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Baking with Freshly Milled Grains/

Recipe Sources


Although freshly milled flours work just fine in any recipe (Remember that used to be the only kind there was!), using some recipes specifically written for fluffy, freshly milled flours can be a good place to start. When I share a specific recipe, I will do my best, to incorporate tips and tweaks, to help shorten the learning curve to success. 

Baking is different from general cooking. In cooking you can make little mistakes or modifications often without ruinous effects on the outcome. Baking is about learning a process and method to achieve reasonable consistency on the finished product.

My first Go-To is Bread Beckers. With 30+ years working with freshly milled whole grains, they have experimented extensively with what works and I have found many of their recipes in their Recipe Collection cookbook (I have a few copies - just put your request in the "Message to Seller" section on the order form) to be excellent, as written with quite a few variations on basic recipes giving you a good starting point. 

It is their method for mixing up dough with which I have found success:  liquid ingredients and salt to the mixing bowl, then adding 1/2 the flour, then the yeast and additional flour till dough pulls to the center and cleans the sides of the bowl. This is how I generally try every recipe to keep things SIMPLE. Great video collection here.

Additionally they have  a recipe section on their website where they offer free whole grain recipes. I can't say enough great things about the Millet Mac 'n Cheese! Written in keep it simple style for sure.

Laurel Robertson, author of Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book and Laurel's Kitchen, in my opinion her bread book is the ultimate bread resource. Laurel's "Loaf for Learning" method is my go-to on rise testing, shaping, and troubleshooting. Reach out to me if you have any issues with your bread and we can see what might be going on.

I usually start by looking at my Bread Becker Recipe Collection, then see what Laurel says about the same item. She has detailed instructions and troubleshooting that I have found to be invaluable. Looking at both resources I feel well-equipped to tackle a new recipe - bagels, milk breads, pita... Besides using freshly milled flours, she also uses natural sweeteners and other more healthy options. Laurel's Kitchen, has some cookies, crackers and other nutritious recipes.

Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book can be overwhelming with all the detail and the paragraph style format. If you feel that way, refer back to Bread Beckers Recipe Collection of simple methods and all should be fine!

Janie's Mill is a wonderful source for freshly milled/whole grain recipes! Nicely categorized for easy searching. In love with the nutrition and flavor of nixtamalized corn, I found their recipe for Cornmeal Cookies with Jam Hearts, and they are amazing! Definitely not your every day cookies but when you want to have a bakeshop level fancy cookie, this one is perfect! I will be exploring more here for sure.

Grains In Small Places:  In my search for a good pizza dough and method for baking, I tried several that were too much crust, not quite cooked all the way through but the top is crisping etc. Then I found Grains In Small Places and, Voila!, we had perfect crust that cooked through, the bottom is crisp yet not dried out. I also greatly appreciate the detailed information on immediate use, fermenting in the fridge and freezing. This makes homemade pizza possible as a quick meal. We usually either bake one up and ferment a second in the fridge or par bake the second crust (no toppings) to store in the freezer - super quick dinner! Hefty 2-1/2 gal ziplock bags from Drug Emporium fit these perfectly.

Organics by Lee:  These people are passionate about freshly milled flour! I found a great recipe for freshly milled whole​ wheat soft pretzels from Organics by Lee, the company founded by the first home grain mill inventor (1930's), Dr. Royal Lee. An early pioneer in whole food nutrition and specifically the value in whole grain wheat, "Referring to the highly processed, bleached flour of the day as 'foodless calories', Dr. Lee considered wheat flour almost as perishable as milk. He said, 'the vitamin of flour is lost as soon as the flour’s oils becomes rancid—a change that occurs in a few days after the milling of the grain, unless the flour is refrigerated.'" Most information on nutrient loss today has shortened up that time to 2 days or less.