Grinding your own wheat looks a bit romantic from the outside looking in. Many people dive in head first when they hear about how much more beneficial whole grains are for your body. After all, there are 44 essential nutrients humans need, and of those, whole grains contain 40. Store bought flour is lacking in 90% of the original nutrients the grain contained. By sifting out the germ and bran, much nutrition is lost.
For more information about the benefits of whole grains, explore Sue Becker’s research here.
However, many home bakers that have been making loaves and fresh pastries at home can feel very frustrated when transitioning to whole grain flour. It is not the same as it’s store bought (sad) counterpart, and functions quite differently. In this article, I am going to share all my tips when working with whole grains.
One of the most important starting factors when using whole grains is your ability to grind them. There are many mills on the market today. Your options are stone ground mills and steel mills. Personally, I use a stone ground mill, the Harvest NutriMill to be specific. Whatever mill you decide to invest in, make sure it lets you adjust the coarseness of your grind. Certain items need different types of flour. For example, grits or fish fry need a coarse ground corn, cookies need very fine flour, and artisan breads do well with a medium grind.
Secondly, make sure you know what type of wheat performs best for the item you are cooking. For breads with yeast or doughs that you really need to bind together well, use hard wheats. Hard wheats produce more gluten when water is added, therefore creating more structure for your bread. Pastries, pancakes, cookies, and scones do well with a soft wheat. You can achieve a lighter texture and nice crumb with these grains.
Whole grain breads really enjoy being properly hydrated. I have found that when I am converting a bread recipe from all purpose to whole grain flour, I usually need to add more water or reduce the amount of flour used. Always assume in your bread baking that 7/8 cup of whole grain flour is equivalent to 1 cup of all purpose flour. Remember, you can add more flour to your bread dough, but you cannot remove it once it’s kneaded! Whole grain bread is also heavier due to the bran and germ still being present. A stickier dough will rise much better than a tough, dry one.
This next tip I have for you may seem a bit peculiar, given what I just shared about being sure to have hydrated bread dough. It has been my experience that batters like pancakes and waffles do not need near the amount of liquid I would use with a store bough all purpose flour. I think that it is due to the fact that the flour particles are a bit bigger. The particles do not disperse through the liquid as quickly as white flour does. When making any kind of pancake batter or wet batter, use a little less liquid and let the batter sit for 20 minutes before using. This will give the liquid a chance to absorb into the flour, creating a more uniform and thicker texture.
The last tip I would like to share today is that your pans and utensils matter tremendously. I had sad, flat looking sandwich bread when using whole grains until I changed to a Pullman loaf pan. It has seriously made all the difference in the world in my bread making! The boxy shape gives a perfect sandwich slice and the lid makes my dough rise in no time as it traps in warmth.
Try these whole grain recipes when you start your whole grain journey!
My go to Whole grain bread
I love this Whole grain focaccia
My children beg for these Whole grain donuts
This recipe is a breakfast staple Whole grain cinnamon swirl waffles
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