Garbers Grind Wheat Kernels To Make Bread
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
EAST PETERSBURG (Lan
caster Co.) When Brenda Gar
ber makes homemade bread, she
grinds flour from whole kernel
wheat That might sound a bit old
fashioned, but Brenda’s methods
are far from outdated She uses
some of the newest machines
available to homeowners.
Within minutes she can change
whole kernel wheat into the finest
Michele measures the freshly ground flour into bags.
This mixsr kneads dough for six loaves of bread at one
time. The dough Is left In the bowl to raise and then formed
Into loaves and baked In the oven.
sifted flour by using a grain mill,
which is about a two-foot high
cannister-type container. The flour
is then combined with other bread
making ingredients in a Bosch
Universal Kitchen system that
kneads six loaves of bread at one
time. It takes two hours from start
to finish to produce six loaves of
bread
While it is impressive to watch
the whole kernel wheat trans
formed into flour within minutes.
Brenda, Michele and Richard are ready to eat the raisin bread that they made from
start to finish in two hours.
it may seem like an unnecessary
step when flour is readily available
at supermarkets.
But, Brenda contends, that the
flour that she grinds is not at all
like that available on supermarket
shelves. She has researched and
experimented with many different
types of flours. About five years
ago. she became convinced that
dietary benefits from midwestem
wheat was much better than that of
locally grown wheat and of that
sold at supermarkets.
Although the same wheat can be
sowed locally, the nutritional ben
efits ate not as great because
weather and soil conditions vary.
“Montana wheat has twice the
amount of gluten as wheat grown
in this area,” Brenda said.
Gluten is the elastic protein sub
stance that gives cohesiveness to
dough. Otherwise, bread is solid
and firm. Most Americans the
Garbers included prefer fluf
fier, softer bread.
For this reason, many recipes
for whole wheat bread actually use
only one-half whole wheat flour
and the other half white flour.
But the wheat that Brenda
grinds can be used entirely as the
flour in bread recipes. It has
enough gluten to give it the desired
lightness. This means that all the
whole kernel nutrients remain in
the freshly ground flour.
Because white flour is derived
from only the inner part of the
wheat kernel, it loses most of the
nutrients that whole wheat con
tains. Generally, white flour is
enriched, but only about one-third
of the nutrients are put back into
the flour.
Also removed during the refin
ing process is the bran, which is
needed to provide fiber in diets.
Many studies confirm that most
American diets are lacking in fib
er. It is believed that fiber helps to
prevent cancer and many other dis
eases.
According to Brenda, freshly
ground whole wheat contains so
many nutrients that a person could
exist almost entirely on bread and
water if needed. She said that the
fpMESTEA
Brenda fills the grinder with whole kernel whet . .
Grain Master grinds the wheat Into fine flour within minutes.
biblical references to “daily bread”
confirms that bread was made to
sustain the human body.
Brenda also uses freshly ground
whole wheat flour in cookies and
cake recipes.
Because the kitchen mill grinds
the flour as fine as baby powder,
the whole wheat texture in cakes
and cookies is not as offensive as it
is in most store-bought whole
wheat flour, Brenda explained.
It is no easy feat for Brenda to
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 13, 1996-63
obtain the Montana wheat Five
yean ago, she was told she needed
to order a minimum of one ton.
Dismayed, she put the idea on
hold. She was assured by the Mon
tana plant that she could easily dis
tribute that amount among
acquaintances because once peo
ple use it they become firm
customers.
Four yean ago, Brenda placed
an order for one ton of the flour.
(Turn to Page B 4)