Which flour to buy? We like Red Fife for general use, bread, pancakes, etc - nice flavor. For something more like a white flour or all-purpose, try Clark's Cream or White Sonora. White Sonora is the lightest we have and nearest to all-purpose although all of these are whole wheat flour with 100% of the brand and germ so they are not the same as refined flour. Spelt is also a good all around flour. Einkorn was the favorite in a bread tasting panel (nutty, sweet flavor). The price of these is directly related to the time in "cleaning" which is the elimination of chaff etc. In the case of Einkorn, Emmer, and Spelt, it takes about 5 times longer to clean compared to the others. You can get the whole grain and make flour in an small tabletop mill (about $100), or use a blender. Also you can cook the whole grain like Spelt as you would rice or as hot cereal. Getting a 50 lb bag of your favorite wheat and milling as you need it is the way to go. It will keep for years in a cool dry place in a tight container, it's a good value (bread for $1 a loaf) and you can mill it as needed so you always have fresh flour with maximum nutritional value. You lose up to 70% of nutrients in refined flour although some basic vitamins are added back in. Spelt yeast bread is pictured.
We have two new certified organic wheat varieties available. Glenn is a modern hard red "long-time favorite with bakers for its excellent milling/baking qualities, and high protein and test weight", and in fact ours did test at 15.4% protein (highest of any we have), and gluten index of 89.07. For reference, KSU Wheat Lab has provided us with a typical gluten index of 92.7 for commercial bread flour, and our Spelt and Red Fife tested at 67.2 and 68.8. Field Blend was planted as Einkorn but ended up with a lot of volunteer wheat in the mix. An accidental mix that was created right in the field, however a recent farm tour group rated the flavor of bread from the Field Blend as much better than that of the Glenn. Starting to see a pattern over the past few years - older wheat varieties tend to have better flavor - at least in bread. Field Blend tested at 14.1% protein with gluten index of 74.16. For those with some gluten sensitivity and looking for flavor, Field Blend (o...
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