Wheat: What You May Not Know

Wheat is a plant commonly grown, cultivated, and used to create hundreds of different food products. It’s not particular to one specific region. People in countries around the world use wheat in different ways as a critical component to a filling and healthy part of their diet.

While you may know a bit about it, including some of the foods where it’s used, there are many other details about it that you might not know. If you’re interested in learning a bit more, check out these exciting details on the plant! In case you missed this post, Bread Making Just Got Easier

Wheat Grinders I have Used And Recommend:

NutriMill Classic High-Speed Grain/Flour Mill

KoMo Classic Wheat Grinder (This is my Favorite)

Hand Wheat Grinder: GrainMaker® Grain Mill Model No.116 (I saved money for two years to buy this one)

WonderMill Wheat Grinder

How I Store My Hard White Wheat

I only buy wheat from Lehi Mills because they “clean” the wheat six times compared to normal outlets that clean their wheat two times. My wheat grinders are very expensive and I can’t risk putting inexpensive wheat from outlets I don’t trust through my units.

I have seen cheaper wheat with tiny rocks intermingled, the savings is not worth it to me. I’m lucky I live in Utah and that I can buy it in Lehi, Utah where they are headquartered. But, I also buy it from Costco when they have one of their roadshows. I just replace the white lids with Red Gamma Lids so they are easier to access, as shown in the picture below.

• Hard White Wheat: This is the only kind I buy. It makes soft and fluffly bread. It is lighter in color and has a moderate protein content.
• Hard Red Wheat: This is what i was raised on, I called the loaves bricks. The hard red wheat has a stronger flavor, heavier bread texture, and has a higher protein content.
• Soft White Wheat: This wheat is designed mainly for pastries, it makes the pastry flaky and light. This wheat is shorter and more plump and works great for making cakes, cookies, sweet breads, and muffins. It has more starch, less gluten, and lower protein content compared to hard white wheat.

Uses for Wheat

You can find wheat in dozens of the products you regularly consume in a year. It’s a staple ingredient used to prepare common foods, including bread, pasta, cereals, and pastries. Not all of these food products contain wheat, but many of them do.

Most don’t realize that there are several species of wheat, and some are better to use during the process of creating these different foods.

When you’re shopping at the supermarket, it’s common to come across foods that say “whole-wheat” on the packaging. This is what the wheat “berries” look like in my buckets.

How and Where It Grows

It grows in many places around the world. It’s found in several states throughout America, including Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. While you can find it in the United States, it’s also growing in other places, such as China, India, Ukraine, and Russia.

These are only a handful of places that currently grow wheat to use in hundreds of different products.

Growing wheat is a time-consuming task that takes both patience and effort. Farmers need to plant dozens of seeds to get the wheat to grow successfully. The plants require weed-free space with access to plenty of water, especially after the germination process.

If you’re growing wheat, it’s essential to set a watering schedule to keep the plant from drying out. If it’s not getting enough water, it won’t grow. It typically takes several months to see the wheat grow until several wheat heads start to appear.

Skilled farmers know what to expect of this process and put effort into keeping the wheat plants in the best condition until it’s finally time to harvest the wheat and sell it or use it. Red Gamma Lids

The Benefits of This Grain

Those consuming wheat can reap many benefits. It’s an excellent source of fiber. It can aid with digestion and reduce constipation. Those who regularly experience constipation should consider adding more wheat to their diets.

By doing so, they can regulate their bowels and avoid the pain, bloating, and discomfort associated with constipation.

While it’s great to use as a source of fiber to ease symptoms of constipation, wheat has other benefits to offer that are equally important. It contains both vitamins and minerals that are naturally good for your health.

As a result, it can strengthen bones, potentially lower cholesterol, and improve heart health. It’s the reason many health food products contain some wheat.

Those who struggle with chronic inflammation from different conditions, such as arthritis, can benefit from consuming wheat. Studies show wheat helps reduce inflammation.

It can also lower an individual’s risk of ending up with type-2 diabetes. Because type-2 diabetes is preventable, it’s essential to consume foods that can keep you healthy and help you avoid ending up with such a severe medical condition.

Does Wheat Cause Weight Gain?

There is a misconception surrounding wheat that people tend to believe, which is that it causes weight gain. However, this isn’t true. People assume that wheat can lead to weight gain, but too much of anything can cause this problem.

Your diet should consist of various healthy foods, including wheat products, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. If you’re consuming a well-balanced diet, you won’t need to worry about experiencing any unwanted weight gain from wheat.

Why Is There a Debate Surrounding Wheat?

Some people don’t know what to do when it comes to wheat because some health experts recommend it and others don’t. Wheat isn’t bad for you. Consuming it won’t harm you. However, it’s important to talk with your primary care physician about consuming it beforehand if you have gluten sensitivities.

While it’s not for everyone, many people consume wheat and reap its benefits with no problem. Adding a bit of wheat to your diet won’t cause harm, unless you have a sensitivity to it.

As you already know, some benefits come along with consuming wheat. If you want to lower the risk of suffering from serious medical conditions, including high blood pressure and heart attack, adding wheat to your diet isn’t a bad thing.

Just make sure that you’re not overdoing it by adding too much wheat to your diet. An overload of wheat could end up causing digestive issues for you instead of solving any digestive problems you’ve had over the past few years.

Is Wheat Bread Better Than Regular White Bread?

You may have noticed that there are different types of bread available in the grocery store. If you never knew the difference between traditional white bread and wheat bread, it’s the nutritional value. Regular bread contains enriched flour.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer much in the nutrition department. While people often use it to make sandwiches, French toast, and other meals, it’s better to switch from traditional white bread to whole-wheat bread if your goal is to provide the best nutrition for your family.

There is some additional nutritional value with whole-wheat bread, making sandwiches, pasta dishes, and other meals a lot healthier for you. Be sure and look at the contents of the so-called whole wheat bread, it may have a “caramel color” added to give the appearance that it is wheat and it is far from it.

Wheat is an Excellent Plant Worth Consuming

You know that wheat products exist, but you may not have known all this valuable information about the plant and how it gets used in different foods. It’s a necessary ingredient when making loaves of bread, baked goods, and even different kinds of pasta.

If you’re at the grocery store and you’re shopping for these items, consider getting products that say “whole-wheat” on them instead of the traditional options. When you choose these options with wheat, you’re selecting food products that offer more nutritional value.

You’re also choosing foods that can improve your overall health while protecting you in the fight against different health conditions that can negatively impact you.

Eight Loaves

5 from 8 votes

Print

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe-8 Loaves

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Let It Rise

2 hrs

Total Time

2 hrs 45 mins

 

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: 8 one-pound loaves

Author: Linda Loosli

Ingredients

• 6 Cups Warm Water
• 2/3 Cup Olive Oil
• 1 Cup Honey
• 2 Tablespoons Dough Enhancer
• 2 Tablespoons Wheat Gluten
• 2 Tablespoons Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Dry Instant Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Saf Instant Yeast
• 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 14-15 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

Read More of My Articles  Did You Know These 8 Fascinating Wheat Facts?

Instructions

1. Instructions
2. Start adding the ingredients in the order shown above with one exception into your mixing bowl…start with 7 cups of flour and slowly add more flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I use a Bosch Mixer. I grew up making bread without a mixer..it can be done by hand. I grew up letting my bread rise twice so I still do that. Old habits are hard to break! I mix it for 10 minutes in my Bosch. Cover with greased plastic wrap until it doubles in size. Punch down and form dough into eight one-pound loaves or less if your bread pans are larger. I let the dough rise one more time with greased plastic wrap. Bake the bread at 350 degrees for 27-30 minutes. If your pans are larger you will bake your bread longer.  You will love making whole wheat bread, I promise!!

Two Loaves

5 from 2 votes

Print

Whole Wheat Bread For Two

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Let It Rise

2 hrs

Total Time

2 hrs 45 mins

 

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: 2 one-pound loaves

Author: Linda Loosli

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup or so of honey
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon SAF instant yeast
• 1/2 tablespoon dough enhancer
• 1/2 tablespoon wheat gluten
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3-1/2 to 4 cups whole wheat flour

Instructions

1. Start adding the ingredients in the order shown above with one exception into your mixing bowl…start with 2 cups of flour and slowly add more flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I use a Bosch Mixer.

2. I grew up making bread without a mixer. It can be done by hand. I grew up letting my bread rise twice so I still do that. Old habits are hard to break!

3. I mix it for 10 minutes in my Bosch. Cover with greased plastic wrap until it doubles in size.

4. Punch down and form dough into two one-pound loaves. I let the dough rise one more time with greased plastic wrap.

5. Remove the plastic wrap Bake the bread at (350°F) = (76°C) degrees for 27-30 minutes. If your pans are larger you will bake your bread longer. You will love making whole-wheat bread, I promise!!

5 from 1 vote

Print

Wheat Chili by Food Storage Moms

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

6 hrs

Total Time

6 hrs 10 mins

 

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6 people

Author: Linda Loosli

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef, cooked or 1-1/2 cups freeze-dried hamburger
• 3/4 cup chopped onion or 1/2 cup freeze-dried onion
• 1 garlic clove minced or 1 tablespoon dehydrated garlic
• 2 cups cooked whole wheat (see instructions below)
• 6 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 5 cups beef broth
• one- 6 ounce can tomato paste

Instructions

How To Make The Wheat Chili

1. Combine the ingredients in your slow cooker, cook on low for 6-8 hours, this will depend on your slow cooker size and temperature.

How To Cook Wheat

1. Here is how I make cooked whole wheat: 1 cup washed whole wheat berries, 3 cups water, 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional, place all the ingredients in a slow cooker on low at night for 9-10 hours (UPDATED-I have a new Crock Pot and it cooks faster) and you will have cooked wheat in the morning. Please note I got an email from another person named Linda and she mentioned the following: I cooked wheat for the first time in a slow cooker last night. I used exactly the amounts that you suggested. It was too crunchy. I figure that I will need to cook only 8 or 10 hours and/or add more water. Me: I am thinking everyone must check their own slow cookers for the cooking times because some may cook faster or hotter. Drain the excess water and use it in recipes like you would rice or quinoa. Store in the refrigerator for up to three days. You can also eat it with milk and honey!

Final Word

Let me know if you make whole wheat bread or use wheat in other ways, I would love to hear. It’s all about cooking from scratch and teaching skills to our kids and grandkids. Some people tend to be afraid to make bread at home. The recipes listed above are what I call my “no-fail bread” recipes. Give them a try, you’ll be so glad you did! May God Bless this world, Linda

Copyright Images: Wheat AdobeStock_303513139 by Nitr