But--he insisted. This is where I tell you that he is very hard to convert to the frugal wagon. Very. I know that I don't mention it a lot here, but seriously, converting him to frugal-ism isn't the easiest thing I've ever done. He sees the benefits, and he is pretty good, but he still wants what he wants, when he wants it. Which is exactly why not all of our snowball has been going to our debt in recent months. But, we move on....
He really did have a reason, though, on buying the grinder now. A local farmer, and good friend and co-worker of my husband, grows organic, spelt wheat. He offered us as much of it as we wanted...FREE OF CHARGE! Y'all that is huge! We just needed the grinder to make good use of it. Currently we have not one, but two (!) 55 gallon barrels of spelt stored (with oxygen absorbers so we don't get icky bugs. Although, that is just added protein.. ;) ) patiently waiting to be ground into flour.
So, for a little over a month now, my family and I have been enjoying free, freshly ground spelt wheat. It is delicious and oh so good for you!! The only issue that I have encountered is that my bread isn't as "pretty" and one time there was a big hole all through the center. Anyone know what caused that??? I did find an awesome spelt dinner roll recipe that I used to make a loaf a of bread again as bread bowls. So delicious!
I use a NutriMill Grain Mill, basically because it has a bigger capacity than the VitalMill (it's little brother) and the WonderMill. Ususally when I am making my goods, it is all in one day, so I just grind a huge batch and get it over with since the machine is rather large and noisy (it sounds like a vacuum cleaner--maybe a smidgen louder).
Here are some thing to keep in mind:
- Only grind as much flour as you can use. While you can go ahead and grind enough for a few weeks use--once ground, the flour loses about 45% of it's nutrients in the first 24 hours!! Can you imagine what they put in store bought flour to maintain nutrients?? Or how lacking it really is?? While placing the flour in a freezer will slow the process, freshly ground flour is still the best! Why go through the whole process and still end up with an inferior product??
- Keep this in mind: 1 cup of berries= about 1 ½ cups of flour. This depends a lot on how fine you grind your flour. I've been able to get about 2 cups of flour to 1 cup of berries--it was a very fine flour and took quite a while to grind. But, for everyday baking, this should be right about your ratio.
- Packed with Nutrients! Whole wheat flour (especially spelt) is packed with protein, amongst other nutrients, which is very good for you
- You are not limited to just grinding wheat. With most mills you are able to grind beans, rice, barley, as well as wheat berries. This opens up a whole new field of baking! A lot of these specialty flours are very expensive, but you can buy the "whole product" much cheaper.
- Expect to pay about $250. While this may sound like a lot (trust me--I thought so, too!) , it is worth it. Flavor alone is enough for me to recommend grinding your own wheat. While it may not end up being cheaper in the long run for most (I think it comes out about even, maybe just a tad cheaper), the nutritional benefits are far greater. Nutrition combined with better taste, and knowing exactly what is in your food is as good a case as any.
- Peace of Mind. Quite frankly--I don't know what the future holds. Now I know that if times get really tough, we will have bread products. There is no need to worry about flour products in my minimal grocery budget anymore. While I know that it may be impossible for some to store 110 gallons of wheat (or over 300 pounds!)-some is better than none. You just don't know.
Do you grind your own flour?? Have any tips/tricks and recipes to share?
This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.
12 comments:
Wow. I'm a good Christian woman, so I can't give in to envy, but it's hard when hearing your story! Congrats on all the free stuff and a cool husband who cares about you! Hole through the bread... possibly an air bubble that was in the middle? Happy WFMW!
I've been debating about getting a grinder. The main issue I have is not knowing where to get the wheat locally. I know I can order online, but I prefer to go local if possible.
I keep seeing everyone talking about grinding their own flour on different blogs, and I really want to try it now! I don't have mill, but I do have a vitamix which you can grind flour in, so maybe I'll give it a try soon!
I love my Nutrimill. Fresh ground wheat is so much better. Did you see my post on the book about whole grains? You would probably really enjoy it.
Ooooh, tempting. So very tempting. But we are seriously considering refinancing and putting on an addition, so I don't know right now. Plus, I have a really amazing friend that GAVE me a 50lb. bag of flour that I've been using :) :)
For the "mouse hole" in your bread, I used to have the same problem (mom's bread was notorious for them). I knead the dough a bit before I divide it into loaves, and then instead of just shaping the loaf, I knead it into shape. I also don't use any oil on the dough at any time, so there's no oily surfaces preventing the dough from sticking to itself inside the loaf. I don't know if that was the problem with your loaf, but that's what I do :) I hope it makes sense.
I am very impressed! How long will the wheat keep before you grind it? Also, can you make it more conveniant and use it in the breadmaker? As for the husband, uh, yeah, I finally got mine to understand that we can't eat once a week at restaurants if we want to pay our bills. He follows our menu plan while I am at work now. Progress comes slowly, but surely, over here ;)
I'm a huge believer in having a grinder if you're going to be using whole wheat -- you get way better results when you are fresh grinding then buying the bagged stuff. Plus, it totally pays off in the long run. We have a vita mix (LOVE IT), so we just bought the grain grinding attachment and it is awesome!
I am totally clueless about this wheat grinding thing, but I really want to know more. Plus,I am teaching a bread baking class at my church to high schoolers and when I told them about this possibility they were even more excited. We live in Missouri too, in a semi-rural area so I think I could get my hands on some wheat.
Does the wheat you grind always turn out brown like whole wheat flour? That is my only concern for home use as my family is pretty much a "white bread bunch". Also, do you use it straight or mix it with white flour. What is "spelt" flour. How is it different than the all purpose flour I buy at the store. My hubby tends to be more like yours sounds (must be a man thing), and mine grew up with a silver spoon stuck in his throat so winning him over on being frugal is taking some time although he likes it when I cook good homemade stuff!
Please expand a little bit on the wheat thing. Like where did you find the storage container that keeps the bugs away (is this something the farmer provided?) My friend said he could get me all the wheat I wanted and he said he could get it before they spray it with the stuff to keep the bugs away - eeek! Now I have to do it cause we all now know what we are eating - insecticides of some sort!
Thanks for your info Phoebe! You are just such an inspiration!
JeannaMO
Wow. Free organic spelt?! That is awesome!
And, yes, it is generally a money-saver, if you eat 100% whole wheat bread to begin with. Last time I priced my bread - using extra-virgin olive oil, raw honey, and sea salt (not cheapy ingredients), it was about 70 cents a loaf. Now, wheat prices have gone up, so it's probably a little higher, but not nearly the $2-3 I would pay for 100% whole wheat bread at the store. And it tastes better. ;)
Kudos to you for doing this. I don't have much interest in grinding my own because I'm very lucky and have access to organic stone ground flour that is grown just 2 miles down the road. I've been struggling to consistently make good loaves of bread with it for about a year now. My results are much better since reading Laurel's Bread Book which is entirely dedicated to baking with whole grains. My first single loaf made from the book turned out well but when I tried the double recipe they were pretty block like again. They either rise well and then not much in the oven or the rise a ton and collapse. Oh well, I'll get there! :)
Free grain is the best!
I love my NutriMill! Good pick!
To keep my bread from having holes in it, I form the loaf and then slam (and I do mean slam) it on the counter to get rid of air bubbles. Just keep shaping and slamming until the loaf makes a deep thud. You'll notice the difference in sound after a few times. Then pop them in the pans and bake!
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