Tonight I decided to make wholewheat cinnamon muffins with freshly milled wheat. This is a variation of different recipes I've used in the past.
2 cups freshly milled wholewheat
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 large egg
1 cup milk
pinch nutmeg
1.5 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp melted butter
Preheat the oven at 375F
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix the egg, melted butter and milk. Pour the wet mix into the dry and combine until they are mixed. Don't over mix. Divide the dough into 12 muffin and bake for 15-20min.
Friday, December 11, 2015
Flour, I never understood you until now
I'm glad I bought a mill and decided to give it a try. For 40+ years I've been eating food made with flour. Growing up we ate breads and pastries made with white flour. All this time, I thought I was tasting flour, but really I was missing the whole picture. After I got married, I switched to wholewheat bread and learned to like it. For many years I ate and enjoyed Mathews wholewheat sandwich bread.
The thing is, what I was tasting wasn't really wholewheat. It was the sugars and other flavors Mathews added to the bread. When I started going to Rose32, I was amazed at how awesome the breads are. Not just the french baguette, every loaf had a rich and complex flavor. Frank's loaf, local loaf and other whole grain loafs were simply amazing. I attributed it frank's skill, recipe, yeast and oven.
Baking with home milled fresh flour has really opened my eyes. Even though I don't have Frank's skill, yeast or Italian stone oven, the last 2 loafs I made have a bit of that richness it was missing. There are many things I like about modern technology and how it's improved the standard of living, but often I feel we too detached from nature. Eating freshly milled flour is making me see how detached we are from the soil. The richness our planet provides is there, but we've largely ignore it to the detriment of every creature living on this rock.
Part of me is angry and wants to scream "how the fuck did we get here?" Another side is thankful for people like Montana flour and make their products available. I really wish US culture would change and people would stop and notice how lucky we are. We live on a planet that provides us with soo much. It is our duty to treat this planet with greater respect.
The thing is, what I was tasting wasn't really wholewheat. It was the sugars and other flavors Mathews added to the bread. When I started going to Rose32, I was amazed at how awesome the breads are. Not just the french baguette, every loaf had a rich and complex flavor. Frank's loaf, local loaf and other whole grain loafs were simply amazing. I attributed it frank's skill, recipe, yeast and oven.
Baking with home milled fresh flour has really opened my eyes. Even though I don't have Frank's skill, yeast or Italian stone oven, the last 2 loafs I made have a bit of that richness it was missing. There are many things I like about modern technology and how it's improved the standard of living, but often I feel we too detached from nature. Eating freshly milled flour is making me see how detached we are from the soil. The richness our planet provides is there, but we've largely ignore it to the detriment of every creature living on this rock.
Part of me is angry and wants to scream "how the fuck did we get here?" Another side is thankful for people like Montana flour and make their products available. I really wish US culture would change and people would stop and notice how lucky we are. We live on a planet that provides us with soo much. It is our duty to treat this planet with greater respect.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Wholewheat loaf
I've been experimenting with wholewheat loaf for a few weeks. I'd been thinking about milling my own flour and didn't think it makes much difference. Boy was I ever wrong. The bottom line is home milled flour produces a loaf that is different in texture and flavor. Store bought wholewheat has a slight bitter after taste and it tends to be more dense. The flavor is richer and fuller with a naturally sweet after taste.
2 cups home mill hard red spring wheat
1 cup KA all purpose flour
1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1.5 cups warm water
Preheat dutch oven at 500F for 30min
I use the no-knead technique and let it rise at minimum 12 hours. With store bought wholewheat it tends to work better rising 14 hours. After the dough is formed into a loaf, I let it rise 35-45min and then bake it at 450F for 30 covered and 8min uncovered.
A couple of other notes. When I mixed the home milled flour, it mixes easier and absorbs the water much faster than store flour. I set my wondermill between bread and pastry flour, so that probably contributes to the texture. From a crumb perspective, the home milled flour is light and chewy. It's not as fluffy as 3 cups of KA all purpose flour, but the texture of the gluten tastes the same. Whereas with KA wholewheat flour, it is noticeably more dense and not as chewy.
I milled 6 cups, since that's what I need for this week.
The dough once it is mixed
The final loaf is a little lighter in color than store flour
2 cups home mill hard red spring wheat
1 cup KA all purpose flour
1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1.5 cups warm water
Preheat dutch oven at 500F for 30min
I use the no-knead technique and let it rise at minimum 12 hours. With store bought wholewheat it tends to work better rising 14 hours. After the dough is formed into a loaf, I let it rise 35-45min and then bake it at 450F for 30 covered and 8min uncovered.
A couple of other notes. When I mixed the home milled flour, it mixes easier and absorbs the water much faster than store flour. I set my wondermill between bread and pastry flour, so that probably contributes to the texture. From a crumb perspective, the home milled flour is light and chewy. It's not as fluffy as 3 cups of KA all purpose flour, but the texture of the gluten tastes the same. Whereas with KA wholewheat flour, it is noticeably more dense and not as chewy.
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