Packing party: the flour gets bagged

September 11th, 2009 by Admin

Scenes from Anita’s Mill in Chilliwack last week…

christiaan-hopping

The masked man bags again! Christiaan uses the large hopper to fill bags

chris-with-bags

Chris with winter wheat

hopper

The hopper, in all its glory

mechanical-lift

Totes of grain being lifted by the crane

flour-bagging

Christiaan and Chris weighing out triticale bags

christiaan-sewing

Christiaan using the sewing machine to seal the sack

full-pallet

Bags being loaded for transport

boxes

Boxes on the pallet, all ready to go

6 Responses to “Packing party: the flour gets bagged”

  1. David Griffiths Says:
    September 15th, 2009 at 10:50 am

    How about a section on the site for recipes.

    I’ve baked homemade bread a dozen or two times, but I am no expert. I don’t want to waste any, so recipes would be helpful….

  2. Cory Spencer Says:
    September 15th, 2009 at 5:39 pm

    Hi David –

    One of my favorite recipes for homemade bread is here:

    http://www.sullivanstreetbakery.com/recipes/noknead.html

    You have to do a bit of planning ahead (ie. the day before) but the results are amazing!

  3. David Says:
    September 19th, 2009 at 4:27 pm

    Cory,

    The link doesn’t work (a 404). I’ve made a no-knead bread before, with vinegar and beer, letting it sit overnight. It’s very good.

    I just wonder how it would be with all whole wheat flour – it can be a bit dense….

    David

    Here’s the CI no-knead whole-wheat recipe:

    Makes 1 large round loaf. Published January 1, 2008. From Cook’s Illustrated.

    An enameled cast-iron Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid yields best results, but the recipe also works in a regular cast-iron Dutch oven or heavy stockpot. (See the related information in “High-Heat Baking in a Dutch Oven” for information on converting Dutch oven handles to work safely in a hot oven.) Use a mild-flavored lager, such as Budweiser (mild non-alcoholic lager also works). The bread is best eaten the day it is baked but can be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in a cool, dry place for up to 2 days.
    Ingredients
    2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces), plus additional for dusting work surface
    1 cup whole wheat flour (5 ounces)
    1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
    1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
    2 tablespoons honey
    3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (7 ounces), at room temperature
    1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mild-flavored lager (3 ounces)
    1 tablespoon white vinegar
    Instructions

    1.

    1. Whisk flours, yeast, and salt in large bowl. Stir honey into water, then add water, beer, and vinegar to the dry ingredients. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.
    2.

    2. Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.
    3.

    3. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

  4. Emily Terrell Says:
    September 21st, 2009 at 11:25 am

    Hey David,

    I really like The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book for 100% whole wheat breads–they turn out really light and the method is quite easy. I tried the Sullivan Street Bakery bread with 100% whole wheat and it definitely tended more toward a brick…
    I made the Buttermilk Bread yesterday with some of the CSA winter wheat and it turned out beautifully! Check it out!

  5. Margaret Sanchez Says:
    September 21st, 2009 at 4:31 pm

    Does anyone have a good bread-machine recipe for whole wheat bread?

  6. David Griffiths Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 11:03 am

    Thanks for the hint, Emily. The book looks really popular and got great reviews everywhere I looked. Unfort, it’s not stocked in the New West library….

    Margaret – the newest version of this book has a chapter for using a bread machine with the recipes.