To Mill or Not to Mill... is that even a question?
BREAD
Man can not live on bread alone.... but I sure would try, given the chance!
Okay, I took that scripture WAY out of context. My apologies.
Matthew 4: 4 actually says,
I still know that bread is delicious!
This photo above is lovely home made French style loaf bread.
The Photo above is a photo of our sandwich bread.
But the world we live in has certainly screwed things up for us nutritionally.
The manufacturing process for bread has gone far far far away from the original process we use to make it from.
It has gone from Stone grinding the wheat berries by hand to machine ground wheat berries.... from just a few loaves per batch to hundreds of loaves at once.
The manufacturing companies have figured out scientific ways to even cut down on proofing and rising times to better benefit the manufacturing process... although efficient, it looses the nutritional content.
The "enriched wheat" ingredient you see on your bread label is not what most people think.
Wouldn't you think "Enriched" would mean that the wheat had even more important properties??
Enriched Wheat flour is flour in which most of the natural vitamins and minerals have been
They say its to give the bread a better texture and increase its shelf life.
Well I don't know about you, but shelf life over the goodness as a whole aren't competing with each other.
Sure, the store bought bread will last a couple of weeks in the pantry... maybe... but the home made bread doesn't last even a week in our home... but ONLY because it gets eaten!!
Not only that, the home made bread digests so much easier... like bread was meant to be.
So lets also talk about the other things like the bran and the germ that are naturally in the whole wheat berry.
The bran and the germ are the parts of the wheat that contain fiber and nutrients and when they are removed, your body has to process wheat differently.
What a shame!
Instead of it being a slow process that gives you steady source of energy, your body breaks down the enriched flour a whole lot faster.
Then your blood sugar typically shoots up... and you are sent on a roller coaster ride metabolically.
The blood sugar has to be metabolized by the liver, and when excess sugar is present... your body will store it as FAT.
FAT!
Without getting ANY Nutrients that the Whole Grain offers!
When I mill my own flour from organically grown wheat berries, I know I get the nutritional value of the complete grain Including:
Bran: the outer layer,
which contains the largest amounts of
insoluble fiber
Magnesium
Riboflavin
Thiamine
Niacin
Folic Acid
Calcium
Iron
Zinc
and the Germ, or seed,
which is an excellent source of:
Vitamin B1
Vitamin B2
Vitamin B3
Vitamin E
Magnesium
Copper
Iron
Zinc
Phosphorous
and Polyunsaturated fatty acids
and more... up to 23 of these vitamins and minerals!!!
The photo above shows freshly ground flour from Hard White Wheat berries, below:
I purchased my flour mill at a homeschool convention. ( yeah I know, that seems Unconventional!)
The sign that caught my eye read "Your store bought bread may contain pig hair, human hair, or duck feathers disguised as "ENZYMES". L-Cysteine is an amino acid used to extend the shelf life in commercial breads. It is most often derived from human hair.. but can come from duck feathers, cow horns, and pig bristles.
I threw up in my mouth a little.
After researching this, I found it to be true... and the only way i could be sure to not ingest these enzymes, was to begin making my own bread at home.
I bought a Bosch Universal Mixer and a NutriMill on the spot From Paula's Bread
Talk about impulse purchases!! (or Genius Sales Pitch)
Well...it turned out to be the best decision I could have made.
Home Made Bread Tastes AHHHHMAZING!
These two tools just made my life a bit healthier in the bread department while making life a whole lot easier.
So... I have enjoyed knowing my bread is full of up to 23 vitamins and minerals, without the harmful effects of the processed flour.
Okayyyyy.... I use the bread dough for sweet tooth pleasures too!
So the answer is..... (if you can)....
TO MILL !!!
Do you Mill your own flour?
Coming up next:
The different Type of Wheat Berries and their functions.
I hope you will come back to read about the different uses of home ground whole wheat flours!
Banner Compliments of @papa-pepper
I'd love to learn to make decent bread. I male okay bread, but okay is the nicest thing I can say about it. So, I make a lot of flat bread. Your bread is beautiful!
Anytime you want to get together I’d be more than happy to help you get your bread into shape... I’m sure it’s better than you think... we are our own worst enemy when it comes to criticism ❤️
Heck yes! We’ll have to get together. Make some bread and swap some seeds!
I’m all about it!
I would not have thought to mill my own. Where do you get the wheat berry?
@lahvista
I order my grain from Palouse Brand
They even tell you which field their grain comes out of... they track everything for quality and customer service. I’ve never had any issues and they’re great to do business with.
@jeejee
I do not but a friend of mind does and he can taste the difference! As for L-Cysteine....yeah...well I discovered THAT one a few years back and I made sure to share that with my other fellow believers to watch out for it!
It’s crazy what you have to look out for!! Isn’t that a shame?
@jeejee
It really is a shame....You have to check EVERYTHING!!! It is just safer if you make it yourself!
It’s a shame because I like easy... and it’s getting harder and harder to eat clean.
Hi @jeejee. What a great post! I remember learning about the rolling mills that made our American white bread (Wonder Bread) and all of the public malnutrition that came of it. The milling stripped it so much that it was like eating cardboard. They were forced to add back vitamins. I am definitely going to check out milling my own. Have you worked with "mothers" yet or cold fermentation for your breads? Oh...and one last thing. I loved this line "I threw up in my mouth a little." ha ha. So true!
I have not tried the fermentation methods... I need a mentor!
Thank you for the comment and the encouragement... I will see ya around, I noticed you have some content I’ll go read over the next few days... we have been sick with the flu and are recovering so I have not been on Steemit a lot lately.
@jeejee