Grinding your own wheat
 

I grind my own wheat with my kitchenaid mixer and the grinding attachment. Then I use it to make bread, bagels, english muffins etc. It makes a "heavier, more course" product, which my husband loves. I have also replaced part of the regular flour in other recipes for cakes, cookies, ets. I have even used it to make gravy. Most of the time it works really well. BUT......sometimes the bread doesn't turn out just right. Does anyone else grind their own flour to make breads? Any tips? Thank you.

Have you ever tried adding a dough conditioner or vital wheat gluten?

My daughter grew some wheat as a project with the kids this past summer. She gave me a jar of wheat berries. I thought if I toasted the berries first it would taste better. I put berries in a non stick fry pan over med low heat until they started to pop. After I let them cool, we ground it using my little kitchen aid coffee grinder. It took awhile but we got it almost to the texture of flour. When I make wheat bread I usually use 1 cup of ap flour and the rest whole wheat. I add 2-3 tb of vital wheat gluten and get
a nice loaf of bread. I tried making the same recipe but used about 3-4 cups of the ground up wheat berries instead of
my normal whole wheat flour. I found that it would not rise past 3" high. There was no bloom when put in the oven.
The bread was totally baked through and delicious. I have baked bread for over 40 years and ran a bakery. From what I understand, by toasted the berries I changed some of the sugars in the wheat...not sure but it was good. I haven't tried it again but when I do, I will only add about 1 cup of this ground up flour and see how it comes out.

I mill my flour that I bake bread with. (I use a Zojurushi bread machine.) I had to add wheat gluten so that it would rise and not be a heavy, dense loaf.

grinding wheat
 

I have used my grinder ( a stone mill) for years. If you will go to the health food store they will tell you what to do. I'll bet it'll be bread conditioner. Look online (google) for wheat bread recipies. You'll find a lot. Good luck

I have a Magic Mill grinder that I have been using for 25+ years and make my own bread also. I wanted my growing family to have the best bread that we could provide but couldn't afford to purchase ready made in the quantity that I would need for a family of 6. Personally we like our bread dense and heavy but you can get a lighter loaf with the right recipe. I don't add any conditioner and if you use hard wheat for your bread you shouldn't need to add any vital wheat gluten either. I do use wheat gluten if I mix grains into bread that are low in gluten or contain none. Soft wheat is used for quick breads, cakes, muffins, etc. Hard wheat is higher in protein and gluten and is used for baking yeast bread. When the children where growing up I would use empty apple juice or pineapple juice cans to bake bread in the oven. I could get 6 loaves or more in the oven at a time that way. One day my second son came home from school complaining that one of the children refused to trade sandwiches with him at lunch because he had round bread. I told him to tell that child that he had his bread custom made to fit his bologna. To my annoyance they have all grown up to be commercial white bread consumers but when I visit I still bake their bread for them.

I too grind my own flour. I use Spelt berries I order from Montana Wheat. I make my own dough enhancer (about 1 Tbspn per loaf)--there are many recipes for this on line. I usually add 1/2 cup white flour to each loaf of bread (I make 4 loaves at a time using a bread mixer). I generally make 8 - 12 loaves on baking day, slice, and freeze the bread. This produces a hearty but beautifully textured wheat bread that everyone loves--rises well and stays moist and fresh longer. The dough enhancer is all natural ingredients that improve rise and extends shelf life. Been doing this for years.

I grind my own wheat too but I have a stone grinder that allows me to grind finer. A trick a friend of mine told me to add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice for every 2 1/2 cups of flour. I think any acidic eatable liquid would work. It developes the gluten.
Lynda

I do grind my own sometimes in a vita mix. Anyone got any good recipes?

I don't grind my own wheat, but I have a recently discovered a fabulous website and I love their products. It's King Arthur Flour. Their recipes are fantastic, my family loves them! Good luck.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/?go=C...FQSf4AodI2cASw

I don't grind my own wheat (yet. But I have this urge once in awhile. We'll see how long I hold out.)

But for anything bread related, I recommend the forums at www.thefreshloaf.com

I know they have lots of people there who grind their own, and any bread-related question you can think of, someone can answer. The forums are also searchable, so you might be able to find answers and tips in past threads.