Recently, I was lucky enough to win a beautiful German-made KoMo
Classic Grain Mill from Pleasant Hill Grain through a giveaway contest on my
friend Christina’s blog, Christina’s Cucina. Her blog is fantastic, especially if you want either authentic Italian or Scottish recipes – as she is both!
I have used the mill several times now, and it is fantastic! I expect you will be
seeing quite a few recipes from me using home-milled flours. My first was
chickpea flour, which Pleasant Hill Grain sent to me with the mill. So nutty and earthy, it made wonderful cecina – a crêpe-like
pancake we first tasted in Viareggio, Italy. The company offers 32 types of GMO-free grains and legumes, many of these are available in an organic option, and many come vacuum-sealed in buckets for maximum freshness.
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| I love how the wheat kernels look when grinding – a wonderful pattern! |
Today, I bought some Sonoran White Wheat berries from Robert of
Tucson Tortilla at Tucson’s Heirloom Farmers Market. I was originally thinking
of using the kernels for soup, but then I remembered the KoMo Mill.
I ground the wheat on the machine, using its finest setting. It
felt like talcum powder between my fingers. It has a wonderful aroma – almost a
honey sweetness. I wish all my readers could try it!
I mixed half this Sonoran white wheat flour with half white bread
flour. With a little yeast, salt, and water, it produced a very nice, fragrant
bread with a crisp outer crust. Of course, you can use regular whole wheat
flour and it will still make a perfectly good bread.
Time to get kneading!
~ David
Sonoran White Wheat Bread
1 teaspoon of active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups water, about 110°F (44°C)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour.
1 1/2 cups unbleached pre sifted flour
1 teaspoon of salt
Whisk together the yeast with 1/2 cup of the warm water in a large mixing
bowl. (If your house is cool, it is best to warm the bowl a little so it
doesn’t cool off your water when trying to proof the yeast.) Let the yeast
proof for about 10 minutes.
Add both flours,
the salt, and the other cup of warm water and mix well with a sturdy wooden
spoon; the dough will be sticky. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured board
and knead several times to form a ball. Using some olive oil, grease a large
glass or ceramic bowl and add the dough. Turn the dough so the bottom is now the
top and has a light coating of olive oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and
place in a warm, draft-free place for at least an hour, and up to 1 1/2 hours.
Add more flour to the board and turn out the dough. Divide
into two pieces. Knead each piece several times and then shape into a long
cylinder. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and set to rise for another
hour.
Preheat the oven to 425°F (225°C). Transfer the dough to a
parchment-lined tray, separating the loaves by at least 4 inches, and bake for
25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on
the bottom.
Makes two medium loaves.
Susan Oleksiw
June 17, 2017 at 2:53 pmI never thought about having a mill at home. And the variety of grains you mentioned really fascinated me. We used to make about 40 loaves and muffins at a time (it filled the freezer and our friends loved us), and we put all sorts of good things into it. But we never milled our own flour. Something to try. Those loaves look yummy.
Cocoa & Lavender
June 18, 2017 at 2:35 pmThat is some serious bread-making, Susan! I am impressed, and it is no small wonder that your friends loved you for that! It is especially good to mill your own flour when there is a gluten issue, as you can imagine.
Liz (Good Things)
June 17, 2017 at 4:25 pmThat's some beautiful bread, David. I agree, Christina has a fab blog!
Cocoa & Lavender
June 18, 2017 at 2:36 pmThanks, Liz – it would be fun someday to get us all in the same room on the same continent! I know one thing – no one would starve!
Unknown
June 17, 2017 at 4:55 pmGlad to read you know the "cecina": it's typical of Tuscany, while in Liguria they call "farinata", but it's quite the same thing. Congratulation for this bread (and your new mill): it look great!
Cocoa & Lavender
June 18, 2017 at 2:37 pmWe are coming to Tuscany in September with a day trip planned to Carrara, where we hear the cecina is pretty good! Looking forward to that!
John | heneedsfood
June 17, 2017 at 5:00 pmOh David, just look at that crust! I look forward to seeing more of what you create using the mill. What a great toy!
Cocoa & Lavender
June 18, 2017 at 2:38 pmI knew the crust would catch your attention, John! It was my favorite part!
Christina | Christina's Cucina
June 17, 2017 at 6:21 pmI was so happy when you won the Komo mill because I knew you would make good use of it, David! I was right! These loaves look like something my aunts would have baked in their stone ovens in Italy! Beautiful! Keep on grinding! 🙂
P.S. Thank you for your kind words!
Cocoa & Lavender
June 18, 2017 at 2:39 pmThat is the highest compliment you could pay me, Christina! The best part was, the bread really reminded me of bread I habe gotten in Italy!
Cheri Savory Spoon
June 18, 2017 at 12:35 amHi David, now I want a Komo mill to mill my own flour. There is supposed to be someone in Tempe that mills his own flour but can't make enough to keep in stock. Your bread looks wonderful, love the texture. You make bread making sound easy, an area that still intimidates me.
Cocoa & Lavender
June 18, 2017 at 2:41 pmNative SEEDS has flour from Phoenix – I wonder if it is the same guy in Tempe!
Oh, Cheri – I was afraid of bread making for years and just decided to go for it. I wondered why I waited so long!
Unknown
June 18, 2017 at 9:43 pmThanks David for reminding me of my bread-making days. I too had a mill and loved the whole process of being the family bread-maker. The flour comes out just the right temp to add the yeast and get the process started. As a young mother of two boys I used to congratulate myself for providing healthy seed bread to make lunch sandwiches for them. It wasn't until they were in their 20's that they confessed to talking friends into sharing their white bread and baloney sandwiches. One son fed my bread to the local cows who roamed the farm field beyond the school grounds and the other stuffed a years worth of seed bread sandwiches into his locker. Apparently nobody mentioned an increasingly odd odour in the school hallway. I put a positive spin on the whole story by imagining my boys didn't want to disappoint me. Amazing what lengths mothers go to skirt reality when it comes to their sons ��
Yvonne
Cocoa & Lavender
June 19, 2017 at 1:57 amYvonne – Your sons were so lucky and they probably realize it now if they didn't then! I like how you chose to take a positive approach to their actions. Do you miss making your own bread? It's funny you should write but I was just looking at the photos of our trip to Bainbridge Island… such wonderful memories!
Unknown
June 18, 2017 at 11:10 pmBeautiful bread of life! On another subject,
do you use fresh yeast in your breads? I've read that it is much easier to digest and is used in European breads. I've looked for it here in Tucson but no one seems to have it for sale. Any clues?
Cocoa & Lavender
June 19, 2017 at 1:58 amI, too, have been looking for fresh yeast, Jean. No luck yet, unfortunately… Someone suggested Sprouts but I haven't tried there yet. I also thought maybe one of the bread bakers locally might have a source. If I find one, I will share it with you!
Nutmeg
June 19, 2017 at 6:07 amThat Sonoran white wheat flour is the best, and your bread looks delicious too. Fabulous photos as always.
Cocoa & Lavender
June 20, 2017 at 5:32 pmThanks, Carolyne! I just got another bag of wheat berries this weekend. More bread coming!
Gerlinde de Broekert
June 20, 2017 at 4:15 amDavid somewhere in my rubble I have an old German bread baking book . If I find it I will send it to you . Your bread looks great.
Cocoa & Lavender
June 20, 2017 at 5:32 pmOh, Gerlinde – that would be wonderful! German breads are so wonderful – I woudl love to learn how to make them.
Anonymous
June 20, 2017 at 10:06 pmI have been buying a flour called "Prairie Gold" from Walmart. It's supposedly "white whole wheat" and comes from Montana. At $3.72 for FIVE pounds it's pretty inexpensive. It's not labeled as organic, though. We are considering buying large quantities of wheatberries and (do I dare admit it?) stockpiling wheatberries and other foods for future needs, if you get my drift. I won't say more. I will look up Pleasant Hill. I am curious about that flour/wheat mill, too.
Cocoa & Lavender
June 22, 2017 at 1:54 pmThat is pretty reasonable, Caterina! The grain mill would be an investment, for sure, bit worth it!
Anonymous
June 20, 2017 at 10:11 pmI did look at the Pleasant Hill website and found that they have a "preparedness" page. Thanks for the tip from your blog.
Cocoa & Lavender
June 22, 2017 at 1:54 pmAnd they have so many wonderful grains from which to chose!
Sippity Sup
June 21, 2017 at 2:51 pmHome ground flour. Home made bread. Sounds like a HOME run! GREG
Cocoa & Lavender
June 22, 2017 at 1:55 pmWell, I never thought I would see the day when someone used a sports analogy on my pot! Thanks Greg! 🙂
Marcelle
June 22, 2017 at 3:55 pmHomemade bread is some of the best stuff on Earth, David and yours looks delicious! That mill is a terrific prize and it's perfect that it was given to someone who will love it! Wonderful recipe!
Cocoa & Lavender
June 26, 2017 at 1:32 pmThanks, Marcelle! It truly is fun!
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
June 25, 2017 at 6:08 pmI have an old Wondermill that came (very discounted) with my first heavy duty mixer and I have never used it. You are really getting me thinking David!
Cocoa & Lavender
June 26, 2017 at 1:33 pmI remember Wondermills, Inger! Let me know if something exciting happens up there!
Susan Manfull
July 14, 2017 at 6:29 pmThis is inspirational. Good whole grain bread is so hard to find!
Cocoa & Lavender
July 15, 2017 at 9:25 pmEven finding decent wheat flour is hard these days, Susan!