Anyone try roasting wheat before grinding it? I saw an episode of "Good Eats" on Food Network where Alton Brown (Host) recommended roasting wheat berries in a heavy pan before soaking and using them in cereals. The idea was that the heat changed some of the simple sugars into more complex (flavorful) compounds.

I wonder if this would effect grinding, gluten development, rise (not as much sugar for the yeast), etc.? I found a few discussions on roasted flour here, but not roasted whole grains.

Phxdog (Scott)

Hello everyone.  I'm posting this as a feeler for anyone interested in whole, unground wheat berries.  We're a small farm in kansas, and are currently looking to cater to home-millers by producing and shipping custom amounts of wheat/rye/triticale depending on the demand for each.  We currently will have hard red winter wheat available as of about july or september, and depending on the interest, can make hard white winter wheat, rye, and triticale(a cross between rye and wheat) available as needed (by next year)  Please e-mail your interests, i.e, what kind of product you wish to see, typical amounts and shipping methods you wish to have available.  We want to be able to make our processes and services user-friendly, and meet the needs of as many people as we can.  Any suggestions are welcome.  kansas_winter_wheat@yahoo.com

I have a West Bend bread machine and can make excellent white bread that rises just up over the top of the pan perfectly every time. However, when I make whole wheat bread - and I've tried several recipes - it never rises - oh, it may rise 40% of the pan height at most, but that's it. My 1.5 lb. wheat bread load is less than half the height of my 1.5 lb. white bread.

Any suggestings on where to start looking for the cause? I have all fresh ingredients.

Thanks oodles!

Terry Farrell

Tampa, Florida

So, I got incredibly sick of really boring tasting bread, and decided that I would do something I've wanted to for a while, and make a wild yeast starter.  I'm... 4 days in, I think, and my baby is now having troubles.  I started with equal amounts of rye, whole wheat and unbleached white flour, and a few whole rye berries, and warm filtered water. I had bubbles in the first 24 hours, (and it was starting to smell a bit sour.) I've been feeding 1/3 cup of starter every 24 hours with 1/3 cup of white, unbleached, organic flour, 5 tsp of dark organic whole rye flour, and 1/3 cup of skin temp tap water. I rinse the jar, just so I don't get a bunch of dried junk on the walls and can see in, then I put it back in the jar, cover it with a dishtowel, and let it sit.  Its definately yeast in there, it smells like it. (ok, it smells kind of vile, like a yeast infection or something, but very very YEASTY) I've been feeding every 24 hours.  In terms of temp, its been fluctuating a lot. we've had days where its probably 85 or so, and then days when the house temp is probably closer to 65.  I'm not really sure how to keep the temp constant and warm. can't set it on top of the fridge because there is a cabinet there.

 so the problem is, its starting to die one me! or at least, its bubbling less. and it never really increases in size hardly at all.

does anyone have any suggustions? do I need to keep my baby warmer? how? do I need to feed it more often? something else? should I cap the jar instead of draping a towel over it?  Thanks :D

Hi! I am a bread noob so I'll offer a preemptive apology if this is a really dumb question!

I found a recipe that I'd really like to try, for just a coarse country-style bread, and it calls for bulghur. Not cooked or uncooked, just bulghur. My impression was that I would add it uncooked -- is this correct?

Whole Wheat Rolls

in response to harrygermany's post on November 11, 2007 which said in part