop to fill your own bag of product, and it is weighed at the checkout. Behind the wheat berries is the one gallon (4 liter) jar of flour, milled using the WonderMill, from the hard wheat berries. Eight cups of hard wheat berries milled to between 16 and 18 cups of whole wheat flour. I have made four loaves of bread with flour milled from these hard wheat berries, and the results are so very wonderful that I’ve ordered a 25 kg bag to put in my freezer. It won’t last all that long, as everything here is homemade, bread, pizza dough, muffins for Attila’s lunches… the list goes on. Eight cups of hard wheat berries milled to between 16 and 18 cups of whole wheat flour.Getting a good first rise with 100% whole wheat bread dough, in the bread machine, using the dough setting on the machine.A good rise! The 100% whole wheat bread dough has an excellent first rise!The bread recipe is for one loaf of bread. The loaf size is too large for Attila and I, and if I bake it as one loaf we find ourselves struggling to eat it all before it becomes stale. Homemade bread does not keep for weeks, as commercial bread seems to, and it is best consumed within a few days. My solution is to use the dough setting on the machine, and to divide the dough in half (ha! I tried, lol), do the second rise in pans, and bake it in the oven. One loaf is bagged and popped into the freezer as soon as it cools, and the other loaf is placed in a bag in the breadbox for immediate consumption. This much bread will last the two of us for almost a week, but not quite.
BOO! HISS! Snow is expected this afternoon. Oh well, it will soon melt away again.
Quote
“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.” James Oppenheim
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Eileen Barton
5 years ago
I am enjoying your journey into doing your own milling!
Maggie Turner
Author
5 years ago
Eileen, I am enjoying sharing the journey. Usually I don’t have this level of success on new ventures, so I am having a ball with this one.
Stubblejumpers Cafe
5 years ago
Are you using anything to condition your dough? (like lemon juice?). Or are you having this much success without?
I have been baking large batches of whole wheat bread since sometime in my thirties and never, ever, have I been able to make them all exactly the same size. No matter how hard I try. I’ve given up.
Your loaves looks great!
Kate
Maggie Turner
Author
5 years ago
Kate, I am adding an egg as part of the liquid ingredients, and 2 tablespoons of gluten flour to the dry ingredients. I’ve reduced the salt to 1/4 teaspoon per recipe using roughly 3 cups of whole wheat flour. I was adding the egg, the gluten flour and the reduced amount of salt to the store bought whole wheat flour and the results were completely different and disappointing, so the difference is down to the flour.
I’ve seen bread baking videos where people are using a scale to weigh the dough into even parts, but I couldn’t be bothered with that! I keep thinking I’ll learn to eyeball it, but no… but really, it makes no difference at all to us. I know you bake a lot of wonderful bread, so your comment on my loaves means a lot to me!
Your bread looks great! Are you finding the hand-ground loaves to be less – ummm – gritty than the commercial grind?
It’s a coolish but sunny day here, temp about 2C/36F. It looks like next week we start seeing more consistent 40+F temps. I’m all for that!
Over here, DH put in a new commode, yesterday. The dripping, caused by degrading metal components in the tank, is now gone. Yay! Can’t wait to see the change in our water bill.
Maggie Turner
Author
5 years ago
Thanks Teri! My loaves have never really been gritty, and the loaves pictured are the same in texture as a store bought loaf of white bread. I haven’t used any other types of flour yet though, such as rye, kamut, etc. so future loaves just might be gritty.
Beautiful day here today, a bit chilly, but that sun makes up for a lot of chilly!
Congratulations on another successful home renovation, it will be interesting to see what effect the fixed leak has on your water bill.
Stubblejumpers Cafe
5 years ago
On my Instagram today I posted a bread tip I picked up lately. In the sidebar of my blog, it’s at the top (till I post to IG again) and if you click on the image, it opens and you’ll see the accompanying text. -Kate
I am enjoying your journey into doing your own milling!
Eileen, I am enjoying sharing the journey. Usually I don’t have this level of success on new ventures, so I am having a ball with this one.
Are you using anything to condition your dough? (like lemon juice?). Or are you having this much success without?
I have been baking large batches of whole wheat bread since sometime in my thirties and never, ever, have I been able to make them all exactly the same size. No matter how hard I try. I’ve given up.
Your loaves looks great!
Kate
Kate, I am adding an egg as part of the liquid ingredients, and 2 tablespoons of gluten flour to the dry ingredients. I’ve reduced the salt to 1/4 teaspoon per recipe using roughly 3 cups of whole wheat flour. I was adding the egg, the gluten flour and the reduced amount of salt to the store bought whole wheat flour and the results were completely different and disappointing, so the difference is down to the flour.
I’ve seen bread baking videos where people are using a scale to weigh the dough into even parts, but I couldn’t be bothered with that! I keep thinking I’ll learn to eyeball it, but no… but really, it makes no difference at all to us. I know you bake a lot of wonderful bread, so your comment on my loaves means a lot to me!
yum!
Bex, I L O V E bread!
Your bread looks great! Are you finding the hand-ground loaves to be less – ummm – gritty than the commercial grind?
It’s a coolish but sunny day here, temp about 2C/36F. It looks like next week we start seeing more consistent 40+F temps. I’m all for that!
Over here, DH put in a new commode, yesterday. The dripping, caused by degrading metal components in the tank, is now gone. Yay! Can’t wait to see the change in our water bill.
Thanks Teri! My loaves have never really been gritty, and the loaves pictured are the same in texture as a store bought loaf of white bread. I haven’t used any other types of flour yet though, such as rye, kamut, etc. so future loaves just might be gritty.
Beautiful day here today, a bit chilly, but that sun makes up for a lot of chilly!
Congratulations on another successful home renovation, it will be interesting to see what effect the fixed leak has on your water bill.
On my Instagram today I posted a bread tip I picked up lately. In the sidebar of my blog, it’s at the top (till I post to IG again) and if you click on the image, it opens and you’ll see the accompanying text. -Kate
Thanks Kate!