I'm Taking It Up a Notch!

I've got to tell you... my sourdough baking has been a journey.  I have learned so very much about this process in the past three years.  

Because learning new skills is important to me, I have decided to take the next step in bread making - by milling my own flours.  "What?"  you say.  "Are you crazy?"

Well, that may very well be the case - but then, aren't we all just a little crazy?   Regardless,  I have ordered an electric grain mill that will allow me to make my very own stone-ground flour.  It arrives today and I can hardly wait!

"Why would you want to do that?" you ask.  Why not!!  Actually, I am doing it for many reasons.  First of all - the wheat seed (known as a wheat berry) is what is ground to make flour.   As soon as the seed is cracked, the endosperm (inside part of the seed) is exposed to the air and the grain begins to oxidize.  As the grain oxidizes, it loses its nutrients.  This is why the flours that we buy today are called "enriched"... because through the milling process, the nutrients begin to degrade, and so our industrialized food machine does what it always does... adds vitamins back in.  Another casualty of oxidation is flavor (something that cannot be added back in).  So, by milling my own wheat, I get to bake with the very freshest flours packed with all of the vital nutrients and flavor that the wheat contains.

"Wow!  How much time is that going to take?" you may ask.  And I would tell you... just a few extra minutes.  I will simply grind whatever wheat I need at the time that I need it.  The beauty of this is - you can buy organic wheat berries in bulk.  Its shelf life is, literally, years.  Through a process of grinding and sifting the flour through a fine mesh, I can also make my own all-purpose flour.

I had heard of a company (Azure Standard) that ships organic whole grains to drop points all around the country.  A little investigating showed that there is a drop point in one of our nearby towns.  So, I will be receiving my first 25 pound sack of wheat berries in about two weeks' time.  I also ordered some rye as well.

Hubbs is listening to a new book by Michael Pollan (author of the Ominivore's Dilemma and one of our favorite non-fiction authors) called "Cooked".  

Several chapters explore the process of bread baking  - from it roots, through commercialization and more.  He shared these specific chapters with me and, as a result, we are both excited to begin this home-milled grains journey.  We'll keep you updated as we begin this process!

As you read this blog post, we may be getting a winter storm.  As I write this, amounts and type of precipitation are still up in the air.  As warm as the ground has been lately, I cannot imagine that much snow will accumulate - but, then again, one never knows until it happens!

Yesterday was definitely the calm before the storm!

Perhaps this is why February and March seem to last forever.  Things warm up, then it gets cold again.  Then it snows... melts... and the whole cycle starts up again.  It's these two last months that make Spring's arrival such a joyous time!

Some of us are hibernating... napping or sleeping until Spring arrives. 

 I am pretty sure there was no lump when I made this bed....

See?   Hibernating cat!  And by the look on her face, she doesn't appreciate being bothered.

Lastly, I wanted to show you what I spent my weekend working on... another embroidery project... adding new life to old shirts!