Interesting Article on “True” Whole Wheat Flour

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  • #26502
    BakerAunt
    Participant

      I'm posting a link to an article on what is true whole grain wheat flour:

      https://heated.medium.com/these-california-grain-geeks-want-to-boost-your-immune-system-with-true-whole-wheat-b450be48419f

      I've always thought that there was a difference between King Arthur's whole wheat flour and Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat flour. I like the taste of the Bob's Red Mill much better, which I attributed, the article suggests correctly, to the stone milling.

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      #26505
      aaronatthedoublef
      Participant

        I understand the sentiment but I started looking at some of the local small mills here and the least expensive one sells whole wheat bread flour for $20 exclusive of shipping. My sourdough bread is lean and I've had my starter for about six months and I use it exclusively for most breads now (except pizza dough).

        But even with my cost being just flour and water that will bring my bread costs up to about $7 a loaf. One of my reasons for making my own bread was because I didn't want to pay the $6 for an artisan loaf. Not saying they are not worth it just saying I don't want to pay it.

        #26507
        chocomouse
        Participant

          Interesting. I'd like to see responses to this article from other bakers who promote whole wheat.

          #26508
          BakerAunt
          Participant

            I understand what you are saying about price, Aaron. If I get a chance to buy flour from a specialty mill, it would only be a small quantity with which I would experiment. What struck me, however, was that I prefer the Bob's Red Mill whole wheat over the King Arthur whole wheat, and I can usually buy it for less than a bag of the KABC whole wheat, especially if I can buy a case of it from Bob's--something that I hope will again be possible when the pandemic flour flurry finally settles down.

            I'd be curious as to what KABC would have to say about this article. The article did not give us the numbers.

            #26518
            aaronatthedoublef
            Participant

              Is KABC even a miller anymore? They've outsourced that to various mills around the country rather than build the capacity they needed to grow. It's faster and cheaper. It would be interesting to buy bags from the same store and see how consistent they are over time. It would also be interesting to compare bags from different regions to see the same thing.

              Bob's is where KABC was about 15-20 years ago. They are trying to figure out how to grow and not sell their souls. I will try their product because if I order from them they are less expensive than the King.

              But to quote the article:
              Real whole wheat would have to become more accessible to everyone, not just sold for more than a
              buck a pound to devotees with money.

              #26520
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                I think King Arthur has been outsourcing their milling for a long time, probably decades. I know they use several mills in Kansas, because PJ wrote a blog post about their taking several of their bakers and sales reps there each year to see where and how the wheat is grown, handled and milled. (Oh, to be part of one of those trips!)

                During the worst of the flour shortages, they were buying flour from some mills they don't normally use, and there were reports of quality/consistency issues that may have been a result.

                There's a lot of opinion in that article and not much of it backed with citations, it strikes me as the kind of article that could provoke a lot of passionate discussion.

                I know that in France many bakeries have long-standing relationships with their mills, to the point where they know which farmers will be growing their wheat, what varieties, etc. The mills keep in touch with their customers about quality issues during the year, too.

                That may happen in some US artisan bakeries with access to local millers and farmers, but most bakers, especially home bakers, have to deal with what we can get.

                I've only bought a few bags of whole wheat flour in the roughly eight years since I got a Nutrimill, so I'm not the best judge of packaged whole wheat flour, but I will say that I noticed differences in dough texture and flavor when I started milling my own flour. (To start with, my whole meal breads are a touch sweeter.)

                My mill is an impact mill, not a roller mill or stone mill, and there's not a lot of information out there on what an impact mill does to the wheat. I suspect there's a bit more starch damage than with flour from a commercial roller mill, I don't know if that'd be true for stone-ground flour as well. SOME starch damage is a good thing, because that's where the sugar comes from that the yeast feeds on, but too much starch damage is undesirable.

                I can also notice a difference between flours made from winter hard red wheat and spring hard red wheat, though its hard to say exactly what. I've also used soft spring red wheat, in fact some of the best croissants I've ever made were made from some freshly ground soft spring red wheat. I've got some white wheat berries but have yet to grind them up and do any test bakes with them. (Some years back I bought a bag of white whole wheat flour, we were not impressed with it.)

                The wheat breeder I know seems mostly concerned with things like yield and tolerance for drought, insects and plant diseases. I don't know how much he studies the nutritional aspects of his wheat tests, and it appears he doesn't know much about what happens at the mill. He also grows triticale, but interestingly enough the triticale breads I sent in to my wife's office last school year were the first time he'd actually tasted bread with triticale in it. (I doubt I'll be sending in any baked goods this school year.)

                #26537
                Mike Nolan
                Keymaster

                  Interesting article on milling, especially home mills, and the quality of the resulting flour.

                  Characterizing whole‐wheat flours produced using a commercial stone mill, laboratory mills, and household single‐stream flour mills

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