A Grain of Wheat

Tips about wheat from our meeting the other night.. don't forget to check out and try some of the recipes below!

WHITE WHEAT VS RED WHEAT

Traditional whole wheat bread is made from red wheat.  The bran layer contains tannins & phenolic acid and has a slightly bitter taste.  The red bran coloring is responsible in part for the darker color of whole wheat.

 White wheat is a natural albino variety.  It came on the market in 1990.  It does not contain the tannins or acids that red wheat does, so the taste is sweeter & milder.  It is lighter in color & is almost the nutritional equivalent of its red wheat counterpart.  Some say it will not store as long as the red wheat, but the church website shows it lasts 30 years. 
GLUTEN
Gluten is the elastic, rubbery protein present in wheat, rye, barley and to a lesser degree in oats. It binds the dough in foods such as bread and other baked goods. It contributes to spongy consistency. Rice and maize do not contain gluten. Wheat is the only grain with sufficient gluten content to make a raised or leavened loaf of bread.
Since red wheat is heavy and coarse and doesn’t raise as well as white wheat.  Dough enhancers work wonders on it and gluten is one of three main dough enhancers.  Dough enhancers can be bought commercially, but are fairly expensive.  But, most people have on hand two of the three main enhancers needed to make red winter wheat bread light and spongy.    White wheat bread typically does not need dough enhancers.
DOUGH ENHANCERS:   Dough enhancers make your bread, chewy, light, spongy, and nicer in texture.
There is a wonderful website at everydayfoodstorage.net where you can watch videos on dough enhancers and making all kinds of wheat products.  
 Yeast makes your sugar grow, creating air bubbles.   Gluten (looks like flour – non animal form of protein) It holds the air bubbles & makes more bubbles. 
WW flour is heavier than white flour and bubbles can pop too early – making your bread fall.  We want them big.  With gluten bubbles will still fall. 
So, to strengthen the bubbles, you need to add an acid.  Vit. C works well, but vinegar is easier & cheaper.  Use as much vinegar as you do yeast.
Bran in wheat is like sandpaper.  It is coarse in nature and can pop air bubbles.  You need a starch to add an outer casing around gluten bubbles.  It strengthens bubble walls to keep from breaking and your bread from falling.  
Potato flakes or potato water is a starch that works well. It also helps the texture of your bread.

Tips for using your own everyday items as dough enhancers in WHEAT BREAD:  It’s best to use ALL THREE of these enhancers when making whole wheat bread.  ( Marcy uses all three dough enhancers in the red wheat bread, but only potato flakes in the white wheat bread.)

Gluten: use 1/2 T. – 1 T. per cup of flour (this means before you measure a cup of flour place the 1/2 T.-1 T. gluten in the bottom of your cup and then measure flour as usual)

WHITE Vinegar: use the same amount of vinegar that you are using for yeast (i.e. 1 t. yeast – 1 t. vinegar)

Potato Flakes: use 1/8 to 1/4 C. per loaf of bread you are making, experiment to see what works best in your recipe. (do not substitute in potato pearls, they don’t dissolve as easily and are artificially flavored which you will be able to taste in your bread)

***Our next food storage meeting will focus on multi grains.