Grain mill + bread recipe + bonus math link

[luzula]

We have acquired a household grain mill. First, and most shallowly, it is very pretty. We got a 25 kg sack of landrace wheat grains from a local farm, plus various other whole grains, and now we can make bread from freshly ground flour, which is exciting! It really does make more delicious bread. We can also grind a lot of other things, such as coffee, acorns, maize, dry legumes, nuts, etc. Aside from breads, I have discovered the world of things that can be done with roughly ground/crushed grain, which can also be done with the mill! You soak it overnight to improve nutrition and reduce cooking time, and then you can use it to make various risotto-like dishes--I bought a whole cookbook just about this (Den nya gröten by Sebastian Boudet). I'll post a recipe some time. And it's also very exciting to try emmer, spelt, einkorn, and other kinds of grain you can't usually buy in grocery stores. We're growing various kinds of grain ourselves this year on a small scale. BUT there is a reason milling was mechanized, and I think we'll eventually get an electric motor and a belt to drive the mill.

Here's an unusual (to me, at least) bread recipe I tried recently, which was unexpectedly delicious:
3 tsp fennel seeds
5 dl sunflower seeds
2 dl pumpkin seeds
3 tsp salt
7 dl body temperature water
50 g yeast
3 dl oat flour (I actually substituted wheat--the original recipe is made to be gluten-free, but I don't care about that)
2 1/2 dl buckwheat flour
2 dl legume flour (could be pea or chickpea or lentil)
1 dl honey
240 grams finely grated Jerusalem artichoke
Should be baked in some sort of molds/forms, since it doesn't have gluten enough to hold together well otherwise. Let them rise and then bake for an hour in 200 degrees Celsius.

For something completely different, have a link to an interesting long essay on math and AI and the nature of math and mathematicians.

Comments

[dolorosa_12]

Your own household grain mill! That's amazing!

[luzula]

It is! We have a separate hand-held sieve to separate out the bran to get "white" flour, but it never gets as white as store-bought flour. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

[chestnut_pod]

I was nodding through that recipe thinking, "Oh, seedy bread, I bet that's nice, toasty maybe, or perhaps moister--" and then I got to the Jerusalem artichokes! My word. What do they seem to do to the bread?

[luzula]

I think their purpose is to 1) hold moisture, and 2) contribute to the flavor. But I would never have guessed they were in there from the finished bread!

[lyr]

What a wonderful addition to your farm!

[luzula]

It is! I'm enjoying the exploration of food production.

[nineveh_uk]

That does sound fun! Albeit hard work to grind by hand in quantity. Other grains have been having a moment here, I am fond of barley, which this morning I'm having as barley porridge with stewed rhubarb.

[luzula]

Yes, well, we have been asking our WWOOFers to contribute to the grinding (currently two strapping lads of twenty). But eventually I predict that there will be a motor.

barley porridge with stewed rhubarb
That sounds delicious! I use barley as a component of one of my standard breads, and sometimes use it in dinner meals, too.

[garonne]

How cool that you will be able to try types of grain you wouldn't otherwise be able to.

That article was so interesting. Written from a totally different perspective than the one I'm used to. So long as I have the mathematical tools I need, I don't pay any attention to what pure mathematicians are up to, or what kind of achievements they attribute social capital to :D I have seen a lot of mathematics PhDs and postdocs online recently worrying about what their career will look like, though.

[luzula]

I suppose I am kind of a lapsed pure mathematician, who was mediocre at it and now teaches instead of doing research. And my nerdy interests mostly lie elsewhere these days, obviously! Still, I thought it was a fascinating essay with a perspective that I largely agreed with, though I couldn't have formulated it myself.

[seascribble]

That is a very pleasing looking machine.

[luzula]

It is! So pretty.

[feroxargentea]

Ooh. Funny how much it looks like my gran's old mincer! (meat grinder, for using up leftover meat). Very pleasing old-fashioned style.

I'm politely declining the essay on maths, haha ;)

[luzula]

I think they've made it in the same design for 100 years or something!

No worries, math is optional.

GIP

[jesse_the_k]

I recognize that mill from many an estate sale, although the antiques have lost that beautiful Raleigh-bicycle green.

Re: GIP

[luzula]

Oh cool! Apparently it has been in production for a long time. And you do really always have the perfect icon!