BEST BREAD EVER

Have you ever made homemade bread? Today is not specific recipe for bread but an adventure about the process of creating you own freshly milled grain bread. Our friend Larry at Big Dudes Ramblings had a grain mill that he was not using and offered it to his readers. I jumped at the opportunity and he sent it to me gratis. It took me several weeks to finally put it to use but Wow am I glad I did.

Bread is made with flour usually from wheat grains. To make flour you need wheat berries. This is the whole grain which has not been milled. Wheat berries are found at health food stores and here in the Bay Area we have a plethora of these kinds of stores. I found red wheat berries and white wheat berries which have different flavors and textures. Today we are using the white wheat berries that when freshly milled will have bran, germ, and endosperm all included in the final product. Commercially milled flour has the bran and endosperm removed which gives it less nutritional value and its pure white color.

This grain mill attaches to a Kitchen Aide mixer. Here is a tip that may save you a disaster in the kitchen. Make sure that you tighten said attachment otherwise you will be sweeping the floor of wheat berries. These berries were catapulted because not securing the mill will cause it to revolve. Luckily Ms. Goofy was not present and did not see my mistake and hopefully she does not read this. Once everything is secure you pour whole wheat berries into the hopper, turn on the machine and catch flour below in a bowl. There is a knob to determine the coarseness of your flour. I had it all the way to the finest end and it seemed to work fantastically.

The end product flour is a little course because it does have the bran, germ, and endosperm.  I decided to add some commercially milled white bread flour to make this bread more desirable to our liking. You can use the flour as it is but will make very course texture bread. The best part about making bread is the smells and aromas. The aroma of the freshly milled flour is fragrant. The yeast proofing has another comforting familiar smell. The act of kneading the bread has a therapeutic like quality. It is a hands on tactile experience. The finale is the smell of freshly baking bread that will have you drooling with anticipation.

Thankyou Larry for your generous gift that will be put to use often the coming winter months. This mill adds another level to creating some of the best bread ever. Freshly milled grains are healthier than commercially made flour products. The act of making bread is so rewarding. Your sinuses, tummy and health benefits will thank you. I think I will make a sandwich