Does anyone let their muffin recipe soak for 1-4 hours if using freshly ground flour?  I have done so and they seem to have a really nice texture.  Like in bread, perhaps, the flour needs time to soak up moisture. Would this make a difference or am I just wasting time?

Thanks

Hi, i'm hoping someone can shed some light onto my problem.  I bake the whole wheat recipe from urbanhomemaker and i use fresh ground flour only.  My bread turns out beautiful when i don't use the 2-stage method , but when i soak the flour it just doesn't turn out quite right, i soak it overnight.  My problem is that it doesn't rise as high and the texture is crumbly.   My dough seems real nice, smooth and elastic when i put it in the pans so i'm confused as to why it doesn't turn out right.  My SIL uses the same recipe, same wheat, and hers turns out beautiful.  The only difference i know of is that she uses more milk than i do.  Could that be the problem?  Thanks! 

 I am really in a quandary here.

 Should I soak my WW grain/flour before baking with it,
 I never have I mill the hard wheat berries and

continue to make my bread, now some say the flour should be soaked to remove some nasty thats in there........ Help................. qahtan