FOAS, the black vinegar that I have is not made in China - it is Japanese: Rinkosan Kurosu Uchibori, Hamamatsucho, Minatoku Tokyo, Japan. Ingredients: water, rice, salt. However, there is very little salt, as a single serving has 0mg Sodium. It does taste like vinegar, but not at all like European vinegar. Here's the info on the soy sauces that I currently have: As it turns out, I have five bottles of soy sauces in addition to two bottles of ponzu sauce. Four of the soy sauces are Japanese, and one is Pearl River Bridge light soy sauce from China. The Chinese soy sauce has the harshest flavor and is also the saltiest. Here are the ones from Japan: Marudaizu Shoyu, brewed by Yamasa Corporation, Choshi, Chiba JAPAN  large bottle (and was probably fairly inexpensive), ingredients: Water, Soybeans, Wheat, and Sea salt  No preservative added, 1000ml (34 fl oz.). Good mellow flavor, not too salty www.yamasa.com "Marushima" (Shodoshima Shoyu), ingredients: Water, Soybean, Wheat, Salt, distributed by Mitsuwa, Torrance, CA. Very similar flavor to the above, but slightly mellower and a bit less salty. Net wt. 12.70 oz, 360 gr. Seasoned Soy Sauce (Katsuo Shoyu  Maruten Br.) Ingredients: Soy Sauce (Water, Soybeans, Wheat, Salt), sugar, glucose, sweet rice wine, salt, dried shaved bonito, kelp extract, alcohol, monosodium glutamate. This one has a similar flavor to the others, but with a hint of Japanese beer and a bit of sweetness. All of these (above) have mainly Japanese labels with small labels in English pasted on. Shirakiku brand salTless shoyu, distributed by Nishimoto Trading Co, product of Japan. Ingredients: water, soybeans, wheat, alcohol to preserve freshness. This one tastes mostly like Japanese beer, but with a stronger malt flavor. There is also a soy flavor, but different from other soy sauces. I also have some Mitsukan Ajipon Ponzu citrus seasoned soy sauce, product of U.S.A., and one of my least favorites. Ingredients: Soy Sauce (water, wheat, soybeans and salt), water, distilled vinegar, lemon juice, high fructose corn syrup, salt, monosodium glutamate, citric acid, natural orange flavor, succinic acid, sodium benzoate (as preservative), disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate. Mizkan Americas, Mt. Prospect, Il. I have some Kikkoman Ponzu sauce, and it is even worse than the Miskan, but fairly similar in taste and ingredients. The winner of these is the Marudaizu Shoyu, for price and flavor. Lars

sally2 & lpinkmountain - sally2 - We've been doing a little traveling and it's the beginning of gardening season, so I haven't been spending much time on the computer. I should have added, if you mill your own flour, be sure to sift out any large chunks of bran from your flour when using it for fine cakes, like chiffon or angel food. And you must have a mill that will mill a very fine flour to use it for "cake" flour. A coarse grind of flour won't get the job done. I agree about avoiding bleached flour, but saying that, I brought home my 1 bag-for-the-year of White Lily flour I always purchase when we go to Tennessee (LOL). lpinkmountain - I've never tried wholegrain cake flour with barley flour, but I'm going to bet it's sweet taste would be an asset. Barley does have some gluten, although it's very low in gluten. Barley flour is an odd flour when you mill it yourself. It's really light and airy. You can mill 3/4 c. barley and it will innitially measure 1-1/2 c. of flour, but after several days storage, it compresses to 1 c. of flour. Barley is the exception to the "stir before measuring" rule. You need to tap the container a few times to settle the contents before measuring. I like to mill pearled barley into flour and use it in baked goods. Pearled barley has the bran removed so the flour is very starchy and soft to the touch. If you use barley in a yeast bread the crusts tend to harden after the bread is cooled and the crumb of the bread may be more crumbly, but nice and moist. Barley flour works well in lots of baking. It's one of those under-used flours, like rye. People only think of barley as a flour for a flatbread and there are LOTS of recipes using it for bannocks, pancakes (and other quick breads), pie crust... -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.

If whole wheat flour has 3% less gluten than regular flour, assuming the density of gluten and flour is similar, I think that works out to adding half a tablespoon per cup. It doesn't seem to be really important that you measure carefully, though-- I don't, so I am not surprised that Lars' way works well. A quick Google showed that some people are adding a couple of tablespoons per cup. If you are kneading by hand, I'd err on the side of more gluten. If you are kneading with a mixer, you may get by without any-- I'm not sure.