Questions

I've gotten quite a few questions about my kitchen and I'll be addressing them as they add up :)

Q: Will you come be my personal chef?
A: Sure! Sounds fun!

Q: Why do you mill your own wheat?
A: Because freshly milled wheat is much healthier than any wheat you buy on the store shelves. First off even "whole grain" wheat on the store shelves is missing part of the grain that is fatty because it will go rancid if it is left out more than about three days. Also A, B, and K vitamins that are in whole grains are destroyed a couple of days after milling. But freshly milled grain tastes much better and is overall cheaper than buying whole wheat from the store. However you have to buy your grain in bulk (usually)

Q: Do you use a breadmaker
A: No, nor will I use a breadmaker. I like to kneed my bread in my kitchen aid mixer or by hand when I'm stressed. If the bee has been having a rough day we can make and kneed bread together and it will calm both of us down. Not only that but I enjoy the feeling of communion with the billions of women who came before me, spending their days kneading bread. It is almost a connection with the past and a less stressful time. I also think that bread tastes better if baked in an open oven and develops a better crust.

Q: Where do you get your wheat?
A: I get my wheat from a Georgian company called Bread Beckers I participate in a co-op and get a small discount. You can also buy whole wheat berries online in bulk at stores like whole foods and online too. Make sure if you are buying online that you are buying "triple washed" berries and know that you aren't going to be finding pebbles in your wheat.

Q: What kind of mill do you use?
A: I use a Family grain mill. I have the hand cranked model, which works great. I can grind about seven pounds of flour in about fifteen minutes, but it is a workout! I got the attachment for my kitchen aid mixer and let my kitchen aid do the work for me, usually. It grinds a very small grind for bread, and will also grind large enough for cracked wheat for cereal. To get the best bread grind, I run the wheat through twice, once as whole berries and once as flour. I also like this mill because of the attachments you can purchase, Meat grinder, oat flaker, and slicer shredder. I'll be able to buy whole oat groats, and make oatmeal fresh for my family! I can't wait! I chose this mill over some of the more expensive models for a few reasons. First it has a hand crank option which could come in very handy should we lose power for an extended period of time. Second it has a kitchen aid attachment, and third it has some great attachments.

Q: Do you use white flour for anything
A: Not really. Whole wheat flour is much healthier for you, and does everything that white flour does, but makes bread a little denser. Yes, I love a beautiful loaf of good white bread with a crunchy loaf. I haven't perfected that with whole wheat yet, and I'm not sure I can, but I'm going to keep trying!

Q: Do you use white sugar?
A: Once in a while. I do have some in the house, unlike white flour, but I don't use it for much anymore. I use Honey most of the time with dehydrated cane juice coming in second. I'll also use maple syrup and agave nectar to sweeten too. I'll make a full post about this eventually.