In my family, we consume almost entirely whole grains.  About the only things we use white flour for are cakes and sugar cookies.  This means our breads, buns, muffins, pancakes, cookies (other than sugar cookies) and yes, even our pizza dough is whole grain!  For many years, people have wondered why in the world I would bother.

Prior to the twentieth century white flour was confined to royalty.  There was not an economical way to make white flour for the masses.  What is white flour, you ask?  White flour is the refined, denatured product that remains after removing the truly nutritious part of the grain.  The germ and bran is removed.  It is bleached with chemicals and then enriched to make up for the now missing nutrients. Moreover, enriching white flour does not make up for the loss of Vitamins B, E, calcium, zinc, copper, manganese, potassium and fiber.  There are two reasons for this. 1) Only some of the nutrients are returned. 2) Adding synthetic nutrients does not compare to the original nutrients the Creator provided for us.  Is not that just like mankind to think we can do it better than Adonai?

In the late 1800’s the steel roller mills were invented.  Making white flour suddenly became efficient.  Now white bread products could be manufactured and sent all over the country without the fear of spoilage.  There was no longer a need for local stone-grinding mills or the local baker. 

Media, in recent years, has talked much about whole grains as an option for a healthier lifestyle.  Manufacturers have jumped on this bandwagon.  They now produce “white” wheat bread.  It is comprised of white flour with a small amount of whole-wheat flour thrown in.  Another common deception is the labeling of white flour as wheat flour.  Technically, it is true as white flour did come from wheat.  However, I believe it is done under the guise of fooling people into thinking they are buying a healthy product when in fact they are buying the same white flour product in a new and improved wrapper.    If you are looking at labels, look for whole wheat as the main ingredient.

Refined products such as white flour are large contributors to the escalation of many diseases that we have seen in recent history.   I want to provide the best food for my family to grow on.  I want to know that I am adding to their health and not helping them to have disease in the future.

Plenty of people have had the experience of using whole wheat from the grocery store and realizing that their food tastes like cardboard.  The answer lies in using freshly ground flour.  This can be accomplished by purchasing your own grain mill.  I personally use the Whisper Mill.  Another tip is to know the difference between hard and soft wheat.  Hard wheat is higher in protein and gluten making it the best choice for bread products with yeast.  Soft wheat is lower in protein and gluten.  Another name for it is pastry wheat.  It produces light and fluffy baked goods.  It is best for anything without yeast.  I cannot promise there isn’t still some adjustment when switching to whole grains, but freshly ground flour does make lighter, tastier bread products. 

Making your own bread is really more of an art than a science.  There are so many factors to take into consideration.  A good book about this is Wildflour.  The beginning of the book provides quite an education on the bread-making process.  Another option is to find someone who has already been baking with whole grains.  Ask her to mentor you!

The following recipe works best when prepared in a Bosch.  I realize the tools to get started are quite expensive.  However, it does not take long to recoup the money spent, especially if you have a large family. 

Prepare 18 cups (approximately) of fresh ground hard wheat.

6 cups warm water (120 degrees)

2/3 cup honey

2/3 cup oil – can use olive oil.  I prefer coconut oil.

5 cups of the milled flour

2 T.  dough enhancer

2 T. vital wheat gluten

3 T. SAF instant yeast

Mix the above slightly.  Cover and let sponge 15 -20 minutes.

Then add:

1 ½ T. salt

Add the salt and enough of the flour to clean the sides of the bowl.  Knead in Bosch for 5-7 minutes.  Shape into 5 greased bread pans.  Cover and let rise until it is about 1-2 inches above the pan.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.