red wheat (aussi)
Going back to earlier on in the year we did some posting on Red wheat which is fairly scarce ihere in Australia, and following up on an article that JonJ noticed in South Africa managed to track down a local grower here in Western Australia who was very kind enough to gift us several sacks of two different red wheats that he was growing mainly as a crop in his rotation. We have posted some of the resulting breads and everyone has so far been quite impressed,
Tim the farmer has been following our interest in his Red Wheat and even asked is there anything that he could do to improve the wheat.
Today Tim took Time to post some pictures of this years crop that has been planted and there is 260 Hectares of RGT Accroc in the ground and it was great to see this years crop already growing, its been planted in the paddock that was used for Canola last year. If all goes well harvest time will be around Christmas!
i think its just great to see Tim's enthusiasm for our interest in his Red Wheat for bread making that is classified and sold as a feed wheat.
We look forward to a good growing season and continued interest from our farmer friend Tim and the growing number of bakers trying this wheat .
Like many people, i think its nice to know exactly where your food is coming from and there we have it!
kind regards Derek
Comments
For those who are curious, 260 hectares is 642-and-a-fraction acres, or just over 1 square mile.
Hi Derek,
The photos are Tim's farm are beautiful. It's inspiring to hear about his interest in what is an unusual crop in your corner of the world. How fortunate that you two found each other – and through an intermediary on another continent, no less! Tim's "feed wheat" is feeding your family some amazing breads that you have shared with us, all around the world. That's a great story illustrating what a special site TFL is. I loved reading this and seeing these photos first thing on waking up this morning. Thank you (Tim and JonJ, too)!
Hi A G
As you get up and start your day i am about to get my head down as my day is nearly done , im very pleased you liked the pictures and yes lucky to have Tims interest too here is some bread that another of our local bakers made with the red wheat Margaret is the lady who kindly gifted me her flour mill so only fair that i provide her with some of this flour Margaret is an accomplished baker of S/D breads.
Here is some bread she made recently from the Accroc red wheat and her comments on it
Today I made sourdough bread using some winter red wheat Derek kindly milled for me. I used 60% of this wheat flour and 40% Caputo flour for long fermentation with 65% hydration and rye starter. This is the most delicious bread with a soft crumb and a crisp crust. I wish this flour was commercially available as I would certainly use it regularly. Thanks Derek!
Derek, it is such a pleasure following this story of discovery, collaboration, and I hope, new-found friendships and partnerships. Tim's wheat field and its surrounding landscape are just gorgeous, and I hope we'll be seeing more from him as it grows and matures. You're doing a wonderful thing.
All the best,
dw
P.S. Oats were once considered animal feed too.
Thanks Debra
I'm glad that others are enjoying the journey, i too am learning a lot more about wheat than i ever bothered to concern myself with previously which is a poor admission since it is the most essential ingredient in our bread baking endeavours. i now look forward to newsletters from groups like "Grain Central" https://www.graincentral.com and others.
i have also been able to chat with a grain merchant and Technical Product Development Manager getting information about the RGT ACCROC wheat that was bred in France and found out about the system of royalties that apply to many of these breeders and developers of wheat varieties.
The Australian classification of wheat is also a fascinating story, a fairly lengthy process it seems and seems to confirm that Feed Wheat does not necessarily mean animal fodder. here is some further reading for those so inclined https://wheatquality.com.au/classification/ .
Tim also sent me a picture of an experiment that he is conducting where he will be planting lupins and flax together.
see attached
Another thing we are trying this year is lupin combined with some flax. These lupins are grown as a fodder for lambs after they have been weaned. The trouble with lupin is the paddock can get very bare so I'm hoping the flax will provide stability to the soil on the hills. Flax is a very tough plant that use to be used for ropes and other building products. Flax/linseed his very high in omega. Tim actually gave Lachie and I a bag of Lupins and a bag of Linseed / Flax and i believe that Lachie has milled some of the Lupins and used the Linseed both with great results!. I am hoping to catch up with Lachie soon now that he has had time to recover from the Hot Cross Bun madness. I hope that with Lachie's business acumen and contacts we might be able to get more of Tims Red wheat into the hands of bakers.(where it belongs) On another note Gavin C in Victoria is also getting closer to tracking down some of the elusive Red Stuff, and might be able to comment further here on his quest..Enjoy every installment of the saga, and this is clearly a winter wheat because the weather has really turned cold here at last and imagine the same for you too.
Was wondering if this wheat could be marketed as some sort of artisanal flour.
Its You and Gavin's fault!
Thanks
The pictures are great . I'm expecting some samples from the same Technical Product Development Manager you put me onto on my side of the country. He is going to sent me some RGT Accroc and RGT Cesario, both red winter wheat, This is an exciting journey and I'm hoping to come close to the bread Debra achieves.
Cheers,
Gavin