Combining Wheat Berries for the Best Bread
I’ve been milling my own wheat berries for years now and until recently, I only used one variety at a time. However, I have lately been experimenting with combining wheat berries for the best bread, and, I am happy to say it makes a world of difference to mix the berries before grinding.
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My journey to the perfect loaf of sandwich bread has been a long one. My husband prefers yeasted sandwich bread over sourdough bread. So, for me, it has been very important to make the best sandwich loaf I could.
Making a soft and fluffy loaf of sandwich bread with 100% freshly milled flour can be a challenge. Although, the loaves were great, I felt there could be improvements.
A few weeks ago, I came across a social media post about mixed wheat berry blends and the lightbulb went off in my head, ha ha!
Mixing wheat berries?? Why hadn’t I thought of this before. So, I promptly went to my wheat berry collection and started mixing the berries to grind. The first few loaves were wonderful! I was so excited!
I kept fine tuning the mixture until I found the very best. The sandwich loaf made with this blend is exceptional in flavor and texture.
To make the perfect blend, it’s important to know what each wheat berry brings to the table.
This is the grain mill I have been using for years: https://collabs.shop/rxide2
Which Wheat Berry for What??
Hard White Wheat berries are what I like to think of as the universal berry. They grind into a light and airy flour and make bread that is just that. They do not lend a lot of flavor, but, the texture and airiness is great.
Hard Red Wheat berries are great for adding flavor to the bread. They grind into a darker, more dense flour. Using 100 percent hard red wheat will result in a dark, somewhat dense bread.
Kamut is an ancient wheat that grinds into a buttery light flour with a nutty flavor. It has a different gluten structure than modern wheat and will make an airy loaf without the rise of modern wheat.
Spelt is similar to Kamut in the way it performs in bread making.
Einkorn is an ancient wheat that grinds into a lightly brown flour and a very nutty flavor. It’s quite different to work with than the other wheats and takes some practice to achieve the perfect loaf of bread.
Soft White Wheat berries are used primarily for quick breads such as biscuits, muffins, pie crusts, and pastry.
When deciding which berries to use and in what quantity, it’s important to decide what qualities you want in your loaf.
My favorite flour is made with 2 cups Hard Red Wheat, 1 cup Hard White Wheat, and 1 cup Kamut.
This mixture will make 2 loaves of sandwich bread for me.
The resulting loaves are light, airy, flavorful, and the perfect texture.
For muffins, I will use 1 cup Soft White Wheat and 1 cup Kamut.
For biscuits, I will use 1 cup Soft White wheat and 1 cup Hard White Wheat.
**Note: These measurements are the wheat berry measurements prior to grinding**
I hope this is helpful for you if you are interested in mixing your wheat berries in your bread baking ventures.
See you soon!
Boy you’re smart. What a good suggestion. I have to get some Kamut and Spelt and try this out.
I also have to get my sourdough starter ready to use. I killed my previous one. I chock it up to a learning lesson!
🙂
Thanks so much! Yes, I have learned everything I know about baking and cooking from making a lot of mistakes! I feel like that’s how I learn best, ha ha!
I love watching your videos- they are so real and personable, but most important is the down to earth information! You are awesome, please keep up the awesome website!
Oh, thank you so much! I appreciate that!
In this recipe of Kamut HW, HR berry bread recipe. How long is the second rise and the temp and time it’s baked?
Ty so much. If making mistakes and ruining dough is teaching me, I should be a genius by now.
The second rise varies based on the temperature in the room, however, it ranges between 30 minutes to 1 hour. I bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes.
Hi, do you sift any of the flours after grinding?
Thanks
I have been experimenting with Einkorn ( I am gluten sensitive, makes me itch, LOL) — but I really don’t enjoy a 100% Einkorn loaf. I think I’ll try to mix a few and see if I can make it a little less dense. Thank you for the suggestions.
I ordered 6 different bags of ancient grains, Kamut, Emmer, Rye, Spelt, Quinoa and Einkorn and during shipping all but one bag was torn open. The Rye berries were the only one not torn. I’ve been working with sourdough using only APF and bread flour and wanted to try some of the ancient grains. I have a gallon size ziplock full of mixed wheat berries… all but rye berries… and not for sure how to go about using them for bread. I do not want to waste them and I’m trying to find a recipe using the five different mixed up berries. Any suggestions??
Sure, what I would do is mill them up just as they are all mixed up. Add only 1/2 cup of this ancient flour at first. Add a little more each time. This gradual use will get you familiar with how ancient wheat acts in sourdough and you can slowly progress to how much you want to use.
What is your bread recipe for the 3 variety wheat berries? Thanks!
Thank you but I do not see your recipe that goes with this article?
I’m new to this. Need gluten, soy and dairy free! I’d love all the help you have!
Can you leave a recipe for the 3 grain bread . I’m new to making bread with grinding my own grains. This sounds like it would make a delicious bread. Thank you. I love your channel.
Waiting on the printed recipe. I purchased all the wheat berries. I decided at add sunflower lecithin to all my bread recipes except artisan. Makes soft airy bread. Thanks Mary for all your yummy recipes!