What To Do With Wheat Flour

Grinding your own wheat at home for baking or any kind of cooking is quite satisfying, especially when you make the hard effort to grind it by hand using a Wheat Grinder.

However, there is something you'll want to be careful of when grinding fresh wheat flour.  Because of the natural oils in wheat berries, the ground flour can go rancid rather quickly if it is not stored in a cool, dry environment.  If you grind a lot of flour in advance and will not be using it right away, we recommend that you store it in the freezer to get the best 'shelf-life.'  But even then it will only keep in the freezer for 8-12 months, depending upon your freezer temperature, the climate you live in and how fresh the wheat berries were to begin with.  Sometimes, if conditions are right, you can buy even more time for your frozen flour, but you'll want to make sure it is stored in air-tight bags or containers in order to keep it from becoming freezer burnt.


On the other hand, wheat berries will last much longer when they are kept whole and intact.  Freezing will not only increase their 'shelf-life' by several years, but it can also kill any bugs/bug eggs that could contaminate the whole container or bag that the berries came in (not to mention the bugs could spread into your other stored goods if they aren't killed).

Once you have freshly ground flour, what do you do when it comes time to use it?  For anyone struggling for good ideas, we have provided the following Wheat Dough Recipe.  From this recipe you can make loaves of bread, or several types of rolls.  We hope this will give you a good starting point with easy-to-follow instructions to help you on your way of becoming more self-reliant.

Wheat Dough Recipe

½ c. Butter, melted

½ c. Sugar

2 c. Very Warm Water

2 tbsp Active Dry Yeast 

Beat above ingredients well in a stand mixer.   Then add: 

2 c. White Wheat Flour

2 Eggs, beaten

2 tsp salt

Once all the ingredients are mixed together add 3-4 more cups of regular white flour, a little at a time, checking the consistency of the dough constantly.  When finished, the dough should feel very sticky.

Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then mix for 5 more minutes.

Using 1 tbsp of cooking oil, coat a large bowl thoroughly.  Remove dough from stand mixer and place in the pre-greased bowl.  Rub dough in bowl so the outside also becomes coated in oil.  Then, cover and let rise until double in size, or until an impression remains when poked.

Punch dough down and let rise another 10 minutes.

For Bread Loaves:

Divide the dough in half, shape, and place into two greased, 8.5” X 4.5” loaf pans.  Let rise in loaf pans until double in size.  Then bake in the oven, at 350°F, until golden brown, or when the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.  Remove from the pan and let cool on a wire cooling rack.

For Basic Rolls:

Form dough into 2-inch balls, place onto greased baking pans and let rise for 15 minutes.  Bake in the oven at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, until rolls are golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool.

For Cinnamon Rolls:

Roll dough out on a floured surface, into a rectangle. Pour ½ c. of butter onto dough and sprinkle with any of the following toppings: Cinnamon, sugar, brown sugar, nuts and/or raisins.  Roll up the dough, starting with the short side.  Once rolled, pinch the edge closed and cut into 1 ½ inch rolls.  Place cut rolls onto a greased baking pan and let rise for 15 minutes.  Bake in oven at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, until rolls are golden brown.  Remove from oven and glaze with the frosting of your choice.

For Orange Rolls:

Roll dough out on a floured surface, into a rectangle. Pour ½ c. of butter onto dough and sprinkle with any of the following toppings: orange zest and orange juice.  Roll up the dough, starting with the short side.  Once rolled, pinch the edge closed and cut into 1 ½ inch rolls.  Place cut rolls onto a greased baking pan and let rise for 15 minutes.  Bake in oven at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, until rolls are golden brown.  Remove from oven and glaze with a powdered sugar and orange juice frosting.