Switching to Ancient Grains + Milling at Home: Increasing Nutrients in Your Baking | Laura Tuttle

I have been using ancient grains in my kitchen for many years now, but there is a learning curve when you are making the switch from modern white flours to heartier ancient grains like einkorn, kamut, spelt, and more. Laura of @lauralivesthegoodlife is such a wealth of knowledge when it comes to baking sourdough bread, using different types of flours, and milling your own grains. If you have questions about the differences between these flours and how to use them, this is the episode for you! We share tons of tips on incorporating ancient grains into your everyday recipes while still enjoying delicious and nutrient-dense baked goods.
In this episode, we cover:
- A historical overview of how today’s flour became lacking in nutrients
- Why making the switch to ancient grains is beneficial to your health
- How ancient grains behave differently in baking and how to adjust your method
- A gradual approach to switching from modern wheat to ancient grains
- How to choose which type of ancient grains to use
- Tips for achieving delicious, beautiful loaves without using light and fluffy modern flour
- Ways to utilize bread that doesn’t turn out how you had planned
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Mockmill makes high quality countertop grain mills to empower you to easily mill nutritionally superior whole grain flour, fresh at home. You can save 5% on your purchase of any of their grain mills by clicking the link at www.farmhouseonboone.com/mock.... To see why I love my Mockmill, check out this review video: • What I Use to Make my ...
ABOUT LAURA
Laura is a wife and mom of 4 who is passionate about gut health, all things sourdough and nourishing her family through whole foods. Laura enjoys getting her kids in the kitchen and cultivating an atmosphere of love, learning and creativity in her home.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Khorasan Mills: Organic Ancient Grains: www.khorasanmills.com/
Check out some of Laura’s bread recipes:
Classic sourdough bread: tvCbh3JNeu...
Sandwich bread: reelCakx11...
Focaccia: reelCGkLiC...
Cinnamon star bread: reelCXj8nU...
Follow along with Laura to find out more about her Sourdough Essentials recipe book launching this fall: / lauralivesthegoodlife
CONNECT
Laura Tuttle
Instagram: / lauralivesthegoodlife
Amazon Storefront: www.amazon.com/shop/lauralive...
Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone
Blog: www.farmhouseonboone.com/
KZbin: / farmhouseonboone
Instagram: / farmhouseonboone
TikTok: / farmhouseonboone
Facebook: / farmhouseonboone
Pinterest: / _created
Join us in the Simple Farmhouse Life Facebook community: / 748012922264552
GET MORE FROM THIS EPISODE
Listen to this podcast episode: anchor.fm/simple-farmhouse-li...
View full show notes and transcript on the blog: simplefarmhouselifepodcast.co...

[@CorrindaCampbell]

Good information. Personally, I would prefer a real picture rather than one that doesn't represent the actual end product. The first way of helping people appreciate ancient grians is to not set an unrealistic expectation of the outcome.

[@loribrackett7820]

So, this is bread "catfishing"? 😁

[@tamichildofGod8249]

😂😂😂😂​@@loribrackett7820

[@carriannrose]

Maybe for getting people to click, having the not real picture but further down the post and recipe, have the separate picture of what it looks like if using freshly milled whole wheat :)

[@tinajames2940]

Most sourdough is baked with white (hopefully unbleached). Her recipes for sourdough match her photos and there is much benefit in soutdough. But then there is fresh milled. It can be incorporated with sourdough or by itself. She’s just saying the photos that aren’t the fluffy white don’t get as many clicks so whole wheat recipes aren’t as popular because they are t fluffy white. Unless one knows the benefit. She’s not baiting and switching. She has recipes for both.

[@mamabird2434]

I use 100% fresh milled breads I blocked any bagged flour into my house when I bought my mill. It’s high it’s fluffy it’s light softer than store bought. Don’t fiddle around just do it. Love my Mock mill and my Ankarsrum mixer.

[@backporchfarmstead3986]

Bring back the whole Wheat! If anyone can start the trend you can. Especially with Wheat berries selling out I bet people would be all over it.

[@cindy-dwellings-theheartof7858]

Love this! Regarding photography, I understand why you choose to do this (stretchy gorgeous dough clickable photo) and now it makes sense why my product doesn't turn out the same. Possibly also have somewhere in the printable option of the recipe showing a photo with it done with the "whole fm flour" with some "what to expect". I also keep in mind though, that all of what you do is free to us and so very helpful and takes you a lot of time! Thank you for all you share!!!

[@shannona5377]

Actually, baking bread is not hard! Flour, water, starter/yeast, salt. That is the message that has to get out too....I love that with having a starter, pancakes are easy, and waffles are out of this world! In searching through all kinds of recipes for bread though, I think it is just learning how things function and why they are important and that people have different basic recipes they are used to. Some use more starter, less starter, 2 hours of rise only before baking, 1st and overnight rise... I've had dough come out of the banneton all goo-like and me thinking, okay, this is the one I finally ruined. yet even that comes out of the oven looking even beautiful most times It does NOT need to be IG perfect for everyday use. I just want to feed my family and the bonus is it really is delicious.

[@shannona5377]

This is a girl who had no experience baking breads/cakes from scratch.

[@dianaknapp1725]

I am glad you mention your photography is with all purpose. I was starting to wonder why my baking doesn’t look as good 😉

[@renmuffett]

I watched a video of someone milling Kamut wheat and making it into bread dough. I was amazed that the longer she kneaded it in her machine the stretcher it got. It didn't get extremely strong but she did keep it on the wetter side and could have used a little more flour. She could stretch it into a decent window pane, like you do making sourdough bread. Yes, the longer you knead, the more what little gluten protein it has will affect the the texture and yes, it will stretch and get stronger. Try kneading twice as long as you normally would. You will be amazed.

[@margaretezweininger8425]

Hello from Germany! Please, share more recepes with hole grain wheat. I would love it!

[@edeaver50]

Thank you for sharing that you have taken photos with different flour than you recommend. I’m sure many have thought they are doing something wrong because theirs doesn’t look like yours. Great info in this podcast

[@kaitlynw1904]

Great timing! I bought my first grain mill 2 weeks ago and have made a few things but was getting discouraged by some of my results. This gave me the push to keep going ❤🎉

[@carolt392]

I use Einkorn, and it comes down to just getting use to this particular wheat. The gluten structure is very simple and weak, so if you treat Einkorn as a gluten free flour, you can get amazing results. I make bread with 50% fresh whole grain Einkorn, and 50% either all purpose or bolted Einkorn... I do add some xanthan gum and psyllium husk powder like you would a gluten free flour, and my dough gets a full 8 minute knead in the stand mixer with the PADDLE attachment vs the dough hook. With the extra grab and stretching it gets with the paddle attachment, by the end of the 8 minutes, the dough is still sticky and soft because that is just Einkorn, but it is very stretchy. I use 1/4 cup of an Einkorn sourdough starter, along with a bit of active dry yeast for a little more umph in rising the dough. My bread rises just as high as a normal loaf, has a very soft crumb just like the "regular" bread we are used to, and the taste of the fresh Einkorn is fabulous. It's a learning curve that is worth the journey!

[@sowingback]

This was so helpful. I used Kamut to make a starter and stopped living gluten free. Thank you both for all the tips. Trying the ice cubes right now!

[@morgellonsdirect513]

If you understand that the "brown bread" is beautiful, flavorful and you feel so much better, more energized after eating it. We cut out all wheat two months ago and I started playing with Einkorn. My frustration is the opposite of most...I find too many "all purpose" recipes and not enough whole grain. I also find that a lot of content creators edit their videos so that you don't see the texture of the dough to know how wet and sticky the dough can be so a lot of people get discouraged because it is not what they expected. The big difference in commercially available wheat and ancient grains is the hybridization creates super gluten that can mess up your body's ability to absorb nutrients and cause gut issues. The other problem with commercial wheat is that all of it in the US has been exposed to glyphosate (Roundup) in the harvest process. Einkorn has not.

[@kellyburek1751]

According to Sue Becker from Breadbeckers that is not true.

[@MrsPaulaTorres]

@@kellyburek1751what’s the sum of the other opinion? No idea who that is

[@christyeast1434]

@@MrsPaulaTorresif a product is certified organic, no glyphosates were used on the product at any stage. It is possible to have a small amount of residue from neighboring farms, because that's hard to avoid.

[@perkirkegaardlemming720]

Hello from Denmark. I have some comments on your conversation. 1) Bran cuts the gluten network into pieces. 2) Sugar gives greater rising ability. 3) Yeast is found everywhere in nature, including on grains. ad 1) It is a myth that bran cuts the gluten network to pieces, also the myth that the weight of bran pushes co2 out of the dough. I have seen videos from countries where there is a lot of sun and access to sufficient N for the grain, where large voluminous wheat breads are made with large air holes in the crumb and crust with ears. I make sourdough bread with freshly ground whole wheat rye and spelt and a spoonful of basic sourdough based on the same flour and baking yeast. 3) I see that many people add sugar or honey to bread dough, but there is plenty of sugar in whole grains for the yeast to produce co2. I have been baking sourdough rye bread for 40 years. I make starter dough with sourdough, which ferments at respectively 22, 26 and 33 ° C over 12-15 hours, which gives a more airy crumb. I have recently started soaking whole flour for 24 hours. This gives a fluffy dough and nicely large air holes of 3-5 mm in the crumb. The rising ability depends on the production of co2 and on gluten elasticity and strength, which is different for varieties and provenance. In Denmark and other Nordic countries, gluten is weak in wheat. I have bought biodynamic Spelt wheat in southern Germany and it has significantly better gluten. Another myth is that high protein and gluten quality are followed. Gluten quality depends on the type of grain and provenance, not on the amount of protein. Of course there can be more gluten in a lot of protein, but this does not equate to high gluten quality. I have been grinding grains for 15 years and only eat whole grain sourdough bread. I made whole grain pancakes, recipe from Nourtrishing Traditions, yesterday with soaked flour and find that the flour has been ground too fine. Thinking about the 24 hours in water with a few spoonfuls of apple cider dissolves the flour more and makes the dough more velvety. It is also my experience that kaput, spelt, einkorn etc. older cereals are very easily over-kneaded and the gluten network releases the liquid, so the dough becomes wet, even shaping/tensioning can be too much. Regards Per

[@cassandrasmom]

Grain mill going on my Christmas list 👏

[@Growmap]

Research it first. I decided on the MockMill 100, but some people prefer others.

[@helenruth5024]

When people know what you represent, they will seek you out. I am new to this channel and really appreciate this amazing interview. I will be subscribing and coming back to see your recipes. Thank you.

[@evawood9655]

yes! Yes!!! I've been NEEDING this conversation ..... Love this learning curve! Love working with my sourdough...

[@christineross7620]

This was great! I like the idea of feeding the starter with all purpose but I do a lot of pizzas and pancake discard recipes and I like those to be the most nutritious as well 😏

[@kellyname5733]

Im ALL ABOUT nutrition rather than super pretty puffy loaves. Funny thing... I have never made one of those huge bulbous loaves LOL. Using my Kamut or any Ancient grain will be status quo for me. Also the Japanese and the Germans often 'scald the flour' before mixing all the other ingredients. Scalding breaks down, releases and damages the proteins which weakens the gluten structure, so it can gelatinize and hold more water depending on the grain/flour you use. Some people put the four in a pan with the water and cook it down to a paste consistency, cool it to room temp and add to the other flours if using them.With some fours such as Kamut it is nearly impossible to do this with kneading or fermenting, but scalding does achieve the goal. Scalding in the USA is not something that is done, but in many parts of the world bakers know of this process and use it daily in order to have perfection using Heirloom/Ancient grains.

[@RewiredforJoy]

I've been gradually switching over to whole wheat, increasing my sourdough bread recipe by 5-10% of wholewheat every time. I actually love the taste now! Soon I'll be at 100% whole wheat/grain.

[@dogtownacres663]

Wow, was this ever helpful. Laura answered questions I didn't know I had. But, this concise podcast made everything so much more clear. Thank you!

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

You are so welcome!

[@ChaoticMoonN1bd]

I do a mixture of rye, whole wheat, and ap. My family really likes the taste, but I'm looking to start milling my own flour. This was super educational and explained what I was expirencing with my bread.

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

Wonderful!

[@user-ft9cf1ow6c]

When I use the special forms pans rolls, they are the original bread they’re not as flat because of the shape I’m baking them in and they taste wonderful, of course

[@belieftransformation]

Great conversation as I experiment with whole grains in my sourdough! Thanks so much for sharing! Blessings to everyone 🤗💗🇨🇦

[@beckyjacobsen1210]

I’ve had so many questions lately- so excited to listen

[@user-iq8xk6jf9w]

Loved your honesty SO SO much! Thank YOU. Jackie

[@NashvillePastaman]

Great information ……. Thanks !! Spoke to the manager of a Grocery store who prior worked at an industrial bread factory in Nashville- he supervised the enrichment process and chemicals….. told me he hasn’t eaten bagged bread since……. Mills his own flour and bakes bread a couple times a week….. pointed to the bread area…. Told me “everything we sell……. its all trash”

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

sad but true!

[@melissajorgensen7917]

Lisa I appreciate you. You have helped me understand bread so much better. I plan to get a grain mill in the near future and excited to try more types of grain.

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

Wonderful!

[@beckyb1797]

Lisa this was a great and super informative talk. It was quite helpful to me and is certainly helping my baking skills. ❤️❤️

[@kingdomhealthwellness]

Thank you for this wonderful episode ❤

[@sz2295]

Thank you so much for this information!!! Amazing to have it all compiled into one spot and it all makes so much sense!

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

you are so welcome!

[@LD-ey9hk]

My starter is only 4.2 years old, I pulled some of my starter out and put it into a jar to test, feeding it just fresh milled flour with a mixture of hard red and white as well as rye, it was vigorous and made a great loaf of sourdough bread.

[@willforeman74]

Let's go! You gotta love some good wheat berry discussion!

[@elledechenestudio]

So much great information in this interview, thank you both!

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

Glad it was helpful!

[@shannona5377]

This was really helpful! Getting around to the rest of this and there are some real nuggets in here. Will be finding her on IG!

[@cookinmum]

What a great video. I’m starting my Mockmill jouney soon

[@Homestead-ish]

This is so helpful! Thank you ladies

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

You are so welcome!

[@ib629]

Thank you for this great information. Very much appreciated. Just made freshly ground einkorn sandwich bread with the banana in place of honey, and used soy milk. It is delicious, and Laura is right, no banana taste. Thank you.

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

Great job!

[@sheranrigg8841]

Thank you for all of this great information! You and your guest are a blessing to share what you've learned. Just beginning the journey ... so much to learn for a vintage-aged lady ;)

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

Glad it was helpful!

[@user-ml9dr1xv8z]

Sooo excited to enter my breadmaking era ❤️😅 great content 👍

[@user-ft9cf1ow6c]

I like to use a special forms / pans. / rolls to bake it, so that it looks like the beautiful, fluffy white useless bread

[@Hillside-Hive]

Housework- putting you in my ear... really hoping yall go over gluten free milling!

[@vantinamanley4709]

I would appreciate it the way it is! Not everyone's mind is warped😂

[@suzannewilson2806]

I know I’m really late to this video. I’m binging watching your podcast. I’ve really been having a hard time switching to fresh milled flour. Quite a Hydration difference.

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

Yes, it takes some experimentation...typically start with less flour than AP flour in a recipe....

[@tamichildofGod8249]

When I first started milling my own grains I was using hard red wheat. My husband and I were fine with it but getting anyone else to eat it (our family, church family or my daycare children) did not go over well. I finally started mixing my berries and I now use spelled hard red weed and soft white meat and others like it better and at least they're getting some of the benefits still

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

Yes, each wheat is a little different and it takes a bit to figure out what you and your family will like or what you like baking with

[@Growmap]

Two tips that I don't hear from most. You can get a lot more rise if you add duck eggs to your breads, cakes, etc. And for the ancient grains that are challenging to get yeast breads how you want them, consider using them in quick breads (using baking powder instead of yeast).

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

Great tips...thanks for sharing.

[@kyleedanner603]

Thank you!!!

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

You're welcome!

[@deborahtofflemire7727]

I’m in Ontario Canada and I order all my flour from Anita’s flour.

[@tkarlmann]

You might be entertained by my story and perhaps you can help. The last time I tried to make bread from Kamut, the results were not good. I milled my whole grain Kamut. I used the finest setting on my Mill. I found the texture of my 'milled' flour slightly gritty when pinched between my fingers. This does not happen with store-bought flour. Now to the rising part: I found there was decidedly an audio component to my bread rising. It was a very soft hissing-like sound. My conclusion was that everything was working, but the texture of the flour is simply not fine enough. A word about my mill: I watched a YT comparison among mills, and discovered my mill was able to produce the finest milled grain of any mill tested! I also conversed with the person doing the Mill-Comparisin video. She also stated that the resulting output flour was gritty! I do have a second mill -- that does have the shone wheels I can put in; however, it is a hand-crank model! I could not believe how much effort is required to mill even a small amount of flour. (Sidenote: I saw an ad for my hand-crank mill. This ad was done by this big, hugely- muscled guy who kept insisting how easy the use of this mill was! ((For HIM)) ) Anyway my resulting loaf was, expectedly, a brick. My only thought was to take my gritty flour and toss it into my high-speed blender to get rid of the, IMO, coarseness of my flour. BTW: I have seen those mills where the outer parts are made from wood -- there is no way one of those would ever fit in my small apartment-kitchen!! Please share your thoughts. BTW: I do not have an Instagram account; I do YT.

[@kat9840]

Wow this was a very insightful video! Do do all flours that you purchase in a bag only come in the endosperm and not the germ itself? Also, which ones better to bake with - khorasan or spelt?

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

If you are purchasing whole wheat berries they come with everything intact. As far as what is better to bake with...I think that is really up to you or whoever is baking. People have different preferences for different reasons. The more you bake the more you will hone in on your preferences

[@BlackBalloonGraz]

I for myself combine 30 or 50 percent kamut or emmer with white flour. Breads still look and taste great. Even the kids like it. You dont have to do 100 percent whole wheat. And most whole wheat breads fail because people use way too little water. You cant just use whole wheat in a white bread recipe. You have to experiment a bit. After months i know if its too little or too much water. Sweetspot is if it can hold its shape after the final proof and you get it out of the banneton without it being a runny sticky mess.

[@kathrynkohl644]

I'd love Laura's sourdough recipe that uses organic all purpose wheat flour for the starter and then einkorn for the rest of it. I can't find it on her instagram. Does anyone know where to find this?

[@hannacastaneda8219]

What of you make sourdough starter with the freshly milled flour; does it maintain the nutrients? I heard that as soon as the wheat grain is milled it starts to oxidize and lose nutrients. Does the fermentation preserve the nutrients ?

[@tamaramcgrath3327]

I would like to know this as well

[@myAmericanGirlLife]

When we mill our own einkorn / ancient grains, we can sift the flour to make all purpose flour...so can't you just put the wheat germ that you seperate into a daily smoothie? That way you can have the best of both worlds? Anybody do this?

[@br4653]

I use Einkorn all purpose and Whole Wheat, are they still better than regular all purpose flour? Thank you for a very informative interview!

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

Yes they are

[@user-ft9cf1ow6c]

I’m trying to decide which grain meal to purchase for grinding fresh grain. I’ve been using store-bought, whole wheat rye smelt. I am excited to get started, but I’m not sure which meal would be best.

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

It probably comes down to personal preference...I can post a blog I did comparing two of them....maybe that will help...www.farmhouseonboone.com/best-grain-mill-mockmill-vs-nutrimill

[@lauratempestini5719]

How can we find the nutrient content of the grains? Also the nutrients of the Bran, middlings, wheat germ, and wheat germ oil. Please share if you know!!

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

a quick google search yields many options and websites to find the nutrient content

[@marionreed5106]

I use an enameled Dutch oven - should I be worried adding the icecubes to the hot pot? Could the huge temperature chance crack the enamel coating?

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

I have never had a problem with it....

[@user-ft9cf1ow6c]

Can I use a buttermilk powder in my braids or should I be using the liquid buttermilk in place of water?

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

You can use reconstituted buttermilk powder...

[@Incognitoo3]

I don’t think that the various berries weigh the same…even after milling. So a cup of kamut weighs differently than a cup of spelt. Am I wrong? I’ve been milling a couple of years and I dread not having an exact weight of fresh milled and type because when it goes wrong, my family won’t eat it.

[@jenniferenns1298]

I'm buying an organic kernel: hard red and soft white. How do I find organic ancient grains? Here in canada they soak the grinds in pesticides so it's important to me that it's organic.

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

Looks like a viewer from Canada shared she gets hers from Anita's Flour

[@glamrhinestones9283]

Is your 5% still active? would like to purchase a mill however the discount is not applied

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

No, I don't have an active code.

[@deborahtofflemire7727]

Where is her KZbin channel?

[@NashvillePastaman]

How about baking in a steam oven???

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

I don't have experience in a steam oven....I would think it would work.

[@lauratempestini5719]

How are you spelling Kamut’s unbranded name?

[@Simplefarmhouselife]

Khorasan

[@juliedickson729]

White store flour I call dead flour.

[@mariariolo4471]

Ok informazioni molto utili anche se io capisco di cosa parlate solo attraverso i commenti perché non conosco l'inglese bay

[@azjersee]

I am afraid of the GMO and Glyphosate in our foods!!!

[@gwenreed8605]

The question should be on all is do you want pretty high rise or do you want healthy not pretty and all your viewers should be making their own homemade bread because it’s healthier not because it’s prettier. Otherwise, why are they making it?

[@jac1797]

Ancient Egypt if you go back to the Bible story of Joseph you will see that they were going to have 7 years of feast and 7 years of famine. Joseph said they should store grain for the 7 years of famine. Wheat became the food for the famine and to feed the slaves. Now wheat is used as filler food. We have canine teeth for a reason. Even if you eat the Ancient Grains and grind them yourself they are not to be the major percentage of our diet. We are meant to eat meat.

[@spinderellas6272]

Why do you care about clicks for a pretty bread, seems dishonest actually. I would rather see a real bread that will encourage those of us starting.

[@beans4853]

This is her job, how is it dishonest if she is telling you the truth?

[@spinderellas6272]

@@beans4853 , I get it, but those of us learning, NEED to see less than perfect bread. It helps know we can achieve better bread.

[@beans4853]

@@spinderellas6272 I think she shows plenty of that on her channel. She was talking about Google photos specifically, I understood