Please talk to me about grain mills

[MMGerard]

A friend gave us some local wheat and another friend let us borrow her Nutrimill grain mill. We read the instructions and ground the wheat into flour but have a couple of questions - The flour is mostly fine but with little bits of what appear to be cracked wheat (bran?) in it. I tried to make bread with my usual whole wheat sourdough recipe, but the texture of the dough was very strange, almost crumbly. It was difficult to knead, and never really felt like bread dough; it was more like something that would have been used to make crackers. (Incidentally, I did make crackers out of some of the dough, and they tasted remarkably like Kashi crackers!) The bread was edible, but strangely textured and rather crumbly...

So, did I not grind the wheat properly? I had it set as fine as it could be set. Should I have run the flour through for another pass? Or is home-ground wheat just supposed to be like that?

Please educate me and share your home grinding experiences!

[WuWei]

I don't know much about grinding wheat. But, I've heard that wheat needs to sit for a while after grinding before use, unless used in the first 24 hours. Hopefully, someone will clarify. I believe it was something about the gluten in it. Maybe that caused your bread to be different??


Pat

[MMGerard]

Thank you, Pat. I'm trying again tonight; it will have been 24 hours since we ground the wheat, so we'll see whether that makes a difference.

[WuWei]

Originally Posted by MMGerard

Thank you, Pat. I'm trying again tonight; it will have been 24 hours since we ground the wheat, so we'll see whether that makes a difference.

The debate seems to be that there isn't enough gluten in freshly ground wheat. That if it sits for at least 14 days, iirc, then more gluten strands are present in the bread. NO idea how the chemistry of that works. But, nutrients are lost within 72 hours of grinding!! So, most folks add gluten, I believe. ??

Here is a thread with a bit of discussion about it. http://www.mrssurvival.com/forums/ub...&Number=203831

Here is a bunch of info about freshly ground wheat flour. It says to use within 14 days. LOL

For centuries, bakers have known that 'good quality' baked goods could not be made with freshly milled flour, because the dough would lack strength and resilience to trap gas. Until the 20th century it was common practice of storing flour for months to allow oxygen to condition it. However, as well as storage costs, spoilage and insects caused losses. Chemical oxidizing agents or bleaches were developed to produce the same aging effects in 24-48 hours (Baker's Digest, 1962). They cause one of two effects: oxidation of the gluten (so less sulfhydryl groups are left to disturb disulfide bonds that need to form during dough fermentation for the bread to rise), and bleaching of the yellowish carotene pigments which could have been sources of vitamin A (Thomas, 1986; Jenkins 1975; Freeland-Graves & Peckham, 1987).
http://eap.mcgill.ca/Publications/EAP35.htm


Btw, you might consider soaking your grains or flour when making bread to decrease phylates and increase nutrient bio-availability.


Pat

[MMGerard]

Fascinating! So what we think of as good bread might actually be the result of using stale flour?

My bread is a sourdough - I make a sponge the night before using fresh flour, honey, salt, water, and sourdough starter. That sits overnight and then I shape it into loaves and let rise until doubled (another couple of hours). That process should take care of the phytates, right?

[abaad]

I have a Nutrimill and grind all my flour for making bread. I find it's just the quality of wheat that makes a difference. It has nothing to do with the mill. Some wheat isn't as good. I use it for pancakes. I really like hard white wheat for making bread.

[WuWei]

Originally Posted by MMGerard

Fascinating! So what we think of as good bread might actually be the result of using stale flour?

My bread is a sourdough - I make a sponge the night before using fresh flour, honey, salt, water, and sourdough starter. That sits overnight and then I shape it into loaves and let rise until doubled (another couple of hours). That process should take care of the phytates, right?

By fresh flour, I assume you mean freshly ground yourself? And the sourdough apparently alters the ph and helps to neutralize the phylates. But, I'm no sourdough expert, or any kind of bread expert. LOL I'm just trying to understand the chemistry of it. But, from what I've read, you need an acid medium to neutralize the phylates. I believe that sourdough starter + time does that.


Pat

[WuWei]

Originally Posted by abaad

I have a Nutrimill and grind all my flour for making bread. I find it's just the quality of wheat that makes a difference. It has nothing to do with the mill. Some wheat isn't as good. I use it for pancakes. I really like hard white wheat for making bread.

Ok, what makes a "good" wheat? And how to know??? Is it how it is stored, or organic, or the age, or the type of wheat...


Pat

[~Shanna~]

I'm thinking about buying a grain mill, but this thread makes me nervous - so I should be okay if I can get ahold of hard white wheat?