Ä [20] SURVIVAL_ORIENTED TOPICS (9:1992/111) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SURVIVAL_ORIENTED Ä Msg : 39 of 56 + 40 From : Paul Macgregor 9:1992/220 Sun 25 Apr 93 00:23 To : Dave Skinner Subj : wheat flour in recipe 1/2 ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Hi Dave Just typing and thought you might like this article. It's on wheat flour and it presents some useful information. As usual, the typos are mine. And I copied it out of the Jan/Feb issue of Backwoods Home Magazine. The author is one Charles Sanders. It seems I've read something else by him, but can't quite place it right now. So here goes . . ...... USING AND STORING WHEAT AT HOME by Charles Sanders One of the staple foods that is used by almost every homesteader is wheat. Whether grown or bought, purchased as flour or ground at home, wheat provides literally, our bread of life. Whole wheat can be made into hundreds of tasty and nutritious breads and foods and is deserving of that prominent place in our diet. With most of today's store bought flours bleached, enriched, softened and saturated with preservatives, grinding your own flour can not only make good economic sense, but make good health sense as well. Home wheat storage is practical, as wheat flour that is stored at room temperature for over a month loses practically all of its food value. With your own supply of stored wheat, you can easily and quickly produce a week's worth of fresh whole wheat flour. For those of us interested in self-sufficient, self-reliant living, wheat offers much in helping us to sever unnecessary ties to the "supermarket economy", as well as providing more nutritious food for our families and ourselves. Let's take a look at some good ways for the homesteader who wishes to obtain their wheat in bulk, unprocessed form, I offer the following suggestions: First, locate a good source of the grain. If you can grow your own, so much the better. You will then have total control over your wheat from seed to finished loaf. Growing, harvesting, processing, and using wheat on the home scale may be impractical for many, due to acreage, time or desire. However, if you live in an area where wheat farming is common, you can usually work our a deal with one of the farmers to purchase a few bushels from him. If you are a stickler for using organically grown grain, you will probably have a more difficult time locating a source, but keep looking. They're out there, and becoming more common. Commercial suppliers of bulk grains and foods are popping up, providing another source of wheat. Check a few of these out and compare their products, prices, and shipping costs. Possibly more important than how the grain is raised, is the type of wheat you have and how it is stored. For the homesteader's use, a dark hard winter or spring wheat is probably best. These types tend to store best. To prepare the wheat for storage, you must first be sure that it is clean enough for human use. To do this, I have used old fashioned wind power to clean the wheat from the chaff. Called winnowing, shovelfuls of wheat are tossed into the air on a windy day, or in front of a large fan. The chaff is simply blown away and the whole grains will drop onto your tarp, plastic sheet, or whatever. You may have to do this a few times to obtain grain clean enough to suit you. The method works well, and I don't know of a better one to clean your grain. Next, you must make sure that the grain is dry enough to be stored. For home storage, wheat should contain no more than 10% moisture. This low moisture content will help to inhibit insect infestation, as well as prevent molding and spoilage. To dry the grain, you may use a food dryer, however, the time involved in drying such small quantities at a time might make the method prohibitive. I have taken large quantities of cleaned wheat and spread it out on a sheet of black plastic on the deck located on the south side of my house. After a hot afternoon, the direct heat and air combined with the reflected heat from the house lowered the moisture sufficiently to allow me to complete the storage process. I checked the moisture percentage on an ordinary moisture meter which most grain farmers have. If the drying process takes more than one day, merely cover the grain with another plastic sheet come evening, and resume drying in the morning. Note that wheat draws moisture, so watch to keep your grain from being exposed to very high humidity. Now that we have the wheat cleaned and dried, we are ready to place it in storage. I recommend using 5-gallon plastic buckets for this purpose. They will hold usable quantities of wheat, and are light enough to handle easily. Their round design allows air to circulate between them and they usually have a gasket lining the lid which provides an air tight seal. Finally, you can usually get all of them you need for little or nothing from local restaurants, delis, or bakeries, which purchase bulk food supplies. I do not put the wheat directly into the buckets, rather I prefer to put it into a plastic bag first. To do this, I bought some non-deodorized 13 gallon kitchen-sized garbage bags. Line each bucket with one of the bags, folding the excess down over the top of the bucket for the time being. Pour in enough of the cleaned and dried wheat to come within a couple of inches of the top. At this point, I took an ordinary cotton ball and added a dozen or so drops of carbon disulfide. This chemical was obtained from a local drug store (as with any chemical compound, exercise caution in the handling, use, and storage of carbon disulfide). I then placed the dampened cotton ball into an ordinary baby food jar and secured the lid, through which several nail holes have been punched. The jar was placed, with the bottom end up, into the wheat itself, just so the bottom of the jar was exposed. By inverting the jar in the grain, the fumes were able to spread throughout. I then gathered up the excess plastic bag and, removing as much of the air as possible, twisted it shut and attached a wire tie. The lid was placed atop the bucket and tapped firmly into place. This fumigation treatment should take care of any residual creepy-crawlies which might lurk in the grain. Wheat which has been treated in this manner and kept in a cool dry place should remain good for years. Before using the fumigated wheat, I remove the jar and allow the grain to air out for about 24 hours. Obviously, the home miller will need a method of grinding the wheat into flour. There are dozens of different grain mills available. From hand cranked steel burr mills to electric powered stone mills, you can spend just about any amount you want on a wheat grinder. I have used an old Corona hand powered mill with steel burrs for several years with great results. The only change I have considered is to possibly add a small pulley and set the mill up to use with bicycle power! As with many purchases, you will need to evaluate the amount of use that you expect the grinder to see, compared to the cost of the machine. Decide whether you can use the steel burr grinder or want to get stone ground flour. Do you want an electric model or will a hand-powered one do the job? Wheat is a surprisingly versatile grain. Of course, far and away its most popular and most suitable use is for making browned and fragrant loaves of fine bread. However, this cereal can be used in other ways. One of my favorite uses of wheat comes as a by-product of the grinding of a batch of fresh wheat flour. After I grind up a quantity of wheat into flour, I often sift it and remove the coarse leavings. Setting the sifted flour aside to use in breads and cakes, I take the coarse "siftings" and either let them soak overnight in water, or start it directly in the morning. Take about two cups of the coarse cereal and add about six cups of water. Set it on the stove to simmer for about 40 minutes. Once it has thickened nicely, spoon it into bowls, add a dollop of butter, some honey and sit down to a real stick-to-you breakfast! This makes one of the best hot cereals I've ever tasted. Another good use for wheat is to use the whole kernel or berry to make bulgur. This wholesome and versatile food is made by steaming or soaking the whole wheat berry. The result can then be used in a wide variety of dishes, from soups to crunchy snacks, from main dishes to side dishes. >>> Continued to next message * OLX 2.2 * He who would kill a dog, first calls him mad. --- WM v2.09/92-0010 * Origin: The Rising Storm - Sunnyvale, Ca. 408-739-8693 (9:1992/220) Ä [20] SURVIVAL_ORIENTED TOPICS (9:1992/111) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ SURVIVAL_ORIENTED Ä Msg : 40 of 56 - 39 + 41 From : Paul Macgregor 9:1992/220 Sun 25 Apr 93 00:23 To : Dave Skinner Subj : wheat flour in recipe 2/2 ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ >>> Continued from previous message To make your own batch of bulgur, you will first need to take a large pot such as a cold packer and place a rack in the bottom. Add water almost to the level of the rack. Put a cup of wheat, a cup of water, and a dash of salt into a smaller pot and place it on the rack. Next, cover the large pot and put on high heat for about 15 minutes. Reduce heat and steam until the wheat absorbs all the water in the smaller pot. Once the wheat kernels have fluffed up nicely, you may remove and use them or store them for up to two weeks in the refrigerator. Bulgur may be used as a hot breakfast cereal by adding milk and sweetener. You can also make a very tasty snack by lightly seasoning a couple of cups of bulgur, spreading it out on a cookie sheet and toasting it in a moderate oven until it is lightly browned and crunchy. Bulgur can be added to any dish which calls for rice or barley with good results. Many soups and salads are enhanced by adding this ingredient. Use your imagination in utilizing this healthful food. Of course, the most widely accepted use for wheat is for the making of bread. This basic food can be easily prepared at home and is satisfying, not only in its preparation but in its nutritional value as well. Your own rich brown loaves of bread will bear no resemblance to the pasty slices which come from the supermarket. To make two loaves of whole wheat bread, you will need the following ingredients: 1 Tbs dry yeast 2 1/2 cups warm water 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs honey 3 Tbs oil 6 cups whole wheat flour First, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add to 1/4 cup honey in a large mixing bowl. Then add the oil. Add the flour to the liquid mixture. Knead the dough until it is smooth, then cover and let it rise until it is doubled in bulk. Punch down the dough and form into two loaves. Place the loaves into two greased 9x5 inch loaf pans and allow to rise again until doubled in bulk. Bake the loaves in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. This is a good basic recipe to which can be added other ingredients to provide flavor, and texture. Consider adding some cinnamon, a few raisins, sunflower seeds, bulgur or chopped dates to give the bread a different and tasty twist. There are many more recipes and uses for wheat. Your own experimentation will yeild great results in cooking with this great cereal grain. If you would like to learn more about wheat, wheat storage and use, I would recommend looking for the book _Making_the_ _Best_of_Basics_-_Family_Preparedness_Handbook_ by James Talmage Stevens, published by Peton Corporation, POBox 11925, Salt Lake City Utah 84147. This excellent book deals with a wide variety of topics for self-reliant living. ***** +++++ CUT HERE +++++ ***** OK, when I called Salt Lake, the operator said that they had no company listed by that name (Peton Corp). I'll let you know if my letter is answered. Presently, I've got no idea what the book costs. Another cookbook that might be of use is _Cooking_With_Home_Storage_ . It is available for $12.95 and may be purchased from _Backwoods_Home_ _Magazine_ , 1257 Siskiyou Blvd. #213, Ashland, Oregon 97520. I will have this one ordered shortly. Carbon Disulfide - (carbon bisulfide) - is made by heating carbon and sulfur. It is a clear to faintly yellow liquid. It is VERY FLAMMABLE. It is also very POISONOUS. :-( Industrial uses include, but are not restricted to the following: As a solvent for fats, oils, rubber, waxes, resins; used in extracting volatile oils from flowers; in the manufacture of artificial silk; in dissolving sulfur and phosphorus in the manufacture of matches; used in varnishes and lacquers; and for destroying weevils and insects in clothing plants and grain storage silos. It is also used as a soil disinfectant. If you do use this product, PLEASE be very cautious. I still prefer filling the 5 gallon bucket with carbon dioxide. Does the same number on the buggies, without the number being done on the humans. :-) According to the Merck Index and Merck Manual this stuff should be stored in TIGHTLY closed containers. It should be kept cool and very far away from flames. As for more wheat recipes, I'll try to dig some good ones out of Pat's cookbooks. We've got quite a collection started (cookbooks that is). We'll type at you again later. The WEE Scot Paul * TLX v1.1 * Spock, I though you were dead!" "I rebooted, Captain." * OLX 2.2 * He who would kill a dog, first calls him mad. --- WM v2.09/92-0010 * Origin: The Rising Storm - Sunnyvale, Ca. 408-739-8693 (9:1992/220)