[I have old canning jars that my parents used and I'm sure some stuff spoiled in them. After Dad died I found some stuff that my Mom had canned 15 years earlier! Water bath I'm sure. I dumped them, put them in the dishwasher, boiled them and reused. ] first off, you didn't have to dump the old stuff simply because of the age. if there were some OTHER reasons such as the standard reasons one would throw away spoiled canned foods then feel free but they have dug up foods that have been canned over 150 years old and tests confirmed they were as fresh and edible as the day they were canned. Meat was left out hanging in antarctica for 100 years and was still edible. Honey was dug up that was over 5000 years old and was as fresh as today's honey. just because of the age, you don't have to throw it away. if you can it properly then you can almost keep it forever. and what bugs me the most is the "sell by date" on a box of salt. the salt you are using has been in existence for over 4 billion years and they are trying to fool you into thinking that it only lasts a couple years before going bad? what about the rest of the 4 billion years?

I agree, "get a good scale". Heck, get a cheap scale - just get a scale and eliminate the conversion math quiz. You'll soon be sorry you didn't get a scale a long time ago. There are all kinds of things a scale makes easier in the kitchen. -Divide bread dough into equal amounts so the loaves, rolls, buns, etc. are all the same size and will bake evenly. -When you make layer cakes you can scale the batter in the pans to equal weights so the layers are the same size. -It's a lot easier weighing sticky things than scooping them into cups (although you'd have a hard time getting my Wonder Cup from me ;-). -Accuracy...as already mentioned. If you have 3 people measure 1-cup of flour, they will all be a different weight because of how they fill them. They may be as little as 3.75 oz. to as much as 5 or 6 oz. BTW - There are not any "standards" for how much a cup of flour weighs. Even the "experts" can't decide this one. -Dry measuring cups and spoons sold in the U.S. are not manufactured to a standardized volume, so each set you have may be slightly different in volume. Measuring cups/spoons in the U.K. and Australia are larger than the ones from the U.S. About the only reason measuring cups work at all is because most recipes are based on a ration of ingredients. For instance, a plain cake has, by measure, one-third as much fat as sugar; two-thirds as much milk as sugar; and about three times as much flour as liquid. So you can use measuring cups, grandma's coffee or tea cup, canning jars, or buckets for measuring, as long as you maintain the ration of ingredients. The exact measurement isn't as critical as the ratio of one ingredient to another. -With a scale, when you need 4 oz. of shredded cheese you can weigh it and not try to figure out how many cups that will be, and whether the cup is loose-packed or tightly-packed. It's 4-oz. by weight and you don't have to worry if you've over-stuffed the cup or not put enough in it. -However, accuracy of measurement goes out the window when it comes to flour for bread making - also already mentioned.... Due to the amount of moisture in flour (more in humid weather and less in the dry winter months), if will alter the weight of the flour. You have to go by the "feel" of the dough rather than an exact measurement. Each bag of flour will also vary in protein/gluten content, as well as moisture. The higher the protein level in the flour, the more hydration it will absorb. Protein content of flour can't be weighed with a scale. -Grainlady

These sound so yum, I want to make them all! What wonderful gifts ! Thanks Craftryn! Mary

No. Soaking the wheatberries will make them too soft, and you'll get slurry instead of flour, and it will be hard to control the hydration. Yes, soak the flour, but in the amount of water you want to use for the recipe. It may seem crumbly dry, but just make sure it's as well mixed as you can. It'll be nice and moist at the end of the soaking period. I think I'd soak all the flour, rather than just the WW, but that's something to experiment with. Maybe the white would be greedy and soak it all up before the WW had a chance. Best of both worlds, soak the ww, then do an hour autolyze after mixing the rest. Do soak the WW for at least 8 hrs. Overnight is good. This is even more important if you have little chunks you’re trying to soften. An alternative to having coarsely ground bits of wheat, would be to mix in some interesting other whole grain, like millet. Just toss it into the soak. It's very nice. I've also used amaranth, buckwheat groats, various seeds and whatever took my fancy. Just keep to a small enough quantity that it doesn't impede the rise. Don't chill it unless your baking day gets postponed more than a day or two, and you think you'll get mold. Just cover your vessel, and leave it on the counter. Ambient humidity does make a big difference. I know you baked professionally, but I can't remember what. IME, all that “baking is chemistry” cliche stuff is about cake (which includes quickbreads and cookies). You have to have the right specific ingredients, in the right quantities, with the right methods under the right circumstances, to get a replicable product. Breads are different. They're much more about art, about adjusting for how dry your flour is, how dry the air, how active the yeast. You know there’s enough flour or water when it feels right. Pastry seams somewhere in between.