Fresh Milled Flour: Tips

This post is for those of you who are ordering flour and wanted some more information. Or maybe you are looking into it and are only curious. ( If you want to order there is an order form available on the “Shop”page of this website. Hit the top right hand corner (three straight lines) and select the “Shop” button then scroll to the bottom of the page)

Why Fresh Milled Flour?

All parts of the berry- bran, germ, and endosperm are included in the milling.

Bran-loaded with fiber and nutrients

Germ-offers vitamins, protein, minerals, and oil

Endosperm-part of the wheat berry that holds the starch

As you can guess, the endosperm is what is left after traditional processing. With fresh milling, your flour is still “alive.” I could write more about that but this is not what this article is about so let’s get right to it.

Tips for using fresh milled flour:

Converting recipes from refined flour to whole grain flour is often a matter of trial and error. It may take a few attempts before you find just the right amount to suit your taste.

Refrigerate or freeze any left over flour to preserve the nutrients. Flour may be stored up to two weeks in the fridge or 3-6 months in the freezer.

Hard wheat flour is higher in protein (gluten) than soft wheat flour. Hard wheat can be used for every recipe, but is essential for yeast breads.

Soft wheat flour, also known as whole wheat pastry flour, has less protein (gluten) and creates a lighter textured product than hard wheat. Soft wheat does not work as well for yeast breads, but is excellent for cakes, cookies, muffins, etc. Soft wheat is closer to all purpose flour.

For each cup of wheat flour in a recipe replace with 3/4-7/8 cup of hard whole wheat flour or 7/8 to 1 cup of soft wheat flour. Whole grain flours absorb more liquid than all purpose flour, so instead of using less flour, you may increase the liquid called for in the recipe.

In baking powder- leavened recipes, increase the baking powder by 1 tsp. for every three cups of whole wheat flour. Recipes containing baking soda need not be adjusted.

Don’t overmix batters for cakes, muffins, or cookies. It causes gluten development and can make baked goods tough.

To lighten any batter containing eggs, you may choose to separate the eggs and beat the whites until stiff. Add egg yolks to the liquid ingredients and fold beaten egg whites into the batter just before baking. An extra egg may be added to quick breads such as banana bread to help it rise a little higher.

Add whole grains to your diet gradually to help your family’s taste buds and digestive systems to adjust. Yeast breads require hard wheat, kamut, spelt, or rye flours as they contain enough protein (gluten) to create structure. Do not replace more than 25-30 percent of these flours with a gluten- free flour.

Whole grain flours absorb liquid more slowly than white flour. If your pancake batter appears runny wait 5 minutes and it will thicken as it sits. Adding too much flour too soon will make the batter too thick.

Increase the amount of herbs and spices in your recipe up to 50 percent. White flour is neutral and has no flavour, but whole grain flours can mask the taste of other ingredients.

Because of its high oil content, fresh flour should be used immediately, as it can go rancid faster than store -bought, refined flour.

The above information and tips came along with my flour mill so I decided to share it with you.

Happy Baking!