Oh my. I picked up my wheat from the food coop.

[Rose in BC]

And it has doubled in price!! (Just like you all were saying.) I normally paid around $23/50lbs and today it was $40/50lbs. I felt like crying (okay that sounds dramatic but suits the day I'm having.)

 

On a plus note, I tried a new bread recipe which was a hit. It was a whole wheat/steel cut oat recipe.

 

Nothing like fresh bread . . . to wreck a diet!!

[amy g.]

I'm getting 50 lbs of wheat berries and 50 lbs of oats next week.

 

How do you store yours? Do I need to do something special to keep the bugs out?

[Jennifer in MI]

And it has doubled in price!! (Just like you all were saying.) I normally paid around $23/50lbs and today it was $40/50lbs. I felt like crying (okay that sounds dramatic but suits the day I'm having.)

 

On a plus note, I tried a new bread recipe which was a hit. It was a whole wheat/steel cut oat recipe.

 

Nothing like fresh bread . . . to wreck a diet!!

 

Ummmmm . . . another board rule broken!!! You may not, I repeat NOT, mention a hit recipe without sharing it!!!! (Really - go back and read the rules!!)

 

Yea - I'm with ya'! I am ready to place an order with my coop and it's gone way up too. I'm going to order triple what I usually order in the hopes that the price will come back down soon. Ugh . . .

[Rose in BC]

Irish Oatmeal Bread

 

1 1/4 cups boiling water

1 3/4 cups steel cut oats

1 tablespoon salt

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

 

Combine these ingredients and let sit for 20 minutes.

 

Dissolve:

5 tsps yeast

dash sugar

1/2 cup warm water

 

Let yeast foam.

 

Mix yeast mixture with:

 

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3 cups whole wheat flour

 

And the oat mixture.

 

Knead until smooth dough.

 

Let rise until double (in bowl) about one hour.

 

Form into two loaves. Let rise again for about twenty minutes. Brush top with a beaten egg.

 

Bake at 350 F for about 35 minutes.

 

Yummy.

 

I hope this makes sense. Also I would use all whole wheat (because I grind my own).

 

Enjoy,

 

Rose

[Jean in Wisc]

I'm getting 50 lbs of wheat berries and 50 lbs of oats next week.

 

How do you store yours? Do I need to do something special to keep the bugs out?

 

If I have room in my freezer, I prefer to put the bags in it for 48 hours to kill off any bugs/eggs. I've never had problems with the 50lb. bags when I do not do this, but I prefer to error on the safe side. Then I store my bags in an old freezer that no longer works until I open the bags. (I bought my last wheat from a friend who was moving and paid $8/bag for several 50 lb. bags. LOL! I have enough for many months to come!)

 

The important thing is to have it in a place that is bug-free. When I open a new bag, I dump it into big buckets with good lids--I usually get mine from a bakery that sells their 4 and 5 gallon frosting containers; I keep these in my basement. I also have garbage cans that I put stuff into--good tight-lidded ones. My aluminum cans work well--but you MUST keep the food packaged or the food will take on the aluminum taste--yuck!

 

I have a dozen or so buckets in the basement filled with popcorn (I grind this for corn meal), rice, rolled oats, barley, wheat berries, soybeans (from our field), corn grits, cream of wheat, and more. My garbage cans hold bags of all-purpose flour, sugar, and other items on sale such as cold cereal and crackers--anything that is not sold in bug/mouse-proof containers.

 

HTH,

J

[kalanamak]

This recipe converts to 1/2 WW very well.

It's a good keeper, and is a nice present

for people you'll be staying with. I took several loaves to a family

reunion and it was the mainstay of breakfast on Saturday and Sunday as

the troops trickled down from 'carpet camping'. They don't need anything

on them. Toast is out of this world. Note the "night before baking" steps.

 

It's from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads.

Scotch Oatmeal Bread

1 cup boiling water

1 cup steel cut oats

Mix together. Add:

1/2 C all-purp flour

2 T. brown sugar

1 package dry yeast

Stir well, cover with plastic wrap, leave until morning (10 hrs.)

Stir down, and add:

1 C warm water

1/4 t. ground ginger

1 t. salt

1/2 nonfat dry milk. (I use non-instant which is denser than reg. Crush

the fluffly granules of the instant kind before measuring)

3 T soft butter

3 T maple syrup

2 C all purp flour.

Blend with a spoon for 150 strokes or mix it well with a KA. Add:

1/2 C at a time more all-purp flour until kneadable, or dough-hookable.

Knead until elastic. Place in greased bowl, cover and let double. Punch

down, divide into two or three balls...8x4 baking pans for 3 and 9x5 for

2...

Roll out into rectangles, sprinkle with maple sugar or brown sugar

(1/4 cup total) and cinnamon (2 T total...I use the 'true cinnamon').

Roll up tightly, tuck ends under and pinch shut. Place in buttered pans

and brush top with butter

Let double. Bake 350 F about an hour.

[Rose in BC]

I love all these variations. It makes for interesting eating.

[Tammyla]

Ouch! That is some price jump. I'm searching and hoping to find a local co-op. I've always purchased at the local grocery stores and their prices are jumping too. I haven't been able to find bread machine flour locally for weeks.

Jean, thanks for the storage ideas.