Bread Making--
If you missed this forum you really missed out!!  Everyone went home with their very own loaf of bread that they made all by themself....with a little help. Both the women and the men did a great job.

The first thing you want to do is get your ingredients together.  Starting with the wheat.  You want to grind your wheat just before you use it.  If you grind it more than 10 days before use, you lose a great deal of your nutients that are in the wheat.  I use a grain mill that looks like this:

It is set up in my kitchen for regular use.  There are many mills out there to pick from.  If you don't have one, research and find the one that suits  you or ask me which ones I would recommend.

When making bread you can use any type of flour you like: hard red wheat, hard white wheat, rye,corn, oat, and even white flour, or a combination of a few.

  I chose the recipe below because it only needs one rising instead of several that is called for is some other recipes.  You can adapt this recipe to your taste as you like. It is quick, easy and done in no time. (About 2 hours from grinding wheat until eating bread). When I say adapt the recipe I mean you can use different flour types, add eggs, use honey instead of sugar, or butter instead of oil.  The choices are yours according to your taste.

Here is the recipe:
2 C warm water
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C oil
2 TBSP yeast
5 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl mix warm water (not hot it will kill the yeast--not cool it will also not let the yeast "work"),  sugar or honey ( I use honey- about 1/2 C), yeast, and oil.  Let set until yeast "works".  By work I mean you will see it grow and bubble a bit.  Add 1/2 the amount of flour, knead about 5 minutes, add the salt and the rest of the flour.  Be careful with the flour amount.  If you add to much the dough will be stiff and the bread will be like a brick.  If you don't add enough the bread will crumble.  Add enough so that the dough comes off your hands as you knead it.  Knead for about 10 minutes to make this happen and to let the gluten devlope.  Shape into loaves.  This recipe will make 2 regular loaves or 1 large or many rolls, cinammon rolls or pizza crust.  So, back to the bread....Shape the loaves, put a small amount of oil on the dough to make it smooth as you shape it.  Let rise for about 30 minutes or until double in size.  Bake 350 degrees--bread 35 minutes, rolls 15 minutes. Remove from oven and pans. I like to rub some butter on the crust asap to make a softer crust. Let cool just a little and then enjoy some warm, buttery bread!  YUM!!

Tips:
*Use SAF yeast it works the best
*Use fresh ground flour
*Salt inhibits the yeast growth, add near the end as in recipe above
*Knead enough to develop gluten-about 10 minutes

What kind of wheat is best?
*Hard white or red wheat.  White has a milder flavor and the flour has a lighter texture than the red wheat.  The flavor of the red is better in my opinion, but it makes a heavier bread. Add some white flour with it. Use what ever combination of flour you prefer
*Protein content should be at least 12-14%
*Moisture content should be less than 10%

How to store wheat?
*Store in a cool, dark, dry place in air tight containers such as food grade 5 gallon buckets.
*Use and rotate so it is fresh
*Do not store directly on cement as it will absorb moisture and go bad. Put a cardboard, rug, or 2x4 under the buckets
*Do not store in platic bags, especially garbage bags--they are not food grade and some have chemicals in them that you would not want on your food.