Freshly milled whole grains made delicious, nutritious, and practical
This Italian bread dough is by far the best I’ve made, at over 120% hydration. Thanks to using yudane, which is a paste formed by mixing flour with boiling water, I get these really big holes reminiscent of refined flour bakery bread yet enjoy the read more…
A rustic, crusty taste of Italy packs a nutritional punch with our Italian bread. Can be made with no additives!
Welcome to our comprehensive guide to answering all your burning baking questions! Whether you’re a novice baker or a seasoned pro, navigating the world of baking can sometimes feel like unlocking a delicious mystery. We’ve compiled a treasure trove of answers to common inquiries that will empower you to bake with confidence and creativity. From understanding essential ingredients to mastering techniques that elevate your bread and pastries, let’s dive into the world of baking questions and find the answers you’ve been seeking.
No, you do not need lecithin for excellent bread. Learn more about other essential ingredients that contribute to great bread in our comprehensive guide.
No, vital wheat gluten is not necessary for great bread, but it can enhance dough elasticity and rise. Discover how to incorporate it effectively into your recipes if desired, and alternatives.
These techniques create softer, less crumbly bread by using pre-cooked flour-water mixes. Explore alternatives and learn about their benefits in our detailed discussion. Also, compare Tangzhong vs. Yudane and Dr. Mel’s quick no wait yudane method.
Master the fundamental fresh milled bread-making method that applies to all types of bread. Understanding this process ensures consistent and delicious results every time.
Explore various baking temperatures and duration with our comprehensive Baking Bread guide to achieve the perfect crust and texture.
You can bake your bread at many temperatures, so follow our Baking Bread guide.
It depends on you and your goals. This post should help you out. There is also another great post on Spelt Nutrition
Understand the signs that indicate optimal kneading or mixing completion to achieve the desired bread texture.
Follow our recommended order of ingredient incorporation for efficient and effective bread dough preparation.
Learn about the windowpane test and its significance in dough development to achieve light and airy bread.
There are two stages of fermentation, the 2nd is called proofing while the first is called fermentation. They both follow the same rules. Recognize the signs of under-proofing and over-proofing in dough and how these affect the final texture and flavor of your bread.
In baking, knowledge is the key ingredient that transforms good recipes into exceptional creations. Armed with the insights from our baking questions guide, you’re now equipped to tackle any baking challenge with skill and precision. Remember, baking is as much about the journey as it is about the results. Embrace the experimentation, savor the process, and let your newfound understanding of baking fundamentals elevate every loaf, cake, and pastry you create.
Perfectly crunchy crust with a bigger holed, chewy crumb that’s also soft. Great replacement for that bakery Italian loaf you know and love.
One of the top questions in freshly milled flour groups is “how much grain mills one cup of flour”, but in different ways. My recipes are listed as grams of grain, while Sue Becker’s recipes are listed as cups of flour. Other recipes may list read more…
Your best option is always grinding grains by category, but sometimes you’ll want to mill a specific “type” of flour, such as bread flour, pastry flour, cake flour, or all purpose flour. Why and when? Let’s imagine you have a favorite recipe passed down by your granny, and you want to convert it to fresh milled flour. Her recipe lists bread flour, all purpose, or something else. Here is a guide on how to mill bread flour, cake flour and more.
To make bread flour at home, grind hard white wheat (and commercially the bran and germ are filtered out so it’s shelf stable). You get all the good stuff when milling fresh at home, and none of the side-effects of chemical “stabilizers” and whiteners used in commercial flour.
Mill: hard grains like hard white wheat, hard red wheat, durum, Emmer, Einkhorn, Spelt, Khorasan, or even rye.
Pastry flour, also known as cake flour, is made by milling all-purpose (a mix of hard and soft wheat) with some corn starch added. This can be beat by milling soft grains, and leaving the corn starch out.
Mill: soft grains like soft white wheat, spelt, barley, rye, or gluten free grains
All-purpose flour is made by milling a mixture of hard and soft grains. Avoid this common pitfall of milling your own all-purpose flour. Instead mill the type of grains best for the type of goods you are baking (pasta, bread, pastries).
Mill: a mixture of hard and soft grains – start with equal parts, maybe even 1 part soft wheat to 2 parts hard wheat.
We make self-rising flour by mixing baking powder into all purpose flour.
Mill: soft grains like soft wheat, spelt, barley, or rye and add 1 tsp baking powder per cup of grains.
Semolina flour is made milling durum wheat in a coarse grind. Durum wheat is the hardest of all the grains. Known for that characteristic golden color.
Mill: durum wheat berries slightly finer than corn meal.
Known as twice-milled durum, semola flour is made by milling durum wheat berries as fine as possible in the mill, sifting the bran and germ, and then milling it again.
Mill: durum as fine as you can get it, and then run it in a high powered blender like the Vita-mix to get it even finer.
It is unnecessary to double mill durum for great pasta, but you choose how you want to do it. I mill as fine as I can get it in my stone mill on the first pass. It works well whether made in my Phillips Avance pasta extruder or by hand. There are different recipes for both types of dough, however.
Take dried chickpeas and put them into your mill once it’s been turned on. Be sure your mill is capable of milling chickpeas. Stone mills such as the Mockmill are capable, but not all mills are the same. If you are shopping around brands, be sure to check before purchasing so you don’t possibly damage your stones making chickpeas into flour.
Grind a variety of gluten-free grains in your mill, so long as they’re not oily. Mill hemp seeds, chia, and flax seeds in a high-powered blender or manual mill with steel burrs. If they’re a small percentage of non-oily grains, you can mill them in a stone mill. Suitable options include sorghum, quinoa, buckwheat, rice, amaranth, and millet. This method saves you money and boosts the nutritional value. If you have Celiac’s disease, you MUST have a dedicated gluten free mill – as the particles left behind can injure someone with this disease. Never mill gluten-free grains in a mill that has also milled gluten-containing grains for a person with Celiac’s disease.
While it’s not the best option, I recommend purchasing from a local mill that does 100% extraction flour, and ships it fresh with instructions on how to keep it and for how long. It’s IMPORTANT to follow these instructions for best nutritional health. Check out Janie’s Mill for some 100% extraction flour.
1 cup of flour will range from 120 to 130 grams per cup. Some will specify 128 grams per cup. I use 125 grams per cup of flour.
Grains weigh the same amount whether whole or ground into fine flour. The only thing that changes is how much space they take up. This is one of SEVERAL reasons I prefer to mill by weight instead of cups and spoons.
I wrote an entire article on this very topic, with a chart that you may like – especially if you prefer to use cups and spoons instead of weighing things in grams.
Understanding which type of grain to mill depends on the category of baked goods you’re aiming to create. In baking, we typically categorize our needs into three main types: Pasta, Bread, and Pastries. PASTA Pasta is made without leavening agents and benefits from using the read more…
The journey into baking with freshly milled flour begins with adjusting your expectations, especially if you’re accustomed to the soft loaves found in supermarkets. Learning the nuances takes time, but starting with the fresh milled bread method sets a solid foundation for mastering the art of baking.
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful people who have supported me throughout this incredible journey. First and foremost, a huge shout out to my parents! Their unwavering support and willingness to dive into new adventures alongside me has been truly invaluable. My mother’s adventurous spirit mirrors my own. It brings me immense joy to see her embracing home milling with such enthusiasm. Meanwhile, my dad’s early lessons in spreadsheets and computers has been instrumental in this process.
To my patients, thank you for patiently listening to my enthusiastic “shouting from the rooftops” about the health benefits of milling your own whole grains. I’m sure there were days when you were silently pleading for me to change the subject. Your encouragement and interest spurred me on, pushing me to write this book even faster.
A special shoutout goes to my Cookbook Crew, who bravely tackled the roughest drafts of my book, tested each recipe, and provided invaluable feedback to ensure clarity and delicious results for all of you. Their dedication and feedback were crucial in shaping this cookbook.
Ray and my children (Andrew, Victoria, and Eli), along with our kind neighbors, deserve a huge thank you for their unwavering patience and willingness to taste test countless loaves of bread as my skills evolved. Ray, in particular, has been a pillar of support. He tolerates hours of baking, days spent hunched over my laptop, and endless monologues about bread.
I’m also grateful to my friends in various milling groups online and those I’ve worked with one-on-one. Your collaboration has been enriching; teaching me as much as I’ve taught you. Being a lifelong learner is vital, and I hope this book sparks that same passion for discovery in you.
A heartfelt thank you to Monique Bell from Lovely Bell Bakes for joining me on this journey. Your support and friendship have made this endeavor even more rewarding. Together, we can achieve so much more than we could alone, and I eagerly anticipate the day we can meet in person and share a warm embrace.
Last but not least, I want to express my gratitude to God for guiding me on this path. The journey to home milling flour wasn’t accidental; it was the culmination of many experiences over more than a decade. As a Christian, I believe in divine guidance, sometimes gentle whispers and other times nudges that propel us forward.
My journey with home milling began during chiropractic school. My daughter faced health challenges, leading us to adopt a gluten-free diet. Back then, gluten-free options were expensive, so I ground whatever grains were on sale into flour using my high-speed blender. Eventually, we discovered that the issue wasn’t gluten itself, but rather the quality of the flour. We switched to organic, chemical-free sources and later found Einkorn flour. This proved to be gentle on my youngest son’s eczema-prone skin.
When Einkorn flour became scarce, I recalled my resourceful days in school and milled wheat berries into flour at home. That decision marked a turning point. My energy surged, I forgot to take my vitamins because I didn’t need them. Consequently, my coffee intake decreased as my natural energy levels soared. Hydration and late-night workouts became routine, transforming our lives in unexpected ways.
This newfound vitality fueled my passion for freshly milled flour, and I began advocating its benefits far and wide.
As a lifelong learner unafraid to dive headfirst into new experiences, I quickly mastered handling whole grain flour. I also discovered that baking fresh bread from the mill can be simple and enjoyable. Whether you prefer the simplicity of single-grain bread or love experimenting with complex blends, the choice is yours.
You don’t need a bread machine or fancy equipment; just a way to grind flour from whole grains and a desire to savor wholesome, delicious bread with your loved ones.
I hope this journey sparks your own love affair with whole grains and healthy baking, creating meals that nourish both body and soul. May it be as fun and easy for you to share with future generations as it has been for me.
Now, let’s delve into why milling your own flour is not just a culinary choice, but a lifestyle that celebrates health, flavor, and joy.
You may also want to learn how to mill flour, and how to choose a grain mill.
You just finished baking your bread, but you must let it cool before you do. WHY? I really want to eat that hot, delicious smelling loaf of goodness. And after cooling, we need to talk about storing our bread.
