Someday I’m gonna tell my grandkids about the Great Flour Shortage of 2020.
I don’t think any of us expected a global pandemic to result in an extreme shortage of toilet paper, yeast, and flour…
Strange times, man.
Even though our grocery stores are a little better stocked than they were several months ago, supply on many of the items are still a bit sketchy…
Which is making me more determined that ever to have a pantry stocked with ingredients that enables me to not be 100% dependent on a volatile supply chain.
Over the past few months I’ve been flooded with emails from those of you who are working on stabilizing your own personal food supply and you’re curious how to address the flour issue.
Honestly, flour can be slightly tricky because it’s tough to store-long term. Not only does it tend to go stale or rancid after a little while, it’s also susceptible to bugs.
So while pre-ground flour might not be your best option for long-term pantry storage, wheat berries are pretty much magical. Here’s the scoop:
What are Wheat Berries?
Wheat berries are the edible part of wheat kernels, and include the germ, bran, and endosperm of wheat. It is the grain before it undergoes any processing and only the inedible outer layer of the wheat has been removed.
Basically– if you walk out to the middle of a wheat field, pick a stalk and shake out the wheat head, what comes out are the berries.
They have a similar appearance to brown rice or other whole grains and have a chewy texture and nutty flavor. Since wheat berries have not been processed, the berries retain all of the grain’s vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
Why Bother with Wheat Berries?
1. Wheat Berries have a Long Shelf Life.
If stored properly (see below for more tips on storage), wheat berries can last for decades in storage. While ground flour loses nutrients and shelf life relatively quickly, like other whole nuts or seeds, wheat berries will stay fresh in their whole-form for a looooong time.
As I mentioned in my podcast episode about wheat berries that I had a long-forgotten bucket of wheat berries in a corner of our basement. They were still fresh and viable, even though I had ignored them for years, which was super handy when the flour shortage hit.
2. Wheat Berries are Versatile.
Beyond grinding wheat berries to make your own flour, you can also use them like you would many other grains. You can make oatmeal or porridge with them for breakfast. You can use them as an alternative to rice as a side dish; you can pop them like popcorn; and you can even make sprouts with them (check out my Guide to Growing Sprouts for instructions) for a crunchy and nutritious topping to your salads and sandwiches.
Whole wheat can also be used to feed your livestock by making fodder (I was originally going to feed my wheat berries to the chickens, but with the recent flour shortage, I was super happy that I still had them available to make flour instead).
3. Wheat Berries are Good for You.
Since wheat berries are not processed, they retain their nutritional value much better than ground flour from the store. Wheat berries are an excellent source of fiber, protein, iron, several vitamins, and minerals. And when you grind the wheat berries for immediate use as flour, that flour contains more nutrients than store-bought ground flour since it’s so fresh and has not had any edible parts removed. You can learn more about the health benefits of whole wheat in this article.
Types of Wheat Berries
There are a few different types of wheat berries and it can be a bit confusing when you see all the names and descriptions. The different names are based on a few factors: the color (red or white), the growing season for the wheat berries (winter or spring), and the gluten content (hard or soft).
You can learn more about the various types of wheat berries in this post.
How Can Wheat Berries Be Used for Cooking?
I mainly use my wheat berries to grind into fresh flour (check the next section below for details on that).
But wheat berries have plenty of other uses, too. Basically, you can use them however you might use rice or other whole grains.
Here are the basics to cooking with wheat berries:
Cooking Wheat Berries:
This is similar to how you cook rice, quinoa, or other grains. Rinse 1 cup of raw wheat berries in a colander in the sink. Bring 2.5 cups water to a boil, add 1 cup of raw wheat berries. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour (or until wheat berries are tender). Drain and fluff with a fork. This will make approximately 2.5 cups of cooked wheat berries.
Just like with rice or other grains, you can also use your pressure cooker or crockpot to cook wheat berries and save time in the kitchen.
Toasting Wheat Berries:
This is optional, but it can help bring out the nutty flavors of the whole grains. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spread the wheat berries on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until lightly colored.
You can also easily store cooked wheat berries in the refrigerator. If not using them right away, store the cooked wheat berries in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Gently reheat in a frying pan over low heat until hot, or serve at room temperature.
Here are a few basic recipes/ideas for using wheat berries:
Breakfast Porridge:
Make cooked wheat berries and add your favorite porridge flavors, such as milk, diced apples, cinnamon, and honey.
Breakfast Parfait:
Top yogurt (homemade yogurt is amazing!) with layers of fruit, nuts, and cooled cooked wheat berries.
Soups:
Use cooked wheat berries in place of rice or lentils in your favorite soup recipes.
Salads:
Add texture and extra protein to your salads with a scoopful of warm or cold cooked wheat berries.
Dinners:
You can add the cooked wheat berries to stuffed peppers, as a side (like you would use rice) with stir-fries, in taco recipes as a topping, and more.
How to Grind Your Own Flour
Freshly-ground whole wheat flour contains more nutrients than whole wheat flours you’ll find at the grocery store since grinding up whole nuts/seeds/grains causes them to lose their quality quickly.
HOWEVER, freshly ground flour does have a few learning curves. For example, depending on the wheat berries you have, it can produce a denser, heavier bread if you don’t know what you’re doing.
If you’ve only ever baked with all-purpose flour, a quick switch to 100% whole wheat can be quite the shock (and leave you with loaves that double as bricks.)
When you grind the wheat berries, the resulting flour is full of air from shooting out of the grinder so measuring freshly ground wheat can also be a bit tricky. Try letting the flour settle for about 30 minutes to let it settle before using it.
It’s best to only grind wheat berries right before you plan to use the flour, as freshly ground wheat berries can go rancid very quickly. Store-bought flours are usually treated or processed in a way to prevent the oils in wheat from turning rancid after grinding so they can be shelf-stable.
Therefore, as tempting as it may be, I don’t suggest grinding 30 pounds of wheat flour to use for later. (One exception to this is if you have room in your freezer to store the fresh flour– freezing helps to slow down the oxidation process.)
It’s wise to only grind enough wheat berries for what you need in your current recipe or for the baking you plan to do that week. If you do want to grind a little extra, store the freshly-ground flour in the freezer or refrigerator.
How many wheat berries equals one cup of flour?
It’s hard to make a completely accurate ratio, since it depends on the how finely you grind your wheat berries and there will also be extra air in the freshly-ground flour. However, a good rule of thumb is that 1 cup of wheat berries will produce slightly less than 2 cups of flour.
Choosing a Grain Mill for Grinding Wheat Berries
There are plenty of different types of grain mills on the market. Some are stand-alone appliances while others are attachments for your mixer or attach to your counter. There are also vintage hand-cranked ones and electric ones.
If you’re trying to choose between models, it really depends on what works best for you and your kitchen. For example, I started with a huge grain mill that couldn’t fit in my kitchen cupboards before purchasing a smaller one, which fit better in my kitchen (both stylistically and logistically).
Lehman’s, my favorite online store for kitchen supplies, even has a hand-cranked option on their website.
This is where I bought my current grain mill and I love it. It’s both beautiful and practical, which makes it a timeless kitchen appliance for my counters.
Keep these things in mind while making your grain mill purchase:
- Do you have to feed a large family? If so, you might need a larger grain mill, like the Nutrimill Classic Mill, so you can make multiple bread loaves at a time. Otherwise, a smaller one like I have can work great.
- What type of space do you have for a grain mill in your kitchen? You might only have space for an attachment for your Kitchen-Aid mixer instead of a stand-alone grain mill.
- Do you have lots of freezer space? If so, you might want a mill that can grind a lot of flour at once, so you can easily make a week’s worth at a time and store it in the freezer.
What Other Grains Can Be Ground into Flour with a Grain Mill?
Various grain mills can also grind rye, corn, rice, barley, oats, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, lentils, dried beans, and seeds.
You might even be able to grind popcorn in your grain mill, to use as an alternative for corn meal (which I spread on the bottom of my Dutch Oven when I’m making homemade sourdough bread).
Where to Buy Wheat Berries
Eh, it’s normally pretty easy to buy wheat berries, but a lot of locations are sold out right now. However, sometimes you can find wheat berries at normal grocery stores and apparently, even Walmart carries wheat berries from time to time (this probably depends where you live).
Otherwise, check your local natural food store or try to contact a local organic mill (check out my tips here for finding local food sources).
If you can’t find them at local stores, you can also purchase them online.
Azure Standard is an online option for many parts of the United States, and they often carry wheat berries. You can also find wheat berries at True Leaf Market and I found some Hard Red Winter Wheat Berries at Lehman’s store.
We have a local organic wheat farmer in our area, and I will be making my future purchases from them.
Don’t want to grind your own wheat, but yet still want to feed your family wholesome flour? There are many great sources for purchasing organic, unbleached flour, both online and most likely local to your area as well.
How to Store Wheat Berries
As long as you store wheat berries properly, they can stay fresh for at least a year or longer.
Store wheat berries in a cool, dry place in an air-tight container with a well-fitting lid. These lids are great.
I store mine in food-grade 5-gallon buckets in our basement, and keep a smaller jar upstairs that I refresh when needed. Something like these would work well.
Cooked wheat berries store very well in the freezer, so you can prepare them in advance so you have quick meals ready as needed. Simply cook them like normal (instructions in an above section), then let them cool completely. Store them in your freezer in a freezer-safe container for 3 months (or a little longer if you like).
All in all, I think a generous supply of whole wheat and a grain mill is a fantastic addition to any everyday preparedness pantry. It’s one of the best ways to protect yourself from future flour shortages, and only expands your homestead skill repertoire.
Happy milling, friends!
More From-Scratch & Heritage Food Tips:
- My Heritage Cooking Crash Course will help teach you how to make from-scratch recipes without spending hours in the kitchen
- Learn more about the Types of Wheat Berries
- My super easy & versatile Bread Dough Recipe (for bread, pizza, cinnamon rolls, and more)
- The Ultimate Guide to Canning Safety
- Products I love for making sourdough breads
- Kitchen items (like my stoneware bowl) that I would hate to be without
Listen to the Old Fashioned On Purpose podcast episode #107 all about grain mills, flour shortages, and whole wheat:
Heidi Buffett says
Is Spring Wheat the same as Wheat Berry or Buckwheat? I had some Spring Wheat given to me last year & I don’t know what to do with it. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
ev says
Spring Wheat is a wheat berry when it’s in its natural form and not yet ground into flour. Buckwheat is a different plant, related to rhubarb, sorrel and knotweed. It grows in northern most latitudes where wheat does not. It’s seeds are triangular in shape, can be ground into flour or cooked like rice as a porrage or side dish. It is also a cover crop.
AJ says
Just wanna pop in to say buckwheat flour is used in France to make savoury crêpes called galette, if you have the flour you might want to try making some! You can’t substitute the flour at all so it might be fun to try 🙂
Martin says
Spring wheat is just wheat sown in the spring . It can be hard or soft wheat . There are many different varieties. It is the wheat Berry or I as a farmer called it wheat grain . It is not buckwheat.
Cindy Wimpey says
Where do you get your wheat berries?
p marc schwartz says
Better warn folks about the hull.
Also rememner flour dust is quite explosive.
Sharon S. says
I’ve been grinding my own flour for several years. I weigh my ingredients so I just grind by weight the amount I’ll need and that works for me. 300 grams of wheat berries equals 300 grams of flour.
Also to make an all purpose flour, I’ve found that 1 part hard wheat to 2 parts soft wheat makes a good all purpose flour.
Sandy says
TY I have been looking everywhere for this proportion. I buy my wheat from organic farmers in Montana but until recently I’ve bought the flour not the wheat berries. So now I’m laying in stores of wheat berries and trying to learn to grind the berries while we still have electricity & get the kinks out of the process. I bake all our pastry goods so this is actually just a natural progression into being even more self sufficient.
Martin says
What warning about the hull ? Please explain. Flour dust can be explosive . Very unlikely in a home setting . It requires the dust air ratio to be right . Highly unlikely to occur at home
Elizabeth Brennan says
Thank you for posting this. We love our freshly ground grains! One thing that I did not see mentioned was the huge difference in hydration as compared to store bought flour. Newbies should plan on a much higher hydration ratio and a longer autolyze.
Frances says
Thank you =) Very informative for a very newbie like me. This may be a silly question. Do the wheat berries need to be rinsed/cleaned to get rid of any dirt or dust before milling into flour?
Fisher Finley says
I love this Quote “stabilizing your own personal food supply and you’re curious how to address the flour issue.” Also called being a prepper! Welcome to build back better, agenda 2030….etc!
Nate says
Thanks for the info. I’m looking into adding specialty grains to my bread and this helped. Also, we need to learn to use metric for baking rather than the inconsistent imperial measurements. You don’t need to wait for the flour to settle if your weighing 125g. No matter how fluffy the flour is, 125g weighs the same.
Eddie McDonough says
I thought that wheat in the U.S. was hybridized and altered through the years and that is why people many of them become gluten intolerant including myself. Got off the wheat and healed the gut then started using organic spelt, kamut, buckwheat, millet, teff along with others and grinding my grain immediately making my product. I also rotate my grains which helps. Anyhow what is your thoughts.
Melissa Bechtel says
Thank you for this information! We’re hoping to grow some wheat this year and experiment with grinding it into flour. Can I use this in my sourdough? We’ll be growing a white variety.
K says
So whenever I grind my flour, it is much crunchier. I know they say it’s because of the nutrients and things not being removed, but it makes my cookies and breads gritty. Should I be sifting that out? I run it twice through my KitchenAid attachment. Is the attachment not that good or do I sift?
Kayla- Prairie Homestead Assistant says
If you want to sift out the bran you can! I usually try to keep it in for the nutritional value, but if it’s impacting the texture just sift it out!
Melissa says
I bought a grain mill and have ordered wheat berries twice now. Both times I found bugs in them.
Elissa says
Try freezing your berries for a couple days before use. It will kill off live bugs as well as eggs.
Rachael says
The hand crank link is broken for the Lehman’s website. Do you know if they still carry the one you were linking to?
Kayla- Prairie Homestead Assistant says
Here ya go: https://www.pntra.com/t/TUJGRktKSEJGTEtHTE5CRktFSUhJ?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lehmans.com%2Fproduct%2Fgreen-power-grain-mill%2F
Linda Meilahn says
Good morning, I have purchased some wheat berries for grinding. However, do I wash the berries before grinding, and if so, how do I dry them before grinding?
Thank you so much!
Linda
Kayla- Prairie Homestead Assistant says
There shouldn’t really be a need to wash them.
Machel says
Hi Linda, When I sprout my grains, it’s like washing them (getting them wet). I place them in a dehydrator to dry them out before milling/grinding them. 😉
Angie says
What wheat berries do I use for bread flour?
Thank you for so much information- overwhelming but so informative and loving working with wheat berries!
Cris - Prairie Homestead Team says
Hard wheat berries are best for yeast breads, while soft wheat berries are perfect for quick breads like this moist banana bread.
Kevin says
Just a heads up.
Commercial wholegrain flour is not treated to stop it going off. They simply remove the germ completely. It is the germ that becomes rancid.
No, home milled flour does not go off quickly. I have had intreated stone ground flour from a watermill and it kept six months just fine. Home milled flour is just the same, just on aa smaller scale.
Home milled flour is best used immediately after milling. Certainly within 24 hours. If not it is best aged for a month. There is a lot of complex chemistry which underpins this last statement. S, just trust it, or do your own research.
Dawn says
What kind of dry corn do you buy to grind for making cornmeal? The comments are all over the place online. So many are just saying they buy the dried animal feed corn at places like Tractor Supply to grind. I’m not too sure about that. So, curious as to what you do and buy? Thanks!
Cris - Prairie Homestead Team says
Jill usually uses popcorn kernels to make cornmeal.
Shelley says
Can I use my Nutribillet that I use for oats to grind oat flour? Or do I have to buy a special grinder for wheat berries?
Jennifer Anderson says
I tried your basic bread recipe with hard white wheat berries. Freshly ground. And the bread continues to come out like a brick. The first rise goes well but the second does not! What am I doing wrong??