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More whole grains, fresh flour, and searching for local grain

This past week (and the one before, and the one before that...) I've been playing with more and more whole grains and freshly milled flour.

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We can say it's the cold weather, or perhaps the desire for less sweet and more nourishing, or maybe it's just in search of more flavor (always the case).

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Whatever the reason, I've been swapping out white flour for either freshly milled flour in the kitchen, flour from local farmers, or even flour sent from bakers afar (thanks, Marc!).

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English muffins from my cookbook with a bit of Amarillo hard white wheat, baguettes with some, and a seeded loaf with lots of fresh Turkey Red hard wheat just yesterday.

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It's relatively straightforward to swap out around 20% of the white flour (to the total flour) with whole grain flour, usually requiring only a few modifications:
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• Increased hydration (water, milk—whatever liquid in the recipe). The additional bran and germ in the whole flour will absorb more water, so adding more ensures consistency in the dough.
• Possibly decreasing bulk fermentation time (or adding a little less levain). Assuming all else equal, the increased nutrients in whole flour will speed fermentation (and acidification).

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Additionally, my trick is to move some of those whole grains into the levain, too. This way, you're keeping the excellent gas-trapping capability of the white flour in the main dough for a little more volume and openness.

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And this internal push for more wholesome bread has all been well-timed, given a new article at The Perfect Loaf covering local farmers, millers, and the commodity chains getting this grain to our table.

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Read on for more about this, including a guide to freshly milling your flour and some recipes to put it to good use!

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In this week's newsletter:

• Essay: Farm to loaf, a road trip through a short commodity chain
• Recipes: Sourdough with freshly milled Yecora Rojo, spelt rye and whole wheat, brown rice and sesame sourdough
• Baking Help: Does the baking vessel mean anything?
• Sourdough Links: Have we hit peak panettone? (Gosh, I hope not.)

🍞 Farm to Loaf

In this guest post, Eric Pallant tries to answer a question many of us home bakers have: how can I support local farmers and millers by buying local grain? As it turns out, the answer to “what is local” isn’t as cut and clean as we’d often like.

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You'll love this fascinating look as he visits local farmers, millers, and bakers—plus a pizza or two.

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READ FARM TO LOAF

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🍞 Sourdough with freshly milled wheat

A straightforward loaf made with lots of freshly milled flour. If you don't have the Yecora Rojo called for in the recipe, swap it out for any hard red wheat you have in your pantry.

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GET FRESH FLOUR RECIPE

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💡 Guide to working with freshly milled flour

If you're new to working with fresh, whole flour, this guide is for you. It'll help you start working with a small mill at home, how to adjust your preferments, and the best way to get an open and airy loaf with maximum flavor.

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If you've never worked with fresh flour, this guide can still be helpful in how to work with whole grains, even if they're aged!

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READ FRESH FLOUR GUIDE

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🍞 Spelt, rye, and whole wheat

This multigrain spelt sourdough recipe is a personal favorite. My passion for spelt's distinctive flavor pushes me to use it in many recipes. There's a reason it's everywhere!

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You can swap any whole grain flour in the recipe for freshly milled (even the spelt).

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GET SPELT RECIPE

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🍞 Brown rice and sesame sourdough

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I love this hearty loaf which calls for leftover cooked brown rice in addition to a black sesame soaker. Super healthy and super delicious.

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This is a great example of a dough where you can easily swap out the flour for freshly milled whole wheat. I would start with 60% medium-protein white flour (like an all purpose) with 40% fresh hard red wheat.

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GET BROWN RICE RECIPE

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💬 Member Discussion of the Week

As for the baking vessel, I can tell you that a smaller pot will keep the dough in a tighter round. As the dough starts to spread and reach the sides of the pot, the heat will stop it from spreading.

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This also indicates you might have a dough strength issue. Be sure your dough is mixed enough or has enough stretches and folds during bulk so it's strong when you divide and preshape. After you preshape, if the dough spreads rapidly on the counter, it's not strong enough and might need a second preshaping (round it up again and let it rest one more time). Finally, are you shaping the dough tightly enough to hold its shape when proofing in the basket? If you tip your dough out to score it, and it spreads, it must not be tight enough.

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🛟 2 Ways I Can Help You Today

• Heading out of town for the holiday? Be sure you store your starter properly for vacation.
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• Do I need to keep a really large sourdough starter? No, you don't!

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📙 What I'm Reading and Watching

• The Best Panettone (Wirecutter) You know we've hit peak panettone when Wirecutter does a roundup of the best of the best 🙂. (LINK)​

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Until next week, I'll be making more rolls. Happy baking!

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Maurizio Leo

P.S. With all the rolls I've been making, here's a quick video showing my go-to roll shaping techniques.

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