Thanks, Grainlady. Actually, I went ahead and experimented by sort of combining the above recipe and a recipe I found on line for spelt bread. I used a combination of King Arthur whole wheat flour and the white spelt flour, about half and half, partly because I had already made the biga with the whole wheat flour. Then, I used the following recipe, adjusting the spelt flour amounts and water amounts to try and have the correct total for each ingredient. I used the technique for making ciabatta, where I let it sit, turned the dough, let it sit, turned the dough, until I was ready to bake the bread. It ended up making 2 loaves, which I baked in loaf pans, instead of ciabatta style. Surprisingly, it turned out surprisingly well, considering at the last, I tried to make one loaf out of it, and when I saw the dough spilling out of the pan I realized I had to deflate it yet once again and put it into two loaf pans. Here's the other recipe I used. I used dark honey instead of brown sugar. It's from Versagrain.com. Spelt Flour Recipes Sweet and Hearty Spelt Bread Recipe To cook this Spelt bread recipe you will need a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and patience. Unlike white bread this recipe for Spelt bread will take twice as long to leaven. From start to finish, it will take 2 - 3 hours. Ingredients (Makes 1 Loaf) 1 1/2 cups warm water (just barely hot to the touch) 1 package active dry yeast (1/4 ounce) 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon whole flaxseed (optional) 2 1/2 cups whole spelt flour 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/2 tablespoon salt 1 3/4 cups whole spelt flour 1 tablespoon butter, melted Directions In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon of flaxseed (optional). Mix in 2 1/2 cups of spelt flour. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly. Mix in 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter, 2 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and salt. Stir in 1 3/4 cups of spelt flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with spelt flour until it pulls away from the counter but is still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 1 to 2 cups of spelt flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 30 minutes). Punch down and place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Allow to rise until dough has topped the pan by one inch. Depending on your yeast this will take between 1 - 2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not over bake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 1 tablespoon of melted butter when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely. TIP: Place a loaf pan of the same size over the top of the loaf while baking to create a better crust. Substitutions and Additions Honey can be substituted for the brown sugar in this whole spelt bread recipe. Substitute white spelt flour, hard white wheat flour, or bread flour for the 2 1/2 cups of whole spelt flour to create an even lighter and fluffier loaf of whole grain bread. To give this recipe a crunch, consider adding walnuts. In this whole grain bread recipe we included the option for flaxseed because here at versagrain.com we are big proponents of incorporating flaxseed into your diet. Its high protein, fiber, and omega 3 fatty acids makes flaxseed a nutritional powerhouse your body can use to fight depression, cancer, and heart disease.

Kari & Clare - Kari - My sources for wheat: 1. locally grown hard winter red and white wheat (free or very cheap, but usually NOT chemical-free or organic) 2. Heartland Mill, Marienthal, KS - organic grains 3. Bob's Red Mill - soft white wheat (and other grains) 4. Wal-Mart - Hard Spring White Wheat - Prairie Gold (from Wheat Montana - chemical-free) - they also carry hard red wheat Bronze Chief. Wal-Mart has only recently started carrying Wheat Montana wheat around here - $5 for 25-pounds. Mills: 1. (A very old) Whisper Mill - which is an electric impact mill (now known as a Wonder Mill) - this mills most grains/seeds/beans into a very fine flour - fine flour = fine bread, coarse flour = coarse bread. 2. Marga Mulino Flaker Mill - for cracked grain, flakes, and coarse farina (for cooked cereal) 3. Corona Corn Mill - for coarsely milled grain and corn meal. 4. Porkert Seed Grinder - for small seeds, such as amaranth, poppy seeds, teff, etc. 5. Bosch Coffee/Spice - for milling flaxmeal. 6. Family Grain Mill - a hand mill, that also has an electric-powered motor to run it as well, that has a lot of attachments available for other uses (meat grinders, flakers, etc.). This is my back-up mill. You have to mill the flour twice to get a reasonably fine grind of flour. Source for recipes: I suggest you start by substituting unbleached/bleached flour in your favorite recipes with a portion of wholegrain flour. There are all kinds of books out there on whole wheat baking. I have a collection of 28 beans, seeds, and grains that I use milled and whole - included in that, several types of wheat. I develop many of my own recipes because I use really "odd" ingredients, including gluten-free baking. Here's a few books I like from the large selection in my library: RECIPES FROM THE OLD MILL (Baking with Whole Grains) by Sarah E. Myers and Mary Beth Lind WHOLE WHEAT COOKERY (Treasures from the Wheat Bin) by Howard and Anna Ruth Beck THE AMAZING WHEAT BOOK by LeArta Moulton THE SPLENDID GRAIN (all kinds of seeds and grains) by Rebecca Wood WHEAT COOKIN' MADE EASY by Pam Crockett --------------- Clare - Wheat comes in HARD (strong/high-gluten) and SOFT (weak/low-gluten) varieties. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour is milled from (low-gluten) soft red wheat, just like you thought. It's best used just as you described - in baked goods where you don't want a lot of gluten development - for the most part, anything other than yeast breads. Low-gluten bleached flour would include White Lily and Martha White - which are great for quick breads, pastry, etc. I purchase soft white wheat berries from Bob's Red Mill to mill into whole wheat pastry flour. I also use freshly-milled spelt and some rye, barley, and triticale for baked goods that need low-gluten flour, as an alternative to soft wheat flour. All wheat has a protein level that determins if the grain is hard or soft. Even in the same field you'll find protein (gluten) level differences from one side of the field to the other. If a portion of the field is shaded(usually at the edge of the field) and/or there's a low place in the field that retains water after a rain, the wheat that receives a lot of water/shade will usually have a low-protein count. Even though hard wheat may have been planted, the protein level is also determined by the amount of rainfall, and other factors. Soft wheats are characteristicly plump (a lot of endosperm), while hard wheat varieties (especially winter wheat) is small, wrinkled, and very hard when you bite it. When soft whole wheat is milled, the flour is exactly that - very soft to the touch. Hard whole wheat is much 'grittier' - due to the higher percentage of bran to endosperm ratio. All bleached/unbleached flour is milled from a combination of wheat protein levels to formulate the amount of protein for the type of flour needed. High-protein wheat is used for yeast breads, a combination of hard and soft wheat is milled for all-purpose flour, and pastry flour is milled from soft wheat. There are also fields of extremely high protein wheats (15% or more), but they are mixed with lower protein wheat to make flour. I've used some wheat that was 16% protein, and it took forever (lots of kneading and a very long fermentation) to develop the gluten in bread - 12-13% protein level is much better for yeast bread. Too much gluten will make a tough loaf of bread. The highest protein level wheat is durum wheat. Unlike hard red and white wheat varieties which are used for yeast breads, durum wheat is used in pasta. I mill durum for whole wheat pasta - NOT red or white varieties of wheat. Commercial whole wheat pasta is made with wholegrain durum wheat. The elements in wheat protein that we call "gluten" are actually a gluten group - GLUTENINS and GLIADINS. Glutenins provide the elasticity quality that allows bread dough to expand. Gliadins contribute to the viscosity and extensibility of bread dough. Red and white wheat varieties have a dominance of GLUTENINS and less GLIADINS. Durum wheat has a dominance of GLIADINS and less GLUTENINS. Therefore, even though durum wheat has a high protein level, it's unsuited for bread making, due to the type of protein. -Grainlady

Ok, I know it's been a while since the original idea... but I'm back with updates. I decided that I didn't want to fuss with both new ingredients and new techniques. That would leave me with only instinct to ensure things came out as planned and they're not always reliable! Instead I used a recipe called Good Dog Biscuits I found on doggiebistro.com and adapted it as follows: 2 C rye flour, plus a little 3/4 C steel cut oats 1/2 C nutritional yeast 2 tsp garlic powder 2 egg yolks 1 1/2 Cups boiling water with approx 1 1/2 Tbsp beef boullion Mix all in stand mixer (I discovered that the eggs either need to be tempered or mixed in VERY quickly once the boiling water is added). Plop on plastic wrap and freeze until hard enough to cut into 1/4 inch slices (I recommend a serrated knife due to the steel cut oats still being rather hard). Bake 375 for 20 mins if brought to room temp or longer if still frozen/cold. Turn oven off and leave biscuits in oven overnight or until cooled to ensure they are dry and crunchy. Couple of thoughts... Grainlady was right, and I could have probably used 3/4 cup of broth mix since the rye flour got very sticky (these were originally supposed to be rolled) and I was slightly short on the steel cut oats and the nutritional yeast. This calls for way too much garlic for my taste-the house smells like meatloaf and the dog wasn't too keen on the dough. I'm sure he'll find them more appetizing once they're done and he doesn't have to lick it off my finger, though. As they're baking now, I'm pleased to see that they're not spreading so I can pack them on the cookie sheet next time. Will try to remember to comment on the finished product tomorrow when they're dry, cool and have been taste tested.

Annie - Yep, I'm gluten-free (3-years - gluten-intolerance, not celiac disease) but I still teach all kinds of classes, and do even more 1 on 1 mentoring through the Extension Office than classes these days (yeast and naturally-leavened bread, bread machine, grains and milling), just as I have for the past 25-years. I no longer judge foods at fairs due to gluten-intolerance, but I still train new judges. Even though I have eliminated gluten, I still mill my own flour when I make wheat-based baked goods (or other gluten-containing grains) for the rest of the family or visiting guests, as well as milling my own gluten-free flours from a variety of grains/seeds/beans. I just don't make 100% whole wheat bread nearly every week like I did before going gluten-free. I'm busy making all our gluten-free breads and baked goods now, as well as still developing sorghum recipes for a local mill. About your bread challenges.... These may be some reasons why you have so much trouble using home-milled flour. The type of wheat you purchased, the fineness of the milled flour (fine flour = fine bread - coarse flour = coarse bread), or failure to add an acid to the dough (1/8 t. ascorbic acid powder per loaf) to counteract the damage to the gluten from Glutathione found in wheat germ (which leads to short squatty loaves with a coarse grain). My panned loaves of enriched 100% whole wheat bread are as high-rising and nearly as fine a texture as white bread - but that didn't happen until I started using the sponge method and adding ascorbic acid. If you are using a straight dough method (best suited for white bread and light wheat using commercial bleached/unbleached flours - a more modern method designed for making bread quickly), instead of using an old-fashioned sponge method (which is best suited for wholegrain flours), that may be a contributing factor as well. Some of the heirloom wheat varieties, when freshly-milled into wholegrain flour, require 2-day processes for making good bread - usually due to the low amount of gluten in these old varieties. Remember, before the 1870's and the advent of hard red winter wheat being grown in Kansas, all wheat, and the milled flour, was from soft wheat varieties. So -- soft wheat can be used for making bread, it just won't be the high-rising loaves of bread made in an hour in a bread machine, and there are older technics used. I've also done tests for a mill that had hard winter wheat with a 16% protein level (which is very high), and you have to knead it nearly forever to get that much protein developed when using a straight dough method - but it's a cinch when you use a soaked flour method, and you need very little kneading. My knowledge is from years of training as a foods judge at fairs using judging standards for what characteristics are considered "best" for the baked goods being judged; and knowing the science after years of classes and study about wheat/flour, and other grains, and baking characteristics. You have to be equally as informed as to what is right as to what went wrong when you judge. It's not just about what "looks" good. These are also based on industry standards from restaurants to commercial bakeries. You probably won't see a pizza place using all-purpose flour, it's the wrong standard for pizza dough - BUT - you can make pizza dough with all-purpose flour - it's just not the optimum flour choice. Knowing the science really IS the difference between good and best when using judging standards. Personal preference aside. -Grainlady