Testing new flour for whole grain sourdough bread baking (simple but effective)

This video demonstrates a simple technique for home bakers to use in testing new whole wheat flours for bread making (particularly freshly milled flour and whole grain sourdough). Many thanks to Tuerong Farm in Victoria, Australia for providing these lovely new grains for me to try out! This test method provides a guide on the correct hydration to use for each flour, and will also give an indication of gluten strength and suitability of the flour for bread making.
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Wheat varieties featured in this video
(All grown by Tuerong Farm, Victoria, Australia)
Marquis - Heritage hard red wheat, origin Canada (not France as I incorrectly wrote in the caption)
Garland 1109 - Modern hard red population wheat originally bred by The Bread Lab, Washington State University, USA
Mustang - Australian modern hard wheat variety
Adagio - Soft red wheat, origin France
Tuerong Farm www.tuerongfar...
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[@russbowman6801]

I love sour dough! My first exposure was in the San Fransisco bay area where we got sourdough French bread. The crust was tough, the rest was chewy and had that flavor I loved. Now I hear this is a more healthy form of bread and whole grains are even better. Some say any grain is not healthy, but if we look at the way the ancient people did this, they made sourdough all the time by using a lump from the past batch stored up and ready to leaven the next batch, thus, naturally sour dough bread. Well, those Biblical prophets often lived a long time with no health problems like ours, so this bread done with older gains must be a better choice. Keep up the fine work! I just might try this again.

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

Absolutely! I don't think you can get any better tasting or more nourishing bread from 100% whole grains (especially freshly milled) naturally fermented.

[@KatMa664]

I have a question for you. I know this is not a brand new video so you might not get this. Are these genetically modified wheats? Or are they organic wheats? I know Canada uses genetically modified wheats. And now unfortunately in September 2024 the United States has just approved genetically modified wheat. It’s a very sad day for us.

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

None of these are GMO wheats. Some of them are biodynamic and organic, some grown using regenerative agriculture practices. All from small Australian farms.

[@KatMa664]

Elly I was interested in that little flaker, but wasn’t sure if I could find a reliable source to purchase it from in the United States. Do you happen to have a link to a reliable source?

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

Yes I would recommend the Mockmill US site - I have links on my site here www.ellyseveryday.com/mockmill

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

Would you like some extra support and inspiration with your whole grain sourdough baking or home milling? Come and join the Elly’s Everyday member community! 🌾 (it’s lots of fun) www.buymeacoffee.com/ellyseveryday/membership Mockmill information and discounts for Elly’s Everyday viewers are available here: www.ellyseveryday.com/mockmill Thanks for watching, please see the video description for more information and links.

[@hu_b]

Great demonstration. I've watched a few others doing similar tests but they're using bread flour and test the dough only 30-60 minutes after adding the water, not long enough for whole grain flours. I've been baking with a 14% protein hard red whole wheat flour (Bob's Red Mill) at 90% hydration and have found that using a long autolyse (8 to 15 hours in the refrigerator) allows for much better water absorption.

[@LKRoss-ur7xv]

Thanks Elly! I'm wondering what creative magic you worked with all that leftover dough? I'm sure it didn't go to waste! 🙂

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

I made the most outstanding loaf with it! Oh gosh it was so good. Really delicious. Just mixed in some salt and starter, fermented it and you know the rest. It was really lovely, great texture too with the very long autolyse of the individual dough portions!

[@GabrielWood-tg7qr]

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[@LKRoss-ur7xv]

@@ellyswholegrainsourdough That is awesome! I really want to try the extended autolyse but haven’t gotten around to it.

[@Dax108]

Nice grains. Shame they don’t sell them to the public on their website.

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

Some of them are working up to that, and some are already available from sovereignfoods.com.au/ Many of the growers in Australia are still bulking up their seed in order to grow more of these beautiful grain varieties for the local market. Things are progressing, we must be patient and throw our support and encouragement behind the farmers and distributors who sell the grain, and buy it all up when it is available!

[@Dax108]

@@ellyswholegrainsourdough thanks Elly and I completely agree! Thank you for your videos. I’ve now bought a mockmill and am buying my grain in bulk from Burrum directly and some heritage wheat from Whispering Pines. You’ve inspired me to mill my own flour for my sourdough. Home milled flour is out of this world and I’m not going back haha. Thank you 😊

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

That's so wonderful! Good for you. Tell Tan I said hi if you talk to her at Burrum.

[@rubychung5126]

Love to know where I can buy different grains, I’m in Melbourne. I can order the flour from Tuerong farm but I prefer the grains.

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

Check out Burrum Biodynamics, and Woodstock Flour. They both sell whole grain in Victoria :)

[@rubychung5126]

Thanks Elly, I have been getting grains from Woodstock Flour. I will check Burrum Dynamics. Terra Madre also sells grains but I am not sure where the grains are coming from.

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

Burrum Biodynamics are a great farm. I forgot to tell you, they are based in Brisbane but I get all my Burrum Biodynamics grain, lentils, oats, from sovereignfoods.com.au/

[@rubychung5126]

@@ellyswholegrainsourdough thank you, I’ll check it out.

[@abhaybaneresyubero5086]

I was thinking of buying a mockmill but I have heard concerns that they heat the flour too much in the grinding process...what is your experience? Thanks for your time.

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

It depends on how finely you grind the flour I think, however I grind very finely and don't think there are any issues. If you use the flour straight away, nice and fresh, your bread will be wonderful :)

[@abhaybaneresyubero5086]

@@ellyswholegrainsourdough thanks for your reply, I would definitely be grinding it finely often. I just heard high heat destroys certain enzymes and nutrients but if you use it straight away it should be fine as it's going in the oven anyway. Do you ever grind and keep some flour for using later? Like for example to make some quick pancakes. How is the quality of the flour say after a couple of weeks? Thanks for your time, much appreciated.

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

You're welcome. The only flour I mill in advance is to put in my 'starter feeding' jar, so that I don't have to mill a small amount of wheat each time I bake (especially when I'm using a variety of flours). If I'm making pancakes or other things, I mill the flour fresh. It always tastes best and is probably the most nutritious, but in a pinch you can mill it fresh then store it in the fridge or freezer until you need it. Keeps it nice and fresh.

[@abhaybaneresyubero5086]

Thanks so much. Very helpful.

[@Mrsjayramachandran]

I see what you are doing but when we add about 20% of 100% hydration starter to the test dough the total hydration will change completely won’t it ? But it was a great visual to how the final dough should feel. Thanks a lot!

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

I didn't add any starter to these test doughs, but if you use 100% hydration starter when you would need to make a slight adjustment if you wanted it to be perfectly accurate (which I never bother with). It also depends on how much starter you're using. The more starter/preferment the more you need to adjust hydration of your final dough. If you want to make it easy you can keep the starter and main dough hydration the same :)

[@Taai02]

I just got some berries that are supposed to be hard white wheat but really look like soft white wheat. Tks for this video-now I know what to look for!!

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

Awesome!

[@thenextpoetician6328]

That's something I have to try with the sprouted spelt flour I use. My new rye flour starter is quite healthy, however apparently I haven't yet figured out the right hydration or amount of patience. Resolving the former can only help with the latter. :)

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

Ah yes, they go hand in hand. I don't worry so much about hydration for the starter, but keeping it at 100% can make things easier for calculation. The hydration guides are all very subjective, but this is a nice method to get to know your flour better. Thanks for your comment :)

[@KS-ys8vu]

Ty

[@helenabaier7823]

That was very interesting! Now l need to order some of the varieties and experiment for myself !

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

Excellent! It's a very worthwhile exercise I think. I learned a lot about these flours/grains!

[@WholeBibleBelieverWoman]

I hear that the soft white wheats are great for making tortillas!

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

Yes they would be I'm sure!

[@maryellenbunce7751]

Excellent video. You are educated. We don’t have to go to a university to become educated I think of the farmers from long ago who knew how to read the sky and the soil. Your experiments in your kitchen are educating you thank you for sharing your wisdom with us.

[@ellyswholegrainsourdough]

Wow, thank you so much for your lovely feedback, Mary! I appreciate it a lot. I'm glad that my channel educates you on breadmaking. Have fun! :)