Grinding your own flour

[KnittyGritty]

I plan to start grinding my own flour to make my sourdough bread, once I get a grain mill. Do I understand this right - if you grind the wheat berries and use what is ground, you have whole wheat flour, but to get white flour, you need to sift out the bran and germ? I also read that freshly ground flour must be aged at least a month to be effective in baking; is this truth or hogwash? I'd love to hear from those of you who are experienced in grinding your own flour. Thanks!

 

[moolie]

I plan to start grinding my own flour to make my sourdough bread, once I get a grain mill. Do I understand this right - if you grind the wheat berries and use what is ground, you have whole wheat flour, but to get white flour, you need to sift out the bran and germ? I also read that freshly ground flour must be aged at least a month to be effective in baking; is this truth or hogwash? I'd love to hear from those of you who are experienced in grinding your own flour. Thanks!

I am far from expert, but here is what I know from my own reading and experiences grinding my own and baking over the past few years:

-Yes, if you grind wheat berries you get whole wheat flour

-Wheat is made up of 3 parts: bran, germ, and endosperm or farina--if you can sift out enough bran and germ you are indeed left with white flour (the endosperm/farina portion)

-If you age whole wheat flour, the bran and germ which contain lots of natural oils (and many fat soluble nutrients) WILL go rancid and you not only with have nasty tasting bread, but also be losing out on all the benefits of grinding fresh flour. I grind immediately before mixing and baking everything I make with my flours.

YMMV

 

[moolie]

Oh, and store bought whole wheat flour is NOT "whole" wheat flour like you can grind at home unless it is specifically labeled as "stone ground" (and thus more expensive)--most commercial whole wheat flour is white flour with bran and germ added back. And by the time you get it at the store the original nutrients are defunct, thus why flour is "enriched".

 

[k15n1]

"Whole wheat" is white flour with a little bran added back in. Very little. It's completely different from what you will get out of your mill.

While it's true that flour will eventually go rancid, it takes many weeks or months. I don't have any proper sources, but 1-3 weeks of aging seems to be the consensus. However, bakers differ in opinion. And flours differ, too, so you might just have to try it out and see what you get.

I've baked with fresh and aged flour from my mill. The fresh flour produces a denser loaf. No one in my family minds---it gets eaten one way or the other. Some people prize light fluffy bread but that's an aesthetic value. It's easier to choose to eat a slightly denser slice of bread than learn how to make white flour!


Speaking of flour and sifting, I was reading about infestations of wheat the other day and read that bugs are not a problem in commercial white flour. Apparently, sifting was useful for getting proper measurements of flour AND for getting the bugs out. As long as the flour is contained, there are not sufficient nutrients to support bugs growing in there.

 

[Hinotori]

The white and whole wheat flours at the store don't have any germ in them. That's where the oil and most of the vitamins are and is what goes rancid pretty quick.

I've been told that bleached flour doesn't normally have weevil issues because the process kills the eggs. I have gotten them in the unbleached flour that I normally buy.

Grandma's policy was always to use up the flour fast so that there were no issues.

 

[k15n1]

The white and whole wheat flours at the store don't have any germ in them. That's where the oil and most of the vitamins are and is what goes rancid pretty quick.

I've been told that bleached flour doesn't normally have weevil issues because the process kills the eggs. I have gotten them in the unbleached flour that I normally buy.

Grandma's policy was always to use up the flour fast so that there were no issues.

I'm hand grinding mine, so I rarely have much left over. It's a real adjustment, doing this all by hand. Really gives me an appreciation for the high-tech white flour at the grocery store that goes for 0.20 $/lb. Amazing.

 

[Hinotori]

I've had to give up on eating much flour. Gives me nasty heartburn for hours. I have much less issues with real whole grain black bread or Dave's Killer Bread. Only have issue if I eat to much of them, but I think that's an over eating issue at that point. Pasta doesn't affect me.

So since the Durum doesn't do anything to me, I'm thinking it's wheat type that I have issue with. I should pick up some spelt at Winco and grind it up and try it.

I just have a little Kitchenaid attachment mill. I usually run it through on coarse then back through on fine. I want that Diamant mill that Lehmans carries. https://www.lehmans.com/p-45-diamant-grain-mill.aspx OMG that thing ran so smoothe I could turn it with my pinky and no effort. I've been jonesing after it for years.

 

[KnittyGritty]

Thanks, everyone! I would probably grind mine a little ahead of time, since I'm starting with a manual grinder, and freeze it so it will be ready when I want to bake my sourdough. I've been reading Nancy Silverton's Breads from La Brea Bakery that a friend loaned me, and in the book it says that you should use at least 1/3 white flour, so your bread will rise better. I finally perfected a loaf, but I used store flour, all white, and now I'd like to try adding other types of flour, maybe even sprouting, dehydrating, and grinding the sprouted grains for sprouted flour, and I'd like to try einkorn and/or spelt, too. I love being able to make good bread with just starter, flour, water and salt! And it's SO good, especially toasted!

 

[~gd]

Thanks, everyone! I would probably grind mine a little ahead of time, since I'm starting with a manual grinder, and freeze it so it will be ready when I want to bake my sourdough. I've been reading Nancy Silverton's Breads from La Brea Bakery that a friend loaned me, and in the book it says that you should use at least 1/3 white flour, so your bread will rise better. I finally perfected a loaf, but I used store flour, all white, and now I'd like to try adding other types of flour, maybe even sprouting, dehydrating, and grinding the sprouted grains for sprouted flour, and I'd like to try einkorn and/or spelt, too. I love being able to make good bread with just starter, flour, water and salt! And it's SO good, especially toasted!

You should try a search on King Arthur [Don't think I am spelling that right] flour. They started the craze with Yuppies. They used to have more free info than I had time to read. BTW sprouting and drying grain is called 'malting' and the process converts the stored starch to sugars. This is the basis of most natural alcohol. Both the beer and the Stouch wiskey industry depends upon barley malt.
What I wonder is what are you feeding your starter with, white flour or the flour you are going to be baking with?

 

[KnittyGritty]

I've just been feeding it with white flour; it seems very active.