Nutrimill, New t' you

I wrote previously that I went to a bread making class in Utah. The reason for this is because my mom got me the most fabulous Christmas gift ever, a L'Equip Nutrimill wheat grinder. Actually, it will grind any kind of grain, but I will probably mainly use it for wheat.

I know some people might not want a wheat grinder, but I definitely did/do! It shipped down to Texas a few days after I got back in town, but then I had to find some wheat to grind. Where do you find wheat when you're not in Utah? It's not at Coscto, that's for sure! In the end, I ordered it from an online company with reasonable rates. It arrived just two days ago, and today I had the energy to put the two together for some magic making.

Let me just tell you, the quality of the flour was SO much better than what I have bought at the store. Until the wheat arrived, I was using 100% whole wheat flour from the store and following all the steps from the bread-making class. My bread was better than what I was making before, but still not spectacular and not like the class's or my mom's. This first batch of bread with the ground wheat is still rising, but the quality and consistency of the dough was so amazing! Much better than anything I've been able to do with store-bought wheat flour. I think it's partially because I can grind it a lot finer, but also perhaps because it still has the wheat germ, oil, bran, and everything else that they have to remove for store-bought flour to extend the shelf life.

The whole wheat bread we made in the class and at my mom's had the consistency and texture of white bread. I have never had whole wheat bread that was so tender and tasty - and we used 100% wheat flour, no white flour at all. It tastes good to everyone and it's a perfect snack for Willa, she gobbles it down and it makes her poops a whole lot easier to pass :).

And now a quick ode to my Bosch. I love my Bosch so much! I think other kitchen mixers are good. I like what our teacher at the bread class said about the Kitchenaid, "It's a fine mixer, but it's not built for making bread." That's how I feel. I think the Kitchenaid is expert in whipping batter for cakes, cookies, muffins, and things like that - maybe even superior to the Bosch. The Bosch is just so great for breads. I put the ingredients in, turn the Bosch on for eight minutes, and the dough is so well kneaded and the gluten is well enough developed that you only have to let it raise once. I just love hearing its motor grrr grrr grrr as it works the dough.