Flabbergasted…that’s the look on my face when I got a glimpse of what can be done with a sack of wheat! Grind it and bake luscious breads, cookies and cakes. Boil it and add some honey and milk for a nutritious breakfast cereal that blows Wheaties out of the water. Cook it and toss a handful into your soup or casserole. Sprout it and produce wheatgrass which has 70 minerals and over 100 live enzymes! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg…or should I say the top of the barrel?

I know many of us feel passionately about fluffy, white bread, but I promise that acquiring a taste for wheat is well worth your time. I do store some white flour (wait ’til you taste the Butterhorn Rolls in December!), but if you’re looking for food that takes up minimal space and offers a big nutritional punch, wheat is what you want.

Although Wikipedia says the persisting myth that wheat found in the tombs of Egypt sprouted after 3,000 years isn’t true, your wheat will easily last 20-30 years when stored correctly. Compare that to my white flour in Florida that acquired a metallic taste after just 8 months!

In addition, when you grind a grain of wheat (called a berry) you’re using all three layers – the bran, the endosperm and the germ. Vegetarian Times reports that in white flour (which uses only the endosperm) 30 nutrients are removed during processing and only 5 have to be added back to earn the label “enriched.”

Different Types of Wheat

Hard Red Wheat is what most of us associate with wheat. It has a rich, nutty flavor that adults seem to like and kids tend to disdain. Because of climate and growing conditions it’s been the dominate wheat grown in America.

Hard White Wheat has the same nutritional content as red wheat, but a softer, sweeter flavor. It also rises better and is whiter in color. I read several different theories on its introduction to America, but most agree it’s been used extensively in other parts of the world for a long time. Kansas State University did much of the research to help bring hard white wheat to American fields in the early 1980s.

Soft White Wheat has a lower protein content than hard wheats, with only 9-10% protein, as opposed to 15-16% protein in hard varieties. The lower protein content makes it ideal for baking just about anything but bread. My kids thought we were using white flour after we started making pancakes and muffins with soft white wheat instead of hard white wheat! The only bad thing about it is that it’s harder to find.

So where can I buy wheat and how do I store it?

The cheapest way to get hard wheat is to go to an LDS cannery and pick up a 25# bag for about $11. (These home storage centers are open to everyone, regardless of religious affiliation.) Pour it into your gamma seal bucket and you’re set…for short term storage. I would only recommend storing the wheat you’re using from day to day like this. Nasty little bugs love wheat, so you definitely want to protect it if you plan of having it around for awhile.

Because wheat stores indefinitely once it’s sealed, for long-term storage I prefer to pay a little more and put my wheat in cans or in Mylar bags and sealed buckets. I bake out of my bucket with the gamma lid, and simply store the stuff that is packaged for long-term storage. That way I don’t have to keep track of whether I’ve rotated 14 buckets. I have it. I know where it is. And it’s going to stay there for the next 20 years or so with virtually no loss of flavor or nutritional value.

Soft white wheat is a little trickier. Depending on where you live, you may be able to purchase it at a local health food store. If not, check online food storage suppliers like Emergency Essentials, Pleasant Hill Grain or Walton Feed.

How do I get from wheat to flour?

One of your first storage investments should definitely be a grinder. I have both a hand grinder and an electric grinder called a Nutrimill. I LOVE that thing! I pour wheat in the top and flour pours into the hopper at the bottom. It grinds wheat so fine it rivals the silky feeling of white flour. If I were on the lookout for a grinder, I’d start my search at http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com.

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