We all know that whole-grain flour is better for us than processed white flour, but many people don’t know why aside from the increased fiber content. I made the switch to home milling and I’ll never look back. Here’s why:
Taste and texture
The biggest difference I noticed was the taste and texture of the loaf I baked after milling the flour. It was rich and layered. Now I understand all these writers discussing “hints of spices” in “flavor profiles”. Wheat grains will last a very long time. Archaeologists have sprouted grains discovered in pyramids – grains that were locked in chambers for thousands of years. I won’t be hiding away any wheat for thousands of years but it might sit in my pantry for a few months. It’s safe to say that when stored properly, wheat berries will give wonderful flour for a long time.
Nutrition
Milled flour begins to oxidize right away. This means that the flour starts losing its nutritive properties once milled. For the most nutrition, flour should be created as needed. Flour goes stale within a few weeks. Commercial milling also removes most of the wheat kernel, which is where the nutrition is. This is why commercial flours have added vitamins. What is added doesn’t come close to what is taken away, though. Whole grains contain the bran, germ, and endosperm. The bran is the hard covering, the “roughage” that keeps us all regular. The germ is an embryonic seed that also contains unsaturated fats. The endosperm is the largest part of the grain and it is composed mainly of starch. This is the part that is retained during commercial milling, while the bran and germ are discarded.
Why is all of this important?
The discarded parts of the grain or berry include enzymes, folate, Vitamin E, antioxidants, and fiber. Starch absorbs fat and the high starch content of commercially-produced flour increases the amount of fat that is absorbed and stored during digestion. We already know that high-fiber foods carry fat out of the digestive tract to be eliminated. Whole grains also have a lower glycemic index. This means fewer blood sugar spikes. We should be mindful of what we put into our bodies in a culture where a significant portion of the population will become diabetic due to the consumption of highly processed foods. One of the reasons that we overeat in North American society is that our food is processed and modified for bulk, not nutrition. When we eat nutritious food, our brain will send out a signal to the rest of the body that it is done eating and no longer hungry. When we eat junk, that signal doesn’t happen because we haven’t met our nutritional needs in that meal so the brain keeps sending hunger signals in the form of hormones.
When you eat nutritious foods, you eat less because your body doesn’t need to eat huge amounts. Eating whole foods means we don’t need huge platefuls, or seconds and thirds to be satisfied. This is one of the reasons why people could eat bread and potatoes in the same meal and be fine 100 years ago, but you’re counting carbs and eliminating entire food groups today.
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