April 7, 2009 - 5:15pm
Bread Books for Home Milled Flour
Hello, just a quick question which I don't think I've seen addressed here, but are there any Bread cook books that are targeted for those of us who mill our own flour at home?
Thanks,
Dennis
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Belief has no affect on reality.
My Website: http://www.roadtobetterliving.com
Share
I have a book by the Family Grain Mill. I have not found it useful. Now I have not tried to make a 100% whole wheat loaf. But I have used fresh gound flour in recipes from Hamelman, BBA, Laurerl's Kitchen, etc and not had any problem. I know there are lots of other home millers here that may know more. I would just say start using it. You may need to add more water but other than that you should be fine. Hope this helps.
I use Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads. Everything I have done so far has come out fine. I have also used Lauren's Kitchen book.
I have a couple of books targeted to the home miller and they are not very useful.
My approach is to use the mill-bake-observe-tweak formula/tweak milling method to get the bread I want.
That said "Bread..." is an excellent resource for learning about flour - which should be of interest to a home miller.
Hope this helps.
IMHO, there are no reputable bread books that address baking bread with home milled flour in any competent and comprehensive manner.
Your best resource is right here - TFL - as there are many home millers (past and present) who discuss this issue and produce beautiful breads.
It is unreasonable to think that a cookbook author can seriously address baking bread with home milled flour. There are too many variables in home milling. For example...
> what equipment is the home miller using?
> what type(s) of grain did s/he purchase?
> what was the growing season and storage conditions of the purchased grain prior to purchase?
> how long has the baker stored the grain, and under what conditions?
> is the home miller varying the fineness / coarseness of the milling?
> how soon does the home miller use the flour for baking after milling?
> how does the home miller store the flour that is home milled? for how long?
If you are a cookbook author attempting to write a baking book for home millers, you would throw up your hands in despair. That's why good authors of baking books don't go into this topic.
If you're a home miller, you'll have a big grin on your face. The pleasure of home milling is that, with some experience, you control your flour. You can create a wide variety of flours from grains and beans. You can create wonderful breads that make use of these variations. It is a never-ending adventure which I heartily recommend.
Everyone here has made good points... It seems that the many variables in making bread from home milled flour do need to be taken into consideration when making a bread book.
Like subfuschpersona mentioned, I guess I will just need to peruse the forum and look for others who home mill and compare notes.
Subfuschpersona also was right when he says we have control over our flour and can make many different kinds even bean, rice, corn, soy and other flours.
Thanks everyone for the feedback and suggestions. I'll continue to search the threads here and elsewhere for home milled recipes and information.
Dennis
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Belief has no affect on reality.
My Website: http://www.roadtobetterliving.com
I'm not sure whether this is regarded as a "reputable" book or not, but a couple years back I read a book on home-milling called "Flour Power". It seemed at the time fairly comprehensive, but it was before I got into baking and I haven't had an opportunity to review it since learning more about bread-making. Might be worth a shot, though, at the library. If I recall correctly there was advice about adding ascorbic acid (PR mentions this in his Whole Grains book) and also, I think, garbanzo bean flour. There was at least one basic recipe. There was a lot of information about the benefits of home milling, and about the history of milling in general.
And I did not find it all that useful. Then again, I am not a whole grain purist, nor was I a beginning baker when I started milling.
I was a little put off by long, preachy chapters about the virtues of whole grains. The recipe section is minor. The recipes are all in volumes which, in my opinion, is a flaw.
The bread recipes are entirely for panned or bread machine breads (I'm looking at the book right now) so may be of lesser interest to "artisan" bakers. I am a little shocked at the 1/4 tsp of ascorbic acid added to a mere 3.5 cups of flour in one of the bread recipes. That's a nice, tight crumb... There are recipes for muffins and cakes - which frankly are no different than standard recipes with whole wheat flour used in place of white.
I also find that milling topics are covered in a way that shows the author's "foodist" agenda. Since I am the maniac intent on milling my own white flour, you might guess that I have little patience with giving short shrift to essential topics (such as aging and malting) (and no one ever talks about tempering in a home milling text although it is essential for what I do) or covering them in a way that is intended to be incomprehensible so as to put off the budding miller because they do not fit the author's agenda. I don't appreciate that.
There are extensive sections on how to choose a mill - which might be good for someone who doesn't yet have one.
This is not a "go to" book for me for milling and certainly not for recipes. I would not particularly recommend its purchase for someone looking for recipes.
I make no secret that "Bread, a Bakers Book of Techniques and Recipes" was a transformative book for me - both for bread baking and milling. For my milling, reading about and understanding flour qualities from a baker's perspective really helps me in my evaluation process. Mr. Hamelman speaks as a baker intent on producing good bread. This is an agenda I can get behind. And of course, his formulas are without peer.
Someday I'll let y'all know what I really think :>)
Happy Baking!
I'm curious what mill you use?
I use a Diamant. Currently it is hand cranked.
This is a very pricey, very beautiful mill. I love it.
Hope this helps