Wheat Class Notes
Key Points:The most healthy way to eat wheat in an emergency is to bring wheat to a boil with a double amount of water, then let it soak covered(either in the pot with a lid, or in some other covered container) overnight.These wheat berries can then be eaten as is(they are the texture of nuts) or then cooked into a cereal.This way is the most nutritious for it brings out all the nutrients within the wheat in whole form. Notthe tastiest, but the healthiest. These wheat berries are easily added to salads, the texture being similarto sunflower seeds or pine nuts, just with a wheatier flavor. This form of wheat can also be made bypressure canning wheat berries.Wheat can also be chewed raw, and will sustain life that way, although not the tastiest way either.Wheat can be ground into cereal like cracked wheat or finer for a kind of cream of wheat(not sorefined, but similar).In wheat there is a substance called gluten, the protein that holds it together, and this gluten can bewashed out to make wheat meat. We didn't talk about this much, but if you want information let meknow and I will get it for you.There are different kinds of wheat, the most common being soft wheat and hard wheat. Soft wheat is asofter grain that is mostly ground into flour for cakes and pastries. It won't hold up in bread very well.The other common form is hard wheat. This comes in both red and white grains(they look reallysimilar) and the only difference I've been able to tell is that the red wheat has a nuttier/wheatier flavorthan the white wheat. There is a difference in the protein content between the two, along with a fewother minor differences, but it is very minimal with the red wheat having slightly more protein.My favorite way to use wheat is wheat flour. I add wheat flour to almost every baked good I make. Ican substitute it for white flour. Cookies, cakes, brownies, whatever, if you substitute 1/3 of the whiteflour for wheat flour, you probably won't even notice, especially if you are using white wheat flour,which has a slightly lighter color than the red wheat. If you are used to using wheat, you can evensubstitute more than that. I've made many of my recipes with 100% wheat flour without a hugedifference. I add wheat flour as a stretcher to pancake mix, not a lot(maybe 1/4 cup for every cup of mix), but it makes it a little healthier. If you are concerned about flavor, start by using wheat in bakedgoods that have chocolate in it. You may not even be able to tell.For grinding wheat into flour, we talked about several options. Technically, you may be able to makewheat flour in your blender, but depending on how fine your blender can blend will determine how fineyour flour will be. Most probably won't get incredibly fine, although I've never actually done it so it'shard for me to say. I also imagine it could dull your blender blades. As far as grain mills go, there aremany different ones available. The best hand grinder is the Country Living Grain Mill. It is a handcrank on a fly wheel, and there is an available motor attachment. It is kind of expensive, upwards of $300 for the hand grinder alone and more still for the motor. It is expensive, but it is the best handgrinder available. The best economical grain mill is the Back to Basics Grain Mill. The flour isn'tquite as fine as from an electric mill, but for a small hand grinder it would be great for emergencies.
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