Sunday, April 21, 2019

wheat flour 2


WHEAT FLOUR 2
I should clarify something.  I started grinding my own wheat about two years ago.  It was so much better than store bought whole wheat flour.  Better, as in Tasted Fresh rather than Tasted Semi-Rancid.  But it did NOT taste better as in This Is What Bread Should Taste Like.  We are all used to talcum powder consistency flour.  With my cheap ass mill I was getting flaky and lumpy flour like a peasant with two rocks would get.  So, I loved and craved the freshly milled, but it wasn’t “normal” flour.  It was a chore to eat, and it was a bizarre taste.
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It is like when you go pick dandelion leaves for a salad.  It is loaded with nutrients ( as long as it wasn’t from oil soaked dirt on the side of the road ), compared to factory farmed food which is grown in dead soil and only sees artificial fertilizer.  You want to eat it as your body craves fresh food.  But you have to talk yourself into liking it.  It tastes too weird.  Even with unhealthy ranch dressing it just tastes “off”.  I still love my fresh ground wheat but I didn’t want too much of it every day.
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Store bought flour gives me that “normal” taste.  But it does NOT taste fresh, even milled just a few weeks ago ( okay, I’m ASSUMING.  I assume a one year expiration and that is three weeks shy of a year ).  And as I said, the price premium bothers me.  If I only eat one half cup of that flour a day, a five pound bag lasts me a month ( one quarter cup flour is an even 100 calories ).  But what happens if I go back to my old One Third Of Daily Calories wheat consumption? 
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Then I’m paying almost $4 a week for flour.  The feed store kernels cost a buck.  $2.79 a week cost difference means I waste almost $150 a year.  Who in their right minds thinks this is a good deal?  You are wasting good money, and for an inferior product.  One possible work-around is to substitute White hard wheat for Red hard wheat ( the hard winter wheat has the highest protein content ).  It is slightly easier to grind and delivers a slightly less course flour.  But I am thinking it might be time for an equipment upgrade.
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Now, please do NOT mistake this as an excuse to piss money into a black hole.  The Victoria grain grinder is $44.  When One Is None, you MUST have more than one grain grinder.  Even if it is only capable of delivering course flour, it is cheap enough to buy several ( Chinese versions are half the price.  I don’t recommend unless you are really poor.  Then, do NOT grind with the plates touching.  You will get metal shavings ).  If wheat is almost all of your apocalypse calories, you MUST have back up grinders.
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Come the collapse, if must be you will learn to love course flour.  However, if you are eating a lot of flour now, to free up prep budgets, to improve your flour quality might be necessary to save that money.  You might be forced to upgrade your grinder ( your back-ups can remain the Victoria ).  The store bought WILL increase in price.  Hell, your state might start or increase sales tax on food ( sometimes, feed store grain won’t be taxed-but if it is it will be on a much lower price ).  Should you buy a better grinder?
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Remember, this is for TODAY, pre-collapse.  It is a luxury item in one aspect, but if it gets you eating a lot more whole wheat flour it is an investment.  I hate expensive grinders for the apocalypse, but it could be just fine if you don’t need duplicates.  The best budget mill that gives fine flour is the Wonder Mill brand.  These have a good reputation and are $220-$250.  The manual model and the electric one cost almost the same, so your choice.  But the manual can be converted to bike chain or electric drill driven.
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For an extra fee, of course.  And the replacement steel heads are $50.  So, to get a mill you just use on-grid is $220, but one that can run past the pull date of civilization is more like $330.  I’m only going to be using this mill for a cup of flour a day, if my current use stays the same.  At a savings of $5.50 a month over store bought, it will take me a minimum of forty months to pay off my investment.  Ouch!  I think I’m better off spending just half that amount, for a luxury item.
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I have three Victoria mills and two Chinese knock-offs.  As these are pretty much a lifetime tool, I am only buying this mill as a treat to myself.  It certainly is not a necessity.  I have enough mills as it is.  Far more than enough.  But if I buy it, I’ll be eating more flour.  I won’t treat myself with a four year tool, but one that is paid off in just over a year and a half?  Sure.  The NOL has not one but TWO Kitchenaid’s.  And grinder attachment is only $110.  That I can afford.
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It has some bad reviews on how long it takes to grind flour, and how hot the machine gets.  I think this is people using the 300 watt version of the Kitchenaid ( Artisan model ) rather than the 600 watt machine.  No problem.  I’ll just pre-grind the kernels in my Victoria.  Two passes on course then medium on my manual mill won’t be as difficult as my regular three grinds.  And it will deliver much finer flour.  That is fresh.  The only way I lose on this bet is if the grid goes down prior to that twenty month pay-back.
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And yet, even then, I’m better off with a 300 watt Kitchenaid running off my 1,000 watt inverter and 100 watt solar panels than any other electronic mill needing 1,500 watts of juice.  The pre-manual grind is little more than what I’m doing now ( three grinds now, four grinds later ) and gives me improved flour.  And I’m immune from any grocery store price hikes.  And I’ve gambled comparatively little. 
( .Y. )
( today's related Amazon link click here )
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note: the TV series "Tremors", is on YouTube.  First one here .  It was good enough.  Decent acting, good budget.  I just thought it drug on too much.  But, you might enjoy.
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31 comments:

  1. “Hell, your state might start or increase sales tax on food ( sometimes, feed store grain won’t be taxed-but if it is it will be on a much lower price”


    Tip. Where I live at least, when you buy hay, the clerk asks you if it’s for a cow or a horse. If it’s for a horse, you get charged sales tax. A horse is considered a luxury item, and a cow must be exempt under some kind of benevolent husbandry regulation. Don’t know if it applies to wheat, but be ready for that question if it’s ever posed.

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    1. Nevada will tax BBQ propane, but not RV propane. Don't want those crusty seniors freezing on the governors watch.

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    2. Back in 73 when my friend and I were 18 and were shooting .22 pistols we would buy ammo but only if it was for a rifle. If it was for a pistol you had to be 21. The gov't sure is stupid isn't it?

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    3. Thugs, bullies and thieves don't have to be smart.

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  2. Hi, Jim.

    We have the electric Wonder Mill, which is how we grind our wheat. It works fine for dry grain, but not oily grain, like flax, which we tried and it plugged the machine up. We also have the manual version which we have not used.

    We also have the back up Corona/Victoria mills. These are the old type that grandma used to use. We don't use them, but we have them.

    The Kitchen Aid grinder referenced - We use our Kitchen Aid to mix our bread dough with and it works fine. We recently acquired the grain grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid. It will grind oily grains like flax and it works well.

    All of our grinders have had wheat through them at one time or another since this is our primary grain. We are happy with the electric Wonder Mill and we are happy with the Kitchen Aid grinding attachment that we use for flax. We have never ground anything besides hard red wheat and flax. We have never ground rice or corn. I presume the grinders will work depending on the oil content. The Kitchen Aid attachment will grind to my knowledge, any grain.

    Frank

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    1. The only thing I'd think about grinding besides wheat would be beans. Some are a good twelve years old ( and I got them after they were old and donated ), so grinding might be mandatory. Can't imagine I'd go wrong between both the Victoria and the KitchenAid.

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    2. I own and use a lot “The Family Grain Mill”. To date I’ve milled just about 300 lbs of wheat grain, the milled flower is not talcum powder but close. It comes with a hand crank for manual use but has optional adapters to adapt to stand mixers including the KitchenAid which I use. It takes 8 minutes to mill enough flower for two loaves of bread (6½ cups) using the KitchenAid. Yes, it is an all polymer (Lexan) frame but uses hardened stainless burrs, I’m still using the original burrs. It performs great and I expect many more years of use from it.
      As for the Wheat I use, I started back in Y2K using Hard Red Wheat but it always left a strange aftertaste and the stomach wasn’t fond of it. So I switched to Hard White and have never used Red since. White makes great bread products, anything you can make with White All Purpose flour can be made with Hard White.
      As for beans I have some old ones in stock too. They are so old you can’t soak them soft before cooking (they are like pea gravel). So now I only “Pressure Cook” them. In just 17 minutes they are cooked and ready to eat.

      Here’s a link to my blog with details of the mill:
      https://livingprepared.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-family-grain-mill.html

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    3. Excellent-thanks. Good 'ol pressure cooker. That should be on the top six list of prepper cooking equipment, after grain mill and solar ovens.

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  3. Sometimes I wonder...how many calories one burns to get a copy of flower hmm ?
    Having owned and used the Wonder Junior...I wonder if he name didn't derive from, I wonder if we can't get jnior to grind the wheat lol.
    Much better would be to purchase or manufacture the chain drive sprocket. Your legs are much more efficient. Or even better , a 12 volt starter motor driven by solar power might be an even better choice. Let the sun's energy save you the energy ! Keeping the hand crank for backup of course.
    Keep telling myself to order that adapter sprocket, but cheap old me says I'm capable of making my own ( haven't made one yet ) but knowing it's something which could be done post SHTF, gives me an excuse lol.
    I'm happy to hear you say that ya might get a W. Junior. Though truth be known, I usually run it twice even in the Jr. As it can be done via once through, you best have strong arms !! Even more reason to use legs or solar...

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    1. "Wonder if I could get Junior to do it?" Ha! Very good. Yeah, I was the little punk grinding the flour in the Corona. Then mom used that dense ass bread on sandwiches so I was punished twice.

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    2. PS-Spud, you were the one who got me turned on to the Wonder Mill, so if I do get it, I'll have you to thank.

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  4. I suffer from a poor evolutionary upbringing and only know of bread in bags found upon those shelves at stores. These preps and processess are interesting as I like to take things to an extreme or austere mental exercise and problem solving challenge. Post collapse, I don't envision much or many sit down dinners with plates of nicely sliced fluffy soft breads to sop up the other delicious entre's. I would prefer to steer Minions into those simple 'easier' things like little hard roll types of breads (for your satchel when on 'extended' l.p./o.p. or foraging etc) or dumpling type uses mixed in with scraps in a "Hermitage Stew" type recipe. (Think no power, no alternate electric at all, combat sustenance and food prep working conditions) All the current challenges and dilemmas listed above, though worthy concerns, are along the lines of indecisions over what to watch on streaming t.v. tonight. Adopted and practiced techniques must include those worst cases and extremest scenarios to fully maintain a vital continuity of ration intakes during the die off of everyone else. Yesterday's contribution of premaking oatmeal in thermos,(sharing perfected examples of end run around around problems) brilliantly displays the kind of thinking AND practice that meets the entrance fee for the post collapse circus show. (!)

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    1. Yeah, this was stated as being about lower cost eating NOW, not PA. It is still a luxury item, nicely milled flour. It is like talking about the AR-it is NOT a great PA gun, although it can be used during the disintegration phase to good effect.

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  5. On the topic of baking, I wonder if anyone knows of an oven suitable for putting on top of a wood stove that is dependable for reaching the temperatures for baking bread. I've found the Omnia and Coleman ovens on the internet. The Omnia has a better reputation for reaching baking temps, but is donut-shaped so unhandy for baking bread (though this would not be a problem for baking rolls, mentioned by Anon 8:47) while the Coleman got a lot of complaints for being uninsulated and having too many ventilation holes, therefore not good for temps above 250° F or so unless it was over a propane burner. Bakerstone appears only to make pizza ovens.
    When my wife and I got married in Japan, she had a fully insulated oven with an integral thermometer that fit over a regular burner on a common gas stove. Unfortunately, we did not bring it when we moved to the US. I have looked on Japanese websites but not found that kind of oven yet. Japan has modernized and I'm not sure such ovens are even available any more.

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    1. I'm not Tim Taylor by any means, but it doesn't seem THAT hard of an issue to Afro Engineer. Even if you don't weld, would aluminum tape hold up? It's just sheet metal and insulating foam, right?

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    2. No aluminum ducting tape would not work. The glue would melt right off.
      Best bet without welding, might be to bend and form it from metal sheets then just use pop rivets that match the type metal you used. Aluminum would work so long as the heated surface's didn't get hotter than say 400° or so. Better would be to use mild steel of say 12 to 14 guage. Then temperature won't be an issue so much.
      Stainless even better but harder to cut and bend. Pop rivets are available to match all three types of metal.
      Best way to transfer the heat might be stove pipes running through the oven to get better heat distribution. Otherwise just placing the "oven" directly on top of the heat source will be hotter on the bottom and cooler at the top of your oven.

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    3. Yeah, I'm an idiot. Makes sense. I'd feel bad, but it happens so often...:)

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    4. Got an old microwave?
      There's 4 or 5 of the 6 steel walls you need. Lot's of holes though, so fill em up with steel pop rivets. Get the gun and rivets at Horror Fright, cheap. Grab another junk micro and there goes walls 5 and 6. BTW, if you can find a junk micro with a working transformer you can make a welder and fore go the rivets. Cut patches out of the micro and weld them over the holes. A trip to the dump reveals plenty of micros for the taking. If you got the time and ability you can make it double wall with heat resistant insulation between. Finaggle a rotisserie rack and rotate it over a wood fire. While running that handle sing, "Red wheat roasting on an open fire.....", just like Johnnie the turd burglar.

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    5. gs, "4 or 5 of the 6 steel walls you need" And one of them is a latching door with a window. I'm spoiled, I like being able to look into the oven.

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    6. I watched a YouTube Video or read that you can build a microwave gun to aim at your neighbors out of old microwave ovens. I'll have to look for it again

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    7. I've seen that myself. Not sure if it is a thing or if it is on par with "free energy from the air, 1 million MPG carburetor" kind of scam. Let me know. I'll make a list of those I'd like to slow cook internally.

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  6. Hey Bison - I make a lot of bread at home so I'm familiar with the travails of grinding wheat. I do it anyway since I'm cheap and it does make a better tasting bread. I use the little boxy VICTORIO unit and it does a pretty good job but its small and labor intensive. I use my old Victoria to course grind first to save wear and tear on the finer grinding VICTORIO.

    However, a couple years ago I started making sprouted grain bread. Essene style so the sprout doesn't need to be dried. More nutritious and so much easier to grind. I started using my grandmother's old cast metal meat grinder that she got as a wedding present over 100 years ago in 1915. Its still going strong and I'm sure it will last me another hundred years should I live to 170... No worries of metal shavings and no problem getting a fine enough grind even using the most primitive tools. Metal meat grinders run around $35 and plastic ones around $25. For fun I picked up a little plastic one at Goodwill for $4 and it works just fine. I suspect it might last a couple decades since there is so little stress in the system. New electric driven ones only cost about $60-$70 and they suck down a lot less power that grain grinders. Take a look at whats available on AMAZON by entering "meat grinder" its a different world compared with grain grinders.

    You end up with a product that is very easy to process, more nutritious, and more flavorful. I remember that you had a less than positive experience a while back with sprouted grain bread, but give it another try. One of the keys I think is to not let the sprout get too long. The nutrition conversion is essentially complete when the "tail" first pokes out of the seed. I stop there since the longer it gets the more like grass it tastes. Too many online sites suggest letting the tail get as long as the grain. No reason for this and it just messes with flavor. Push the sprouted grain through the meat grinder adding a little salt if you like, then knead it for 5-10 minutes. Leave it plain or add tasty stuff like garlic, raisins, onions, jalapenos, then shape it into little flattish loaves and bake. No sense in adding yeast since it won't rise. The un-ground bran cuts the developing gluten fibers preventing a decent rise.

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    1. I feel cheated on. You are getting your survival fix from someone else. Sorry, but you have me confused with someone else who tried sprouted bread.:)

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    2. Ha! Sorry about that. I probably just had a senior moment. As I tell my wife, much less likely that I'm cheating than it is that my mind is playing tricks on me.

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    3. Sorry to obsess, but it bugs me when my brain skips tracks like this. On reflection I'm thinking the topic was seitan not sprouted bread.

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    4. What is seitan? As for senior moments, I have them aplenty.

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    5. Seitan - meat substitute made with wheat gluten.

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    6. Ah! Thank you. Now it all makes sense. I tried more than once and it was a friggin disaster. Turning golden wheat into turd tasting...something.

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    7. Nicks, would you post recipe details about your Essene bread, thanks

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  7. I have a AC powered WOnder Mill that I use now, and a Much more expensive manual grinder for "after". I also have a couple of Victorio's that were what I first bought, now barter/loaner items.

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    1. I wish I could talk myself into that kind of investment, but, alas...

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