Friday, January 28, 2011

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Whole Wheat is the staple of my diet. It stores well, grinds easily, sprouts easily, can be grown from the storage part and is highly nutritious. My favorite thing in the whole world to make out of whole wheat is pancakes.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

For every cup of flour add:

¼ tsp salt (pinch)
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp sugar
dash of cinnamon
1 egg
1 tsp oil
1 cup water (give or take for your favorite consistency)

for 4 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
several shakes of cinnamon
4 eggs
1 Tbs oil
4 cups of water (give or take for your favorite consistency)

Wheat Storage:
Whole wheat stores really well. There has been wheat found in the Egyptian pyramids- over 2000 years old- that has been able to sprout.

Store wheat in an air tight container. I use Home Depot’s orange buckets with a mylar liner- or food grade buckets without a liner.

Purchase whole wheat at....
Stone Woman Herbal
Crow Wing Coop (usually I order 50 pound bags)....and store in buckets - last November I paid $.74 per pound of organic red winter wheat.


Grinding Wheat...
Grind only what you plan to use that week- fresh ground wheat loses 50% of it’s nutrition after 3 days.

My grinder- Whisper Mill- now called the “Wonder mill” I have had it for 10+ years- use it nearly every day. Retails $200- 270.

Available online:
www.kitchenkneads.com
http://thewondermill.com/ (parts and accessories- I love it when I can get replacement parts)
http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_FP%20M560_A_name_E_Wonder%20Mill%20Wheat%20Grinder
There are many other grinder options. Just do some Internet research and enjoy-
I also keep a hand powered grinder in case I want/need wheat when electricity isn’t available.

Pointers for baking with whole wheat flour

reduce the fat- fat’s job is to cut the gluten in the recipe so it becomes flaky- there is much less gluten in whole wheat flour then in white flour- so you can easily reduce the fat by up to 50%.

add water- the bran in the whole wheat absorbs moisture. So always add more water. I often add it in little amounts until I have the desired consistency.

let it sit a bit- letting the recipe sit for a while once it is mixed allows the bran to absorb the water (makes it softer)- so let it sit and then add more water to reach your desired consistency.

remember- the softer the dough- the softer the finished baked good.

increase flavorings- the whole wheat covers up usual amounts of flavorings- if you want to taste it- add more. This is true for vanilla, extracts, herbs, spices and garlic.

Whole Wheat Cookies

1 container juice concentrate
1 stick butter- melted
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla
cinnamon (to taste)
add 2 tsp baking soda and watch the reaction foam
4 cups flour
then add chocolate chips, nuts, oatmeal, raisins, coconut ect to taste and desire.

Drop onto greased cookie sheet- bake 350 for about 10-12min.