GRAINS AND BREAD

So, it's been nearly 8 weeks since we bought our grain mill, and I can honestly say that I have only bought one loaf of store bread, and one package of hamburger buns. I have been making all our own breads and buns, alternating my recipes, looking for that one great recipe that we all love. I've made 100% whole wheat, 100% whole mixed grains, 50/50 whole wheat, 40% whole rye, white bread, mashed potato buns, a wheat/oat mix, and more. We absolutely LOVE the grain we bought from Deruyck's Top of the Hill Farm!  So far, the winner has been the 50/50 whole wheat bread recipe. We use it for sandwich bread, buns, and pizza crust. The rye bread was a close second.  I have even been testing out a 2-day version that uses a pre-soaker to let enzymes develop.

 Here are a couple of photos of my bread-making trials. The last photo is of our grain-mill being used with oats. I've been asked if milling our own grain is hard, or messy, and I can honestly say that it is not. It' is actually very easy, just turn the machine on, pour in the grain, and wait for it to finish milling. The mill we chose is not messy at all either. I process enough flour to last us for 2-3 weeks at a time. I find that baking the bread is getting to be easier too. The actual mixing/kneading is only a 15 minute job, while the remaining time is "resting/rising" time. I bake bread in the evening, after dinner. (enough to last for 5-7 days at a time too)