KarenC

I too just got a Nutrimill and also orderd who grains. I have tried using soft white wheat, ground fine in some recipes that I've always made and my results are not great. Things seem to be "oiler" and a bit salty. Does freshly milled grain have more oil and a saltier flavor than the all-purpose flour I'm accustomed to using? I tried making rolled southern dumplings. The dough seemed much moister than before, I added a little more flour. After cutting them and adding them to the broth, rather than cook as usual, they simply 'melted' into the broth. Good flavor, though. Can anyone help me?

Thanks

Hi,

I too have a Wondermill and love it. Set the dial on pastry for the finest flour which seems to work the best in breads whether yeasted or not. If you do large beans or corn use the coarse setting. I have made some great cornbread with fresh ground corn and soft wheat flour. I posted a great book (The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book) that I have recently found after working with whole grain flour for close to a year and having o.k. success. Now my bread turns out with a nice rise, great crust and evenly airy. I highly recommend the book if you truly want to master whlole grain breads. I haven't found any other books that don't tell you that you must add some white flour to turn out a loaf.

Julie

Hi Re4..What type of bread have you tried making?

The article at www.pastryitems.com/baking_information.htm is no doubt useful but it's a bit UScentric....

-Elizabeth

P.S. <rant>I am always amazed when maps make it appear that the continental US is completely surrounded by ocean (ie: Mexico and Canada are not there even in faded outline)</rant>

Hi, tjkoko.

Your half-baked message to Elizabeth would have benefitted from more time in the oven at a cooler temperature. Remember to cool your posts thoroughly before slicing. 

David

Oh dear, I hadn't intended to offend with my comment about the pastryitems.com link! And rereading what I wrote, I do see that it looks a bit snot-nosed. (I still maintain that the map does look a bit ridiculous, especially when one considers that Canada grows a tremendous amount of the world's wheat.)

And if you'll scroll up, you'll see that I did post the percentage levels of the wheat flours readily available in supermarkets in Canada, along with links to wikipedia articles on various flours.

I did a little more sleuthing and am really surprised to learn that it's very likely that the whole wheat flour I buy is probably not 100% whole wheat:

In Canada, when wheat is milled to make flour, the parts of the grain are usually separated and then are recombined to make specific types of flour, such as whole wheat, whole grain, white cake and pastry flour, and all purpose white flour. If all parts of the kernel are used in the same relative proportions as they exist in the original kernel, then the flour is considered whole grain.

Under the Food and Drug Regulations, up to 5% of the kernel can be removed to help reduce rancidity and prolong the shelf life of whole wheat flour. The portion of the kernel that is removed for this purpose contains much of the germ and some of the bran. If this portion of the kernel has been removed, the flour would no longer be considered whole grain. [...] As sold in Canada, whole wheat flour may have much of the germ removed. Therefore, 100% whole wheat bread may not be whole grain. [...] Many foods containing whole grains will have the words "whole grain" followed by the name of the grain as one of the first ingredients. Products labelled with the words "multigrain," and "organic" are not necessarily whole grain - the flour or grains in the products may be made with or consist of little or no whole grains.

(excerpt from Health Canada: Whole Grains - Get the Facts)

-Elizabeth

P.S. Loved the cooling tip, David!

edit:
P.P.S. Shouldn't they have cut the Great Lakes in half on the pastryitems.com map too? ;-) <-- I hate to have to include the sideways winking face, but under the circumstances feel it's necessary.