December 30, 2009 – 5:30 pm
With the new year coming up, have you decided to lay in your store of staples? Can you trust our moronic government in Washington DC to do the right thing? Heck, our president cannot even make a decisive decision – I think Hillary told him he could not vote “Present” when dealing with the troop increase in Afghanistan!
Well, if you have been getting your basics together, wheat will be one of the cornerstones. I prefer a hard red as the protein levels are good and it stores well! I purchase it in 50 pound bags, throw it in the chest freezer for a week to kill all bug eggs and then pack it in a6 gallon pail with a few oxygen absorption packets (see below.) You should do this with all flour/grain products!
It get my kids used to the whole wheat, I have been sneaking it into bread as of late. I have been baking a bunch of sour dough from a starter I got a few years ago. Usually, I blend 1/3 whole wheat with 2/3 white bread flour. My new recipe is compliments of Alton Brown (Good Eats!) and really has made it easy to make bread (lets say it is the lazy man’s way.
Recipe:
- 17.5 ounces (by weight) flour
- 1/4 tsp yeast
- 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 12 oz filtered water – I use my RO for that!!!
Mix the dry ingredients well, add the water and mix until it comes together. Place in a bowl and let it rise for 19 hours. Gently punch down after rising and form a ball (use flour as needed as this is a sticky dough). Let rest for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a board and form a ball. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 2 hours. remove the plastic wrap and score the top (1/2 inch deep) Place in a 400 F oven for about 35 min (be sure to turn about 1/2 way through. Let cool for 30 minutes (never happens in my house as the kids are cutting into it as soon as it is cool enough to touch!)
Enjoy it. If you want a chewy crust, place 1 cup of water in a pie tin and put on the floor of the oven when you place the bread in.
Now, for the whole wheat – I grind my own. I own a Wondermill and set it to the finest setting for making bread. If I want a more rustic bread, I grind it on medium.
The Wondermill is a great unit. After trying a few of my friends manual and electric models, this is the one I chose as it has a lifetime warranty, grinds a billion pounds of grain per hour (OK, I exaggerate, but I grind all that I need in just a few minutes!) It is adjustable for whatever coarseness of the flour you want, can handle any grain you toss in. And it is really easy to clean. One trick that I do is that I wet the little foam disk on the flour catch bin to keep the dust down.
I have owned one of these for the past 7 years when we took my son off of all wheat, etc. due to an elimination diet. What we found is that barring the purchase of King Arthur flour (at a buck a pound) we cannot match what comes out of our Wondermill.
Here is a link so that you can buy a Wondermill at a price which is better than what I paid for it 7 years ago – plus you get Free Shipping!
As for the oxygen packets:
Also, My buckets have a gamma seal lid. Since we use so much whole grain in the house, it is much better than prying a lid off. You should buy one and try it out – the best $8.00 I have spent. Grain is dry, easily accessible and bug free!
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