How to Make Flour
Obtain your grains, seeds, nuts, beans...something to grind to a pulp., If you're going for wheat flour, know what's best for your cooking needs., Choose your grinding mechanism., Place the good stuff into your mill/blender., Grind away., Continue...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Obtain your grains
Practically any grain, nut, or seed can be turned into flour.
Try exotic items such as quinoa, popcorn, acorns, and peas to the more traditional options like rice, wheat, oats, and barley.
Fresh, whole wheat berries, rye berries, whole oats and the like can often be found at health food stores, sold in bulk.
They'll be white, russet, purple or amber-colored.And it's cheaper by volume than the pre-made stuff, too! Know what kind of flour you want to make.
Want whole wheat flour? Get whole wheat berries (they don't look like berries
-- that's just what they're called).
Want rye flour? Get rye berries.
Flour ain't no rocket science! -
Step 2: beans...something to grind to a pulp.
Each kind lends itself to a different use.
Spelt, Emmer and Einkorn grains are on the comeback and are healthy versions of wheat, too.
For yeast breads, hard red (winter or spring) wheat is best.
For breads that don't need yeast (like muffins, pancakes, and waffles), soft white is the standard choice.
Spelt, kamut, and triticale work, too., If you'd like to spend hours cranking for your daily forearm workout, you're more than welcome.
Or you could throw the seeds/berries/nuts/beans in your blender/food processor/coffee grinder and let it do the work for you.
If you do use some sort of electric device, the higher powered it is, the finer your flour will be.
The manual mill really has one advantage:
It doesn't produce any heat to damage the nutrients of the seeds.
Other than that, it just takes a lot of time.
The main drawback of electric mills is that they're just mills and they're a bit expensive (your cheapest one is going to run at about a couple hundred bucks).The only downside of using a blender/food processor/coffee grinder is that it may not get you the finest quality of powder ("finest" here meaning like small, not of good quality).
It all depends on the specific product you're using. , Make the amount you plan to use right now
-- fresh flour can go bad very quickly.
Fill the mechanism only about halfway full so there's room for it to blend away. 1 cup of wheat berries should produce just over 1 1/2 cups of flour.For beans and nuts, etc., the same to
1.5x the original amount will be produced. , If you're using a mill, turn the crank until all of the grain has been processed through it.
If you're using a blender, select the highest setting to blend the grain for about 30 seconds.
Then turn it off, remove the lid, and stir with a rubber spatula.
After stirring, place the lid back on and blend some more.
Your mechanism determines how fast the stuff will grind.
If you're using one of those fancy schmancy high-powered blenders (like Blendtec or Vitamix), your flour will be done before you can say, "Is the flour done yet?" If you're grinding manually, well, hope you took the afternoon off work. , You can check on this by sifting the mixture you have into a bowl and surveying it up close.
Touch it to make sure it has the right consistency (wash your hands thoroughly first!) and if it doesn't, run it again.
Your coffee grinder will never get the flour to a processed-flour-like consistency.
What you may have to do is take the flour through a sifter to get out the chunkier bits and make do with what's left over.It'll still be delicious! , You may have to use more than one if you've made a lot of flour, but keeping it fresh will definitely pay off in the long-term.
And there you have it: ready-made flour for the dough of your dreams! Keep your flour in a cool, dark place.
This will prevent insects and sunlight from doing irreparable damage.
If you'd like, place a bay leaf in with the flour to prevent bugs from bugging your flour., Whole wheat flour will go rancid especially fast, clocking in at only a few months if put in a cabinet.
If it changes color or smells bad (which it won't do when kept cold), don't hesitate to throw it away.To freeze the flour, just put it in its resealable container and chuck 'er in.
It'll keep for years.
Just don't forget to use it occasionally! , You may find that your homemade flour has a much different taste than you expected and acts quite differently when cooked (that's because it's super fresh).
So don't use it straight away if you're looking for a gold medal at the fair.
Experiment first.
Fresh flour gives the yeast more to feed on, resulting in more fermentation activity.
This can change the tastes of recipes you have been baking for years.
It should definitely change it for the better! -
Step 3: If you're going for wheat flour
-
Step 4: know what's best for your cooking needs.
-
Step 5: Choose your grinding mechanism.
-
Step 6: Place the good stuff into your mill/blender.
-
Step 7: Grind away.
-
Step 8: Continue to crank your mill or blend your grains until the flour reaches the texture you want.
-
Step 9: Once you're satisfied with your flour
-
Step 10: pour it into a resealable bag or container.
-
Step 11: If making bulk amounts
-
Step 12: keep it in the fridge or freezer.
-
Step 13: Experiment with your flour first.
Detailed Guide
Practically any grain, nut, or seed can be turned into flour.
Try exotic items such as quinoa, popcorn, acorns, and peas to the more traditional options like rice, wheat, oats, and barley.
Fresh, whole wheat berries, rye berries, whole oats and the like can often be found at health food stores, sold in bulk.
They'll be white, russet, purple or amber-colored.And it's cheaper by volume than the pre-made stuff, too! Know what kind of flour you want to make.
Want whole wheat flour? Get whole wheat berries (they don't look like berries
-- that's just what they're called).
Want rye flour? Get rye berries.
Flour ain't no rocket science!
Each kind lends itself to a different use.
Spelt, Emmer and Einkorn grains are on the comeback and are healthy versions of wheat, too.
For yeast breads, hard red (winter or spring) wheat is best.
For breads that don't need yeast (like muffins, pancakes, and waffles), soft white is the standard choice.
Spelt, kamut, and triticale work, too., If you'd like to spend hours cranking for your daily forearm workout, you're more than welcome.
Or you could throw the seeds/berries/nuts/beans in your blender/food processor/coffee grinder and let it do the work for you.
If you do use some sort of electric device, the higher powered it is, the finer your flour will be.
The manual mill really has one advantage:
It doesn't produce any heat to damage the nutrients of the seeds.
Other than that, it just takes a lot of time.
The main drawback of electric mills is that they're just mills and they're a bit expensive (your cheapest one is going to run at about a couple hundred bucks).The only downside of using a blender/food processor/coffee grinder is that it may not get you the finest quality of powder ("finest" here meaning like small, not of good quality).
It all depends on the specific product you're using. , Make the amount you plan to use right now
-- fresh flour can go bad very quickly.
Fill the mechanism only about halfway full so there's room for it to blend away. 1 cup of wheat berries should produce just over 1 1/2 cups of flour.For beans and nuts, etc., the same to
1.5x the original amount will be produced. , If you're using a mill, turn the crank until all of the grain has been processed through it.
If you're using a blender, select the highest setting to blend the grain for about 30 seconds.
Then turn it off, remove the lid, and stir with a rubber spatula.
After stirring, place the lid back on and blend some more.
Your mechanism determines how fast the stuff will grind.
If you're using one of those fancy schmancy high-powered blenders (like Blendtec or Vitamix), your flour will be done before you can say, "Is the flour done yet?" If you're grinding manually, well, hope you took the afternoon off work. , You can check on this by sifting the mixture you have into a bowl and surveying it up close.
Touch it to make sure it has the right consistency (wash your hands thoroughly first!) and if it doesn't, run it again.
Your coffee grinder will never get the flour to a processed-flour-like consistency.
What you may have to do is take the flour through a sifter to get out the chunkier bits and make do with what's left over.It'll still be delicious! , You may have to use more than one if you've made a lot of flour, but keeping it fresh will definitely pay off in the long-term.
And there you have it: ready-made flour for the dough of your dreams! Keep your flour in a cool, dark place.
This will prevent insects and sunlight from doing irreparable damage.
If you'd like, place a bay leaf in with the flour to prevent bugs from bugging your flour., Whole wheat flour will go rancid especially fast, clocking in at only a few months if put in a cabinet.
If it changes color or smells bad (which it won't do when kept cold), don't hesitate to throw it away.To freeze the flour, just put it in its resealable container and chuck 'er in.
It'll keep for years.
Just don't forget to use it occasionally! , You may find that your homemade flour has a much different taste than you expected and acts quite differently when cooked (that's because it's super fresh).
So don't use it straight away if you're looking for a gold medal at the fair.
Experiment first.
Fresh flour gives the yeast more to feed on, resulting in more fermentation activity.
This can change the tastes of recipes you have been baking for years.
It should definitely change it for the better!
About the Author
Rebecca Stevens
Brings years of experience writing about lifestyle and related subjects.
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