How to Make Flour
While we have become spoiled with simple modern wonders, such as premade flour and baking goods bagged and ready to use in every supermarket across the U.S., we often forget that these chores were once performed by regular people each and every day. Home-ground flour may be a chore, but making it at home ensures the freshest possible flour packed full of all the vitamins and minerals nature intended. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Begin with fresh wheat grain that has been separated from the stalks but has not been heated or treated in any way. Rinse the wheat thoroughly. Spread evenly on muslin cloth or fine screens, allowing it to dry completely.
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Place the fresh grain in either a stone or metal mill. Mills are available in a variety of sizes, including small hand-operated mills for home use. Turn the crank on the mill, moving the wheat through the revolving grinders and collecting the resulting powder in the lower bin.
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Sift the flour through three different mesh gauges. For best results, purchase flour sifters from the same store where you purchase your mill, as they will be able to help you select the right sizes for wheat flour. The first and largest gauge will separate the bran from the flour. The bran can be used to make breakfast breads, sprinkled in the garden as compost or mixed with feed for animals.
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Pass the flour through a second sifter to divide course flour from fine flour. Course flour can be used to make tortillas, sandwich breads and crackers. Fine flour is best used for more delicate baking, such as cakes, pie crusts and pastries.
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Store your flour in a cool, dark and dry location, as it contains no preservatives and will spoil faster than supermarket varieties. Fine flour spoils faster than bran and course flour, so make sure it is stored in an airtight container and that you only make as much as you can use in two or three months.
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