Real Ground Wheat = Brown dense brick shaped loaves in my experience. Is something else possible?

Let me start by saying I'm a HUGE Sourdough and Italian bread fan so I'm basing this as my basis to whether or not fresh ground wheat is the way to go for my tastes. I grew up in a town with a large Italian population and probably 3 or 4 busy large scale Italian bakeries and several smaller ones. So nearly the entire town ate the Paielli's or Cardinali's loaves that were fresh every day in the grocery stores. Not many bought Wonder needless to say.