October 12, 2014 - 4:56pm
New to Home Milling of Grains
Please help. I am new to home milling my own grains and my signature bread has always been Sourdough. My first loaf experience milling hard white wheat produced an intense wheat taste and I couldn't get my usual dark golden rustic crust like I'm used to. Is there anyway possible to get a white crumb and a traditional rustic dark crust like I'm used to when I baked with store bought bread flour? Maybe milling kamut and sifting out some of the bran? Please help!!
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Freshly milled grain will not give you the breads you are used to making with store bought flours. In my opinion, Whole Grain Breads is an excellent book to assist you in working with your whole grains.
Kamut is a tricky grain to work with when using it as all of your flour. WHile it is high in protein the gluten structure is weak and, while a 100% loaf can be achieved, it takes a lot of experimenting to get things 'just right'.
If you can't get a hold of a copy of WBG I suggest easing into using your grains while still using the flours you are used to working with. Like starting out with 25% whole grains and see what happens and go from there.
You might do a search using the search box above to check out loaves made by PiPs. He uses freshly milled whole grains that he has sifted in many of his breads. Taking a peek at his results will give you an idea of what you can achieve. HERE is a post on a 100% whole wheat desem loaf that he wrote about which you may enjoy.
Whole grains are thirstier so you will need to increase your hydration level and, due to all the minerals, vitamins and enzymes everything happens more quickly so you will have to adjust the amount of leavening you use. Whole grains also benefit from soaking to soften the bran.
Good Luck and have fun experimenting.