Wheat: Get it! Store it!

Kelly Beeson azbeeson@hotmail.com

The most important thing you can do with wheat is to get some! We have been counseled to first get a three month supply of non-perishable foods we would normally eat, and then begin to build our long term storage.

“For longer-term needs, and where permitted, gradually
build a supply of food that will last a long time
and that you can use to stay alive, such as wheat,
white rice, and beans.

These items can last 30 years or more when properly
packaged and stored in a cool, dry place. A portion of
these items may be rotated in your three-month supply.”
From “All is Safely Gathered in”

“A portion of these items may be rotated in your three-month supply.” This does not say we need to change our diet significantly. It doesn’t say wait to buy any wheat until you commit to making bread every week and you have a grinder! It says to store the foods. We should be rotating our 3 month supply regularly, but using our long term storage is optional! Rotating it is a smart option. But if your paralyzing fear of wheat and grinders and bread-making is keeping you from storing wheat and other grains, remember, store first, ask questions later! Most of these foods last a long time (30 years in climates cooler than ours. Make sure it is in the house, the cooler and darker the better), so you have a long time to figure out something to do with it all.

To rotate: For example, my family of 6 stores 1000 pounds (total cost about $300.00) of wheat. To rotate it over 25 years, I need to use 40 pounds (6 cans, or one box) per year. Then I buy 40 pounds (6 cans or one box) to replace it. Cost: $12.00 per year. Or, if you didn’t use it, give away 1 box, and buy a new one.

Wheat to store:
Hard Red: Use for yeast breads. Nutty flavor

Hard White: Use for yeast breads. Higher in protein. Makes “lighter” flavor bread

Soft wheat: Use for quick breads, cakes, pastries, ers, cereals. Lower in gluten, notsuitable for yeast breads. Shorter shelf life.

Durum: Use for pastas.

To begin storing wheat, buy Hard Red or White. Most people store White. Add Soft wheat to your storage only if you plan to use and rotate your wheat. The cannery only sells Hard Red and Hard White.

Some Local Wheat Resources
Mesa Cannery: Order at church on Sunday in the books labeled “Food Storage and preparedness” and give your money to a member of the bishopric. I can it at the cannery and bring it to you. All for the bargain price of $2.00 per can! (You can also come and help. I need two volunteers every month). The cannery no longer allows us to bring in our own items to can, but you can buy product there and can it yourself if you reserve a time.

Foodsource International: (480) 829-0886 2625 S Roosevelt St., Tempe, AZ
http://www.fsiaz.com/. I bought my Montana hard white here, and put it in buckets.

Purato’s Bakery Supply 480.829.0167 You need to call the day before and make your order. 2635 S. Roosevelt, Tempe, AZ. About Mill Ave. and Southern. I got my soft wheat here.

Shar’s Bosch Kitchen: 480.558.1191. Shar’s will sell in bulk or also in smaller quantities. Her prices aren’t the best, but this is a great place to visit if you want to start using your wheat. It is probably excellent quality as well. She has grain mills, mixers, and classes on how to use them. I buy small bags of 14 grain mix to add to my wheat bread. 1130 N. Gilbert Road, Ste. 2, Gilbert, AZ. Gilbert between Baseline and Guadalupe.

Sprouts Market: Ask about bulk prices. Various locations. The closest is on Higley and Southern.

Grovers: 480.827.8011. They sell bulk bags, or 50 pound nitrogen packed buckets for around $25.00. 130 W. Hampton, Mesa. East of Country Club, north of the 60 freeway, behind Golfland.

If you want to buy your wheat (or other products) in bulk (from the cannery or other places, like Costco or Sam’s Club) and can it yourself, you can use the stake canner. Call me (Kelly Beeson) for information or Leigh-Anne Aller (Stake Canning Specialist) to reserve the canner.

There are also places online to buy wheat, but it would probably cost a lot to ship it!

Wheat: Grind it!

Are you interested in buying an electric grain mill?
The cannery has a coupon for the K-Tec electric mill for 159.99. Regular price is 199.99. There is also a Marga hand mill for 79.99.

Check out the site. http://www.blendtec.com/millpromo.aspx. If you are interested in the electric mill, please leave me a comment to this post, or call me at home. If we order in a group of 5 or more, we get $10 off each, and if we order 10 or more, we get $20 off each mill, for a total of $139.99. I will also pass around a sign-up sheet in the Food Storage notebook on Sunday.

Articles comparing Grain Mills:
http://www.everythingkitchens.com/article-grain-mills-flour-grinders.html
http://www.realfoodliving.com/grain_mills.htm
http://waltonfeed.com/self/grinders.html

Some good electric mills:
K-Tec
Whisper Mill
Nutrimill

Some good hand mills:
Country Living Mill
Family Grain Mill (can also buy adaptor to Bosch motor to electrify it)
Marga

Call me to use my grain mill, or Leigh-Anne Aller to use the ward grain mill. The Ward mill is exactly like the one on sale. If you would like to try it before you order, call me and come over to see it!

Note on grinding wheat: Grind your wheat when you plan to use it right away, as it begins losing vitamins and becoming rancid (the fats) as soon as it is ground. You can freeze it up to a week if necessary.

Kelly Beeson azbeeson@hotmail.com

Wheat: Cook it! Blend it!

Here are some of my favorite recipes that use wheat:

Wheat Bread
(A hybrid of Shar’s and Debbie Brown’s recipes.)

In a Bosch Universal bowl (or similar, or 1/2, or even 1/3 the recipe, for smaller mixer):
6 cups warm water, 115 degrees
2 Tbsp. Salt
2/3 cup Oil (I often use only 1/3 cup oil, and it still tastes okay)
2/3 cup Honey
3 Tbsp. Lecithin
1/3 cup Wheat Gluten
3 Tbsp. Instant yeast
6 to 8 cups Fresh ground flour to start

Let yeast, honey, and water dissolve. Add other ingredients above and mix on low while adding wheat flour until dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, and the bowl is clean. (2-4 more cups of flour, usually).

Mix 8-10 minutes or until the gluten is developed. Oil your hands and counter, divide dough into 4 or 5 large loaves. Grease pans with Pam, shape loaves and cover until dough has risen double.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until inside temp is 200 degrees. I lightly butter loaves, and leave on cooling racks until completely cool. Put in bread bags and freeze.

14 Grain Bread
I use the same recipe as above, except I add 1.5 -2 cups of 14 grain mix at the beginning, and so a little less wheat flour will be used overall. I buy the mix at Shar’s, or you could probably get something similiar at Sprouts or on the internet.

Here is the recipe if you want to make your own 14 grain mix: (Mix this all together, then use only 2 cups worth. Save the excess for your next batch)
1 Cup Nine grain ed cereal
1 cup Sunflower seeds
1/3 cup Millet
1/3 Cup Flax seed
1/3 Cup Sesame seed
1/3 cup Amaranth
It gives the bread a completely different flavor!

Carrot Cake
2 ½ Cup Soft wheat flour (regular will work as well. Sift out some of the bran of either flour before adding it to bowl)
1 ½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup oil
2 eggs
2/4 tablespoons water
½ cup crushed pineapple in juice- do not drain
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup carrots (take 2/3 cup dried cannery carrots with 1 cup water, microwave on high 1 minute, then let sit 10 minutes, drain and squeeze out excess water. This should equal about 1 cup reconstituted carrots.)

Mix together dry ingredients, pour in wet and mix together completely. Stir in carrots and nuts last. Pour into 9 inch round, greased and floured pans (I use parchment paper and Pam). Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool ten minutes. Remove from pan; cool thoroughly on rack. Frost with cream cheese icing.

Blender Pancakes
You need a blender, not a wheat grinder, for this recipe!

In the blender:
1 cup water or liquid milk (or 1 scant cup of water and 3 tablespoons powdered milk)
¾ cup whole wheat kernels (Soft wheat is best, but hard will be okay)
Blend at high speed until it looks like mud, about 4-5 minutes. Then add:
1 egg
2 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar (white or brown)

Blend well, then add:
1 teaspoon baking powder.

Blend just a few seconds. Pour onto hot, lightly oiled skillet. Flip when bottom is brown.
If you need to make more than one recipe, don’t double. Make it in separate batches, then add baking powder at the end.

If they are too flat, add a little more baking powder or a little white flour, or an extra egg!

Banana Bread
1 ¾ cup soft wheat flour (sift out some bran)
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup shortening or butter
2 tablespoons milk
2 eggs
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix 1 cup flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add banana, shortening and milk. Beat on low, then high for 2 minutes. Add eggs and rest of flour. Mix again, then add nuts and chocolate chips. Pour into 8x4x2 loaf pan, cook 55-60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack. Wrap in plastic wrap overnight to keep it from falling apart when you cut it.

Kelly Beeson azbeeson@hotmail.com

Wheat: Sprout it!

In the packet I gave out at the class, I included three pages of direction on sprouting. If you are interested in trying this yourself, call me and I will give you a copy. Basically, soak seeds 12 hours, then rinse. Rinse every 8-12 hours to keep them moist. Make sure there is excellent drainage. That’s it!

If you want wheat grass, place sprouts on well-drained soil and keep moist. Cut grass near the soil and blend for juice.

Eat sprouts raw on salads, or blanch them and add to bread(Google 'sprouted wheat bread' for a recipe). Juice wheat grass, or blend it in your blender.

They are at their vitamin packed peak when the sprout is about as long as the seed, and until it is a few times the length of the seed. You can refrigerate them when they get to the point you like them. That will stop the growth. They will stay well in your refrigerator at least a week or two.

You can keep them out of the sun, or let them green in the sun. It is a matter of which taste you prefer.

Sprouts are full of vitamins the seed doesn’t have!
You can sprout whatever wheat you have! I sprouted my hard white, soft white, and hard red wheat. They all did pretty well. The flavors are slightly different. I think the red is what most people sprout.

Kelly Beeson azbeeson@hotmail.com