Where to buy bulk wheat berries?

http://www.organicwheatproducts.com/?page_id=70  flourgirl is a fresh loaf poster here. Great prices. Don't know about distant shipping rates.

http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/search.aspx?find=wheat+berries Higher prices. Cheap shipping.

http://www.barryfarm.com/Grains.htm  Bulk discounts    

http://www.bobsredmill.com/search.php?mode=search&page=1

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/king-arthur-organic-red-wheat-berries-3-lb

http://www.wareaglemill.com/khxc/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=WBR1

Amazon.com

Whole Foods: I've read the store will special order bulk purchases for pick up.

 Local coops, health/natural food stores, feed stores: undoubtably.

Good luck. Let us know what you find.

Ideally, home milled flour should be used right after milling; the sooner the flour is used, the better tasking the bread. I would recommend that the flour at least be cool to the touch, as warm flour absorbs slightly more water. If you stir the flour or pour it into another bowl, it quickly cools.

TFL has a solid community of bakers who home mill their flour. The collective experience of these bakers is that bread baked with home milled wheat flour used within 48 hours of milling tastes better than the same bread made with even the most reputable commercial whole wheat flour. It is one area where a clear concensus has developed on TFL.

If you mill more flour than needed for immediate baking, store it in the refrigerator in a paper bag. Whether home milled or store bought, I recommend storing your whole grain flour in the refrigerator if it will be used up in about a month. All whole grain and whole bean flour keeps well if frozen, as long as you have the freezer space. There are other TFL members who have no qualms storing whole grain flour in a kitchen cupboard though they tend to use it up within 4 - 8 weeks. For long term storage, the freezer is your friend.

Lastly, for home-milled flour, there is the question of whether, if not used within 48 hours, the flour should be aged. Briefly, when wheat is milled, enzymes start to affect the baking properties of the flour - specifically the flour's ability to develop gluten. If the flour is not used immediately, a storage period of from 2 to 8 weeks is recommended. Unbleached commercial white flour is stored for a month or two (unsure of the exact time frame here) before being distributed. However, among home millers, the jury is still out on this issue. I do try to give any extra home milled flour a resting period (in the refrigerator) of at least 2 weeks, but have not done any systematic tests of whether this is necessary.

http://www.azurestandard.com

Azure Standard is in Oregon I believe. I order from them all the time and have been really happy with the products. I used to be in Seattle and now am in Idaho. I order through a local organic foods co-op but I think you can order without being a part of a co-op. However, if you could find a co-op in Seattle that orders from Azure, you can get a better price per pound if your group wants to order with you and split it.

Hope this helps.

Fairhaven Flour Mill in Bellingham used to sell berries and I would imagine that they still do.   Call ahead and tell them what you want.

Jeff

http://www.fairhavenflour.com/index.html

I'm another one that buys my wheat from the local feed store.  I paid $11 for 50 lbs.  The wheat is just as clean as from what I order online and it tastes even better.  I use my flour as soon as I mill it, no waiting required.

For grain, try Bluebird Grain Farms in Winthrop WA, Walton Feed in Idaho, or Heartland Mill in Kansas.

As far as aging whole grain flour, Thom Leonard in The Bread Book recommends against it; and Prof. Calvel in The Taste of Bread implies that it is only desirable for refined flour.

thay have wheat and other grains as well as candy and chocolet and ...somebody please stop me!!!!

if you buy more than 75 dollars they will ship for 5 dollars

http://www.bulkfoods.com/grain.asp

Manna Mills in Mount Lake Terrace sells wheat berries in 50 pound bags or in the bulk bins for you to measure out the amount you need. I haven't been in for awhile (bought several bags and haven't needed to) but around the end of June I got 50 pound bags for about $33 (or so, can't remember exactly).  They do give you a 10% discount when you buy the 50 lb bag so that price was the shelf price. Give them a call and they'll tell you what they have and how much it is. The have lots of other grains too. It's a fun place to go and try some new things.

Other than that, Azure Standard is a good resource and sells for about the same price as Manna Mills. Believe it or not, some Walmarts carry Montana Wheat but you would want to call ahead on that one. It's pretty hit or miss if they have it (because people like me buy it all up when I see it!) It is normally on the flour aislr or for some reason I've also seen it on the ethnic food aisle.

I have also seen bulk wheat on craigslist. There is a co-op order with delivery at the Evergreen Fairgrounds in the summer but I've never gone through them so I wouldn't know who to contact.

For our area Manna Mills and Azure Standard are where I normally get mine.  The Everett Co-op sells bulk wheat in bins but I've never asked if they sell 50 lb bags or for how much.

I just added quite a few new products to my site. We grow our own organic grains so we know what you  are getting. You can use our wheat, freshly ground, as soon as it is ground. It makes great bread. www.organicwheatproducts.com

Wheat Montana has a fine product if you do not want organic grains.  However, and this is a big HOWEVER, the flavor advantage of organic grains over conventional grains is huge.  Many authors, like Daniel Leader, have addressed this matter in their books and noted the difference.  For all of the tremendous effort that goes into extracting flavor from grain one of the easiest ways to a big improvement is to simply buy organic grains. Not to mention the added benefit of the chemical fertilizers that you will not be consuming.

I recently ordered organic grains, including hard white wheat,  from www.organicwheatproducts.com and they are absolutely beautiful.  So far I have only baked with their rye and the flavor is great. 

If you have not tried organic grains for their wonderful flavor I think that you are ignoring a great opportunity to improve the taste of your bread.

Jeff

The answer must lie in the fact that chemical fertilizers produce a less flavorful product.

Jeff

I have a local Wheat montana deli in my town, they have all of their flours in any size you want, plus rolled oats, mixed oats, treticle, etc... in sizes from 1 to 50 pounds

they also have a fresh grain mill right in the store, so you put a paper sack up to the mill and push a button for as much fresh grind as you want (exactly like a coffee grinder in the grocery store).

I need to take some pictures of the setup for everyone to believe it, but I feel blessed being a baker with access to some excellent product.

Last week I bought 50 pounds of milled white unbleached unbromated, and 5 pounds of flax seed for 30 dollars.

I have found no reason to believe that ordinary feed grain has added chemicals.

The main issue is extra cleaning for human consumption. I think that would be problematic for wheat. However, another cleaning is not too tedious for a few pounds of corn. (I recommend cleaning corn regardless of source.)

Another problem with using feed wheat is finding out what the protein level is.

Make sure to avoid anything intended for wildlife feed. It probably has a higher threshold for aflatoxin.

Check the Mexican markets for corn.

Buy before mid-spring, before the critters spread.

When I first started baking whole grain breads, I enjoyed them but I wasn't getting the full flavor I expected. There was a grassy and kind of bitter taste.

When I started using freshly ground flours, the taste improved immediately. I looked into buying a mill and grinding my own flours and for me the extra steps required to get good organic grain shipped in and then store it properly and later mill it, was not worth the trouble.

I started using Organic Wheat Products flours, all fresh milled, and have been very happy for the change. My breads are better than ever before using the same formulas and methods. With proper fermenting the wholesome sweet nature of the grains come out beautifully. The flavors are far improved from store bought whole grains. I'm not a flour expert and can't say why this is from a technical standpoint but there is no doubt the fresh milled product I get are the best I have tasted. Shipping charges are not an issue as they are only actual cost and not a profit center for the company. The flour price is more than fair. I think the Rye and WW I bought last week was  60 cents per pound. I generally buy just enough to use in the next few weeks so I always have fresh flour. Bottom line is my flour isn't any more expensive than the product on the shelf of the grocery store and usually cheaper. And after all, it isn't really a matter of price I'm most interested in any way. I'm not striving to make the cheapest bread possible. I want people to taste my work and think, that's the best tasting bread I've ever had.

Eric

"It is supremely important to use only organic berries."

Gérard Rubaud

In Southwestern Ohio at Strike's Family Orchard between Eaton and Gratis on Rt. 122, I found Wheat Montana for a good price.