Hard Red wheat variety question?
Hi,
I'm new here to the forums.
I've been baking whole grain breads on and off since the 1990's, but got away from baking much because I was bored with the stuff I get in the grocery store- whether conventionally grown or organically grown Hard Red Wheat, all the bread tasted the same to me.
Last summer at my local farmer's market north of San Francisco, I noticed a farm that I frequent had ground wheat and wheat berries- an Ethiopian variety and an Iraqi variety. I got two pounds each and experimented. The doughs were challenging to handle, they didn't have a strong gluten structure like the Hard Red wheat I was used to, but the flavor was amazing, even with less than perfect loaves.
I stumbled upon Peter Reinhart's book on Whole Grain Breads, and wow, his process really helped with handling the doughs. I then started searching the web for more flours, and fell in love with Sonoran White. A few weeks ago I found an Italian heirloom variety flour at another farm stand at my farmer's market- I'm now hooked on these heirloom varieties, despite some difficult challenges there have been with working with some of them. Right now I have more flour than I'll use in 3 months, but yet I still want to try others from Breadtopia...
These heirloom varieties have got me back to baking.
Which makes me wonder, for the past couple of decades I was buying Hard Red Wheat from Bob's Red Mill, King Arthur flour, etc, area all these Hard Red Wheat flours the same variety?
Just a few days ago, I found sprouted Red Fife at my local Whole Foods- I'm trying to use that using a sprouted dough recipe here at the forums, but the flour is not cooperating at all- I have a gooey mess, but I'll pan it up anyway, let it rise, then bake- my husband and I will eat fresh bread, no matter the shape! I'm going to try another loaf of Red Fife (unsprouted from Anson Mills) tonight using the recipe at Anson Mills- they use a Peter Reinhart recipe, but modify it a bit to deal with the nuances of Red Fife.
Hard Red Winter Wheat varieties
http://cropwatch.unl.edu/wheat/reds
The odd thing about Red Fife is that it can be a hard or soft, spring or winter wheat depending on where it is grown. It is the oldest variety of wheat in Canada and many varieties of wheat were and are being derived from it,. Red Fife is not resistant to many pests and fungi as the mew improved varieties derived from it, like Marquis that replaced it in the early 1900's and the later Thatcher variety but,for 40 years, Red Fife was the dominate wheat variety in Canada
It's becoming more feasible to produce and market locally grown grains and heirloom varieties due to the combined vision, cooperation, dedication and persistence of a group of educators, researchers, farmers, millers and bakers. Their efforts are making it possible for curious consumers, such as many of us at TFL, to explore these products. Each of us has a personal focus, whether it's to master traditional methods, to meet the challenges of new ingredients or to manage our own nutrition.
You already shop at your farmer's markets and local outlets, but the number and variety of them are expanding, too. I'd say the more you try and succeed, share and tell others. Your enthusiasm will ignite others'. Here are a couple of links to more information and recent events:
http://www.communitygrains.com/
http://thebreadlab.wsu.edu/
Cathy (WSU grad, College of Agriculture, and couldn't be more proud of my peers)
has worked with local farmers to bring back and supplement the varieties of local grains available most notably farro, Desert Durum. Sonora White and others. Also there are some native American Indians living on reservation lands that are also bringing back some native varieties like Ramona Farms Pima Club and Sonora White. In tomorrow's bake of 10 sprouted grains I am using 4 of them in the mix. Both Ramona Farms and Hayden Mills sell there grains and flours at local Whole Foods in WF's Grown Locally program
Supporting local farmers, coops and millers can only be good and has no down side.
dabrownman- Thank you for the link, I'm glad to see that there are a variety of hard red wheats being grown! Which now that I think about it makes sense depending on the local conditions of where the wheat is grown! Thanks also for the interesting history of Red Fife. I love the flavor, but it's proving to be a challenging flour to work with- more so than the other wheat varieties I've tried. I've read it doesn't need as much water as other flours, but it also likes a lot of kneading (according to Anson Mills website). Thankfully with Peter Reinhart's whole grain book, it's turing out edible, but the loaf is not pretty! I'm thinking about trying the Red Fife whole wheat flour at Breadtopia. I had found Hayden Mills last year- and to date, I do think that Sonoran wheat is my favorite as far as flavor. I have made some really nice bagettes with Sonoran wheat, and great pancakes!. I'm glad the Native Americans are getting involved in the project to bring back some varieties. This is so exciting!
nmygarden- Part of the other reason that I wanted to buy flour at farmer's market was to support the local growers. One farm, Front Porch Farm, ripped out grape vines in order to plant wheat! I applauded that effort- and wanted to support them, and was curious about their flour (an Italian heirloom, I just opened the bag tonight!). I found out about Community Grains about a year ago when their pasta showed up in a local market- I love what they are doing, and also love their pasta! And I did find the WSU bread lab just a few days ago! They have good information on their website too! Thanks!
but if it is the soft winter or spring variety it would be less suitable for bread making and would require less water and more gluten development.
Sonora White is a soft white wheat variety, is the oldest heirloom variety of wheat in the whole of North America. It was brought to the American Southwest by Jesuit missionaries moving north from Old Mexico. It is sometimes called Father Kino’s wheat.
Since it is lower in gluten that hard red winter wheat, it makes fabulous tortillas, thin pizzas, focaccia and French breads – especially traditional baguettes since it is the closest thing we have to authentic French soft white baguette flour. Pizza Bianco is the best pizza place in the USA. If you don’t believe me, all you have to do is go there – if you can get in. Here is a link that explains some of the history of Sonora White in the Southwest.
http://www.caneloproject.com/the-return-of-white-sonoran-wheat/
Another interesting read about my favorite whole wheat flour. I've tried Sonoran White Wheat from three different sources, one from a farmer a couple of hours away that raises sheep and uses the wheat to enrich the soil, one from a family grain farmer in Grass Valley in California, one from Hayden Mills. The Hayden Mills flour was the finest ground, but I love them all! Next time we're in Phoenix, we'll have to try to get into Pizza Bianco. I agree that the Sonoran makes a fabulous baguette...
I don't know what type of Red Fife was- it was from Anson Mills- I think they grow it in North Carolina. (or South Carolina?). I want to next try to get Red Fife from Breadtopia. I'm actually thinking about getting a mill to grind my own...
for sale for $150. it isn't a $400 plus Komo mill but I use a Nutrimill that makes plenty good enough flour for bread and the WM makes exactly the same kind of flour.
So if you are in the Phoenix area for Bianco's you can save $50 on a,mill too.