Breadmaking: About Freshly Milled Grains

Breadmaking is both an art and science. You have to understand the process, as well as the ingredients you are using to make the healthiest and freshest breads possible. You may not realize that time is a very important factor to consider to avoid rancidity and other problems when milling and baking. Here are some more tips about freshly milled grains and how you can prepare these to get the best results.

About Milled Grains

There are 25 vitamins, proteins and minerals, plus high fiber from freshly milled flour of whole grain berries. Since grain is naturally preserved inside its shell, it is vital to preserve the entire grain until the final moment to get the most nutrients possible. Natural occurring vegetable oils are encapsulated so that these do not spoil quickly in the whole grain kernel.

As soon as these are milled, flour can get rancid in a short time, because vegetable oils are released. A number of studies present that vitamin loss happens within 3 hours after milling. To make the healthiest breads, you have to mill and bake within 3 hours. Flours left on the shelf for several months have already lost parts of their C and B complex vitamins.

Durum Wheat, Hard Wheat and Soft Wheat

Durum wheat contains high levels of protein, although these create lemon yellow mealy flour referred to as Semolina, such as the one used for making past. Kamut can also be used to make pasta. Hard white spring wheat, referred to as Prairie Gold and Golden 86 can also be used to make bread. This is a hybrid, wherein the bitter compounds of the bran are bred out. The grain is lighter and sweeter, making it an ideal ingredient in making pizza dough and French bread. Soft white winter wheat is referred to as pastry wheat and is used for cookies, pies, pastries, biscuits, muffins and cakes.

The high gluten grains are kamut, spelt and hard wehat. These result to high rising breads containing high levels of protein. Hard wheat can also make yeast bread. Kamut grain and spelt grain lead to yeasted breads. There are several other nutritional grains, although these should be mixed with wheat to create yeast bread.

More on Grains

Changing the grains used can lead to a certain recipe. For example, 10% to 20% of rice flour results to crunchier cookies. Mixing soft white wheat and red wheat 2:3 leads to soft yeasted rolls. Mixing oat flour and soft wheat 1:3 leads to cake flour ideal for a very delicate chiffon cake. Other flours like grains or beans can be substituted for wheat flour in bread recipes, in turn, presenting its own special features. Spelt and kamut do not have adequate gluten inside to successfully raise yeast bread. You can add 1/6 cup of wheat flour to the mix to get high rising breads.

On Wheat Flour

Wheat flour has the highest gluten, a type of protein. It is also that portion of the grain that leads to elasticity, when kneaded. The substance trapping the carbon dioxide provided by the fermenting yeast provides rise and texture to the bread.