Amazing Grains

I know that I've talked about it before, but I just have to share the love again. I am in complete and utter love with grinding my own flour. Not only is it economical and nutricious, but it's the freshest, best tasting flour I've ever used! I literally use all whole grain flours in my baking now, and the baked goods come out really light and delicious. The white wheat flour has a sweet and slightly nutty flavor.

One of my favorite flours to grind is white wheat pastry flour. It's truly unbelievable, and a flour that's not sold commercially. I start with soft white wheat berries (from Bob's Red Mill), which I buy in a 25 pound bag. Then about once a week, I grind the berries into a beautiful, silky white wheat pastry flour. I do the same with hard white wheat, which I grind into a really nice bread flour. It makes a fantastic whole grain sandwich loaf, which is my new, go-to bread of choice. Next up is home-ground spelt flour.

Of course there are many other flours that I grind regularly. Garbanzo beans, black beans, pinto beans, red lentils and yellow split peas all make great flours. With the bean flours, you can make instant refried beans and silky soups (including split pea). They're also great for thickening sauces, soups and gravies too. Oh and let's not forget rice. Rice flour makes a nice crisp coating for tofu, but it's also wonderful in gluten-free baking too.

The grain mill that I use for grinding flour is The Wonder Mill. It's easy to use, super easy to clean, can grind 100 pounds of grain in an hour and has a strong, powerful motor. I keep it in my cupboard and pull it out as needed. It's not heavy, so it only takes a couple of minutes to set out on my counter.

I can't help myself. I'm becoming a whole grain junkie!

White Wheat

As most of you know, I love my kitchen toys, and the grain mill is no exception. I've blogged about the mill before, but I thought it was a good time to revisit it again. First of all, there is nothing liked home milled flour. Absolutely nothing. Especially if you are a baking nut like myself, and a beautiful silky flour gets you going. When you grind your own wheat, the resulting flour is beautiful, soft, sweet and flavorful. It really is something to behold.

Now don't get me wrong. I do still buy some flour, such as white pastry or unbleached all-purpose (or vital wheat gluten), but I'm finding that white whole wheat flour works beautifully in so many recipes. White wheat often goes undetected in many of my baked goods, which is a great thing with a houseful of teenagers. My kids certainly wouldn't choose "healthy" tasting cookies, not in a million years, but I want them to get all of the wonderful benefits of whole grains. This is where white wheat has been my savior. No one detects a "healthy" taste, whether it be pancakes, chocolate cakes, cookies or breads. This is a very good thing.

So when I received an email last week, asking if I might be interested in purchasing some white wheat from Montana, my interest was piqued. It seems that a former student of mine became alarmed with the rising cost of wheat, and the lack of white wheat available. If you haven't heard yet, the cost of wheat has nearly doubled, and apparently white wheat is now hard to find. So she contacted a farm and was able to lock in a fantastic price, so long as she purchased an entire semi-truck load. We're talking thousands of pounds of wheat. The unbelievable thing is that she found homes for all of the wheat right away. Amazing. She's thinking about doing it again, and asked if I would help put the word out to see if there's enough interest for her to place another order. If you're interested, email me at the blog and I can put you in touch with her (blog@everydaydish.tv). You would need to be able to get to the Portland area to pick it up, and they are 50 pound bags. She isn't making a penny on this. She justs wants to help people out.

So, needless to say, not only is grinding your own flour fun, but it's an adventure too. Now, I just need to find a good use for my red lentil flour. Any ideas?


Oh, and before I sign off, we have a new recipe and video up on everyday dish. Peanut sesame noodles, which are perfect warm weather fare. I promise you will love them, and if you have any peanut allergies in your household, just substitute another nut, seed or soy butter for the peanut.

Happy cooking!