I have searched the site and am trying to find basics for making a freshly ground whole wheat starter. What measurements do I use for the water and flour (preferably in cups)? How often do I feed it? When do I refrigerate it? How do I replenish it? Like I said absolute basics =)

Thanks.

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

I was wondering if anyone had comments on using fresh skim milk vs. fresh whole milk in bread.  I've noticed that The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book and Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads both recommend fresh whole milk (though Laurel also uses nonfat powdered milk in some recipes).  Does anyone have an opinion on whether this makes a difference?  Obviously whole milk has more fat, but it would seem to me that this wouldn't make much of a difference if the recipe already included butter or oil (a quick search shows that whole milk has around half a gram of fat per tablespoon while oil contains 14 grams).  I've always used skim, but that's just because that's what I keep on hand normally.

Whole Wheat Rolls