March 6, 2007 - 6:01pm
Lesson from a Pig Farmer
My friend told me whatever makes a pig fat will also make a person fat. If so and you want to keep trim, keep making bread using hard red winter wheat. A pig farmer will not touch it. It is so hard it will go through you and not put the pounds on you that a soft white will.
Hard reds don't have the flavor either. So, why are they the MOST popular grain with millers - shelf life?
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To meet the growing demand overseas for hard white wheat, the U. of Neb. has developed Antelope and Arrowsmith Hard whites. Perhaps American markets will change from Hard Red. The preference in America in taste tests have proven Americans also preferr hard white.
Actually, I prefer the taste of hard red to hard white wheat in my whole grain breads. The whole white wheat tastes ... I dunno ... waxy? Bland?
Maybe I'm just used to hard red wheat. Ground fresh or from a high-quality miller like King Arthur, I find it delicious.
Now, in muffins, pancakes and waffles, soft white wheat is definitely the way to go as far as I'm concerned ....
Typically, for a two loaf recipe, I use one cup soft spring, one cup rough ground hard red, some corn meal, all that I grind and finish with the extra fine commercial Hungarian High Altitude flour. It states that it is hard wheat and does not mention if it is hard white or red. It says it comes from CO, MT and the Dakotas.
I am curious as to why yours would taste as you describe it. That would make me stop using it also, but mine is just the opposite. Much improved rich wheat taste with the addition of soft white spring from Walton's.
Hi I'm a whole grain baker and am curious about the gluten amounts in the grains you mention. Or does the hard red supply enough to off set these others if used in small amts? What sort of quanties do you add to the red wheat.
Ron
If you go to a site such as International Sourdough you will find, as I recall, only three that will handle whole grain dough and rise it well - African, Egyptian and Russian.
If you like whole grain bread, perhaps it would benefit you to check out these whole grain starters.
All starters are not alike.
Pigs will eat all grain flours, it is the grains themselves when unground that will pass directly through your system, same with flax, buckwheat, etc. I've seen pigs eat pretty much every bread and more so.
My in-laws used to get seconds and thirds from a bakery some decades ago and fed it to their pigs, who were quite content with it.
Consider Red Fife, the original wheat in Canada and the US in the 1800's, the flavour of it is nutty with Anise which is something I never see with white wheats. Also red's are higher in protein than white's. And hard red spring wheat has higher protein levels than hard red winter.