Which wheat? Red? White? Hard? Soft?

[baymule]

I have finally decided to buy wheat, a mill, make bread, the works. So I turn to the trusty internet to look for wheat. Ya'll bear with me here, my total bread making experience has been to buy the flour at the groceery store and make bread with it. I am ready to go to the next level. Plus whenever there is a hurricane, bread is the first to run out. Grocery stores are gutted in a shark feeding frenzy of buying. In previous years, I made bread before the power went out and switched to flour tortillas over a fire in the back yard after the power went out. If you have never looked upon rows and rows of EMPTY shelves at a grocery store normally teeming with people and bulging shelves offering you whatever you want, then think seriously about it. It is really a weird feeling. We keep groceries in hand, not enough to last a year, but we are better stocked than most.

I want to buy wheat to store for those times when there is NOTHING on the grocery store shelves. I want to buy wheat to make our own bread. But what kind do I buy? What kind makes the better bread? Red or white, hard or soft? What kind stores the best in a hot humid climate? I know the AC and heat regulates the temperatures, but if no power, then no AC or heat. I am tired of paying $3 for a loaf of chemical bread. Also, where do you buy your wheat? Those that live in wheat country have better choices than those of us that live in hotter climates, so are there web sites that you can reccomend?

Also, what is the best way to store it? What web sites can you direct me to to find the items I need to preserve my grains?

There is another thread just started about which mill to buy that goes hand in hand with what wheat to buy. Please, those with experience in these matters, give us the benefit of your knowledge and opinions. Thank you!!!

 

[ORChick]

DH isn't terribly fond of the very wheaty taste of red whole wheat, so I was thrilled when I discovered white wheat. I was buying that (already ground from King Arthur Flour - pricey! But marital harmony was worth it), and have bought the hard white wheat berries since I got the grain mill. I use these for bread, and all yeast baking (mixed with all purpose to a greater or lesser extent). For quick breads, muffins, anywhere where gluten development is not wished for, I use soft white wheat. I also have rye, oats, barley, spelt and corn to help liven things up.
I get my bulk grains (and beans, and a few other things) from Azure Standard near Portland, Oregon -- http://www.azurestandard.com/ -- They deliver mostly in the Western States, I think, but their range seems to be widening as time passes; I don't think they are out to East Texas yet though.
I can't comment on keeping grains in a hot, humid climate. No doubt someone else will be better informed.

 

[Maschil]

I have finally decided to buy wheat, a mill, make bread, the works. So I turn to the trusty internet to look for wheat. Ya'll bear with me here, my total bread making experience has been to buy the flour at the groceery store and make bread with it. I am ready to go to the next level. Plus whenever there is a hurricane, bread is the first to run out. Grocery stores are gutted in a shark feeding frenzy of buying. In previous years, I made bread before the power went out and switched to flour tortillas over a fire in the back yard after the power went out. If you have never looked upon rows and rows of EMPTY shelves at a grocery store normally teeming with people and bulging shelves offering you whatever you want, then think seriously about it. It is really a weird feeling. We keep groceries in hand, not enough to last a year, but we are better stocked than most.

I want to buy wheat to store for those times when there is NOTHING on the grocery store shelves. I want to buy wheat to make our own bread. But what kind do I buy? What kind makes the better bread? Red or white, hard or soft? What kind stores the best in a hot humid climate? I know the AC and heat regulates the temperatures, but if no power, then no AC or heat. I am tired of paying $3 for a loaf of chemical bread. Also, where do you buy your wheat? Those that live in wheat country have better choices than those of us that live in hotter climates, so are there web sites that you can reccomend?

Also, what is the best way to store it? What web sites can you direct me to to find the items I need to preserve my grains?

There is another thread just started about which mill to buy that goes hand in hand with what wheat to buy. Please, those with experience in these matters, give us the benefit of your knowledge and opinions. Thank you!!!

?
did you purchase a mill already??? if so which one.

 

[Corn Woman]

Ditto on Azure Standard I get mine there as well and I believe they have delivery to Texas. I use the hard white DH likes it better than hard red but I like both. I do buy soft white for pastry.

 

[me&thegals]

We grow white winter wheat and I use the pastry flour for anything "wet" like pancakes, muffins, zucchini bread, pie crusts, Irish soda bread, etc.
DH's cousin grows hard white wheat that we grind for any kind of yeast bread.

 

[opiemaster]

ORchick, you made a statement about soft white wheat that I am curiouse about. You stated " For quick bread's, muffins, anywhere gluten development is not wished for, I use soft white wheat." Does soft white wheat NOT have gluten in it? :/My wife is gluten intolerant and glutn makes her sick. I have been looking for an alternative for some time with no such luck.
Any info would be great.
Thanks

 

[moolie]

We like hard red wheat best, hard white tastes a little "sweet" and almost "cinnamon-y" to my family. We buy our wheat, oats, rye, and millet from a local producer, but locally wheat is available at most natural foods stores and also online from Briden (Cochrane AB) and In Case Of (Lethbridge AB).

Opiemaster, all wheat has gluten, as do rye, oats and barley. Soft wheats just have less. Best choices for your grains would be rice, amaranth, montina/Indian rice grass, teff, quinoa, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and corn. You might also be able to find gluten-free oats, but check the label to be sure. It is difficult to make "bread" out of most gluten-free grains, the gluten chains are what create the texture we all love about bread.

 

[opiemaster]

THANKs for that info MOOLIE, greatly appreciate it. I was just on E-pay looking at the grain mills there. TONS of them with all differrent price ranges. Even the ones mentioned here.

 

[moolie]

There's tons of reading out there on the subject, my best friend and her son have issues with wheat (but not gluten), another friend is celiac, so I've heard lots about how they deal with it over the years.

 

[ORChick]

ORchick, you made a statement about soft white wheat that I am curiouse about. You stated " For quick bread's, muffins, anywhere gluten development is not wished for, I use soft white wheat." Does soft white wheat NOT have gluten in it? :/My wife is gluten intolerant and glutn makes her sick. I have been looking for an alternative for some time with no such luck.
Any info would be great.
Thanks

What Moolie said . Soft wheat makes a pastry type flour, good for things where you don't want a lot of gluten development. Bread needs strong gluten chains to help it rise; pancakes would be tough if the gluten were that developed. But, unfortunately for those that can't handle it, gluten is still present.