Wheat...What's the Difference?

If you are new to grinding your own flour, then you probably noticed there is more than one type of wheat berry out there.  Here is a brief run-down on the different kinds and how they are different.

Hard Red Winter Wheat:
This wheat is mostly grown in the Great Plain states and Canada and is moderately high in protein, which makes it good as an all purpose bread flour. About 40% of all wheat grown in the USA is Hard Red Winter Wheat.

Hard Red Spring Wheat:
Wheat Montana's "Bronze Chief" flour and wheat berries are this variety of wheat. It is considered the "aristocrat" of wheat when it comes to wheat foods like hearth breads, rolls, croissants, bagels, and pizza crusts. It is one of the hardest wheats, and therefore has one of the highest protein counts. It makes up about 24% of the wheat grown in the USA.

Soft Red Winter Wheat:
This wheat is mainly grown in the Eastern states and has a low protien count.  It has excellent milling and baking characteristics for pan bread and general purpose flour, and makes up approximately 25% of US grown wheat.

Hard White Winter Wheat:
This wheat is sweeter and lighter in color than the red wheat varities, with a protein profile similar to Hard Red Winter Wheat.  Only a small percentage of the wheat grown in the USA is Hard White Winter Wheat, but it is beginning to gain popularity.

Soft White Spring Wheat:
This is generally grown in a few eastern states and the Pacific Northwest and California. It is a low moisture wheat with high extraction rates that provides a whiter product for cakes and pastries.  Similar to Soft Red Winter Wheat with a slightly sweeter flavor.  It makes up about 7% of all USA grown wheat.

Hard White Spring Wheat:
A newer class of wheat marketed in the United States, but not in other places throughout the world.  This wheat is favored for its creamy light color when ground as whole grain flour.  Hard White Spring Wheat has a high protein count and strong gluten for bread baking.  "Prairie Gold" wheat from Wheat Montana is this type of wheat.  If you recieved a free bag of wheat berries with your GrainMaker Mill, it was "Prairie Gold" wheat.

Hopefully you have found this information helpful. Of course, you will want to experiment with the different varieties (and maybe mix a few!) to find out which makes the flour you like best.  Happy grinding!

Bibliography:

www.breadexperience.com

www.wheatmontana.com

"The New Book of Whole Grains" ~ Marlene Anne Bumgarner

"A Cooks Guide to Grains" ~ Jenni Muir

Some Interesting Facts About Bread and Milling

Bread has for thousands of years been referred to as "the staff of life".  At least 10 books in the Bible contain references to bread, and others also contain references to leavening, flour, and kneading of flour. 

Very early in history it must have been discovered that a more edible product could be made by separating the ground meal into coarse bran particles and white flour. The advent of weaving made this process possible. Sieves or baskets were made using horse hair or papyrus. Later, Ancient Romans ground and sifted the flour through linen, twice. This was an expensive procedure that only the aristocracy could afford. The whiter flour obtained was called "pollen" meaning a fine powder. The very best grade they called "flos" a word for a flower, being the best part of a plant. So our words "flour" and "flower" originally were the same. 

It was only after leavening agents and yeasts were perfected that bread took on the round or "loaf" shape instead of the flat types produced from much denser grains of earlier times.  Flat breads were a staple of  diets around the world for some 5,000 years.  By 170 B.C., bread baking had become a profession in Rome.  It is thought that the Romans were the first to have started a milling industry using animals or teams of slaves to drive the wheels to grind the wheat. Before this, grinding of meal had mostly been carried out in the home using a device called a hand-quern. The hand-quern consisted of two round flat stones, one above the other. The upper stone was turned by a wooden handle, wheat was trickled in through a hole in the center, and meal came out around the edge. 

Glade Creek Gristmill

During the time of King James I, bread for the poor was made from barley, Ireland commonly ate potato bread, and bread made from yeast is credited to English bakers in 1634. The first American gristmill (which is a mill for grinding grain, especially the customer's own grain) was built in Jamestown in 1621.  Prior to that, the Native Americans ground corn by hand usually with a mortar and pestle, as did the very early settlers. In 1631 a gristmill was built in Watertown, Massachusetts, and in 1633 gristmills were built in both Dorchester and Boston. Wheat did not grow well in New England, so they relied more on corn and rye for bread. By mid-century New York had become active in wheat milling with Philadelphia, Willmington, Baltimore, and Richmond to follow.  In 1752 George Washington built a gristmill at Mount Vernon and soon built two more, after which he was considered the most successful miller of the time. 

Bread baking was time consuming and most bakers made enough bread to last at least a week at a time.  It is estimated that by the end of the 19th century 95% of the bread consumed in America was still being made in the home kitchen.  Through much of history, a person's social station could be discerned by the color of bread they consumed. The darker the bread, the lower the social station. This was because whiter flours were more expensive and harder for millers to adulterate with other products. Today, we have seen a reversal of this trend when darker breads are more expensive and highly prized for their taste as well as their nutritional value.

 Bibliography:
"Victoria's Home Companion or Whole Art of Cooking", by Victoria R. Rumble
www.bakeinfo.co.nz
www.breadinfo.com