wheat

I am a firm believer in the idea that the less processed a food is, the healthier it is for you. I figure anything I can do to food at home is okay, but the stuff they do in factories is suspect.

Given that, it should come as a surprise to people that I have never canned my own fruit, and, until yesterday, had never actually ground wheat and made bread from the flour. I've made flour before, but only a cup or so because first I didn't have a wheat grinder. Then I borrowed my parents, but forgot the pan. Then my dad made me a pan, and I had a new baby. Then we moved.

But yesterday, I was busy making "Pulla Yeast Coffee Bread," purportedly a Finnish treat, and discovered after everything but the flour was in the bowl that I had about 5 cups of white flour, and needed about 9. So Tim dug up the borrowed wheat grinder, and I dug up the very old cans of food storage wheat, and we had a little (noisy) adventure.

Turns out that home-ground wheat is a little coarser as flour than storebought, overprocessed wheat flour. But I followed the instructions closely and let the dough sit for 15 minutes before I let my kitchenaid knead it, and the dough came out smooth and satiny and soft and tender and just perfect. I was floored. The "chewing on a kernel of wheat" flavor disappeared, too, leaving us, in the end, with the tenderest, best-textured wheat bread. It was really good, and, even with half white flour, really filling and nourishing-feeling.

So now I'm fairly satisfied that home-ground wheat CAN make good, soft, pleasant-textured bread. Now I have to see if it can be done without any white flour added. Just as soon as we finish these 3 big loaves of braided coffee bread.