The Fresh Loaf

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What is the yield for wheat berries to cups of flour?

berryblondeboys's picture
berryblondeboys

What is the yield for wheat berries to cups of flour?

I guess there are two ways to look at it, 5 lbs of flour is the same as 5 lbs of wheat, but what is the yield? Like, how many cups of flour do you get from a cup of wheat berries?

Or, for baking purposes (and I do use my scale a lot), is it better to just weigh my wheat berries and then grind them and use that as my guide for making a loaf?

Consensus seems to be either use it IMMEDIATELY or have it wait a few days (more than three?)

I don't have a mill right now, but have been thinking about it for YEARS and now that I'm baking daily AND i make cakes, I'm wondering if it's more economical in the long run to grind my own wheat?

Melissa

 

shakleford's picture
shakleford

I always weigh my berries, but the rule of thumb that I've always read is that one cup of berries yields one and a half cups of flour.

I love grinding my own wheat, but I would be hard-pressed to make a case for it being economical.  Good-quality wheat berries seems to cost roughly as much as good-quality flour (at least for me), and mills aren't cheap.

proth5's picture
proth5

Your yield will depend on the extraction that you desire for your baked product.

If you want pure whole grain flour berries will yield flour pound for pound.  I would weigh after milling for my recipe as there may be some loss in the milling process.

If you desire different extractions (such as an 80-85% rate to create "high extraction flour" which is not quite whole wheat, not quite white) your yield will decrease.

I have gone round and round on aging folklore.  In terms of observable characteristics I see no difference in whole grain products not aged, aged a week, or aged two months.  The taste of freshly ground flour is the best (to my taste) and the less aging, the better the taste.

Scientific studies of flour aging report that it takes nearly 2 months for whole wheat flour to reach maximum "gluten strength" at room temperature - so, there you are.

If you are looking to use home milled flour in cakes, you may wish to consider that you will want to be able to sift out some of the bran and you may get involved in grinding soft wheats.

The advantage to home milling for me, is that I can get the product that I want.  If I want cracked wheat or cracked rye - I can have it.  If I want high extraction flour, I can have it and in the quantity and freshness that I desire.  Mills are expensive and the price of quality grains is about that of milled flour.  The best potential for saving is that with the purchase of one product (the grain) I can have a wide array of grain products and so do not need to purchase excess amounts of specialty products.

Something to think about.  Hope this helps!

Happy Baking!

berryblondeboys's picture
berryblondeboys

Thanks for the input everyone. Based on the responses on this thread and another, I think I'm best just to buy bulk flours for now. I can ALWAYS go to milling if I find I'm "missing" something. Baby steps I guess. I just want to stop spending $5.50 on flours that I know can be found cheaper.

Melissa

 

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