WHOLE WHEAT BERRIES
Here’s a quick, easy, and full-proof recipe for cooking whole wheat berries.
1. Measure 4 cups of raw/dry whole wheat kernels.
2. Pour the dry kernels into a large slow cooker. Add 10 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt.
3. Stir.
4. Cover the slow cooker with its lid, set temperature on LOW heat and cook for 10 hours or HIGH heat for 5 hours.
5. Stir the finished 12 cups of cooked whole wheat berries and spoon into 4 Ziploc bags to be stored in the freezer for later use.
Tags: crock-pot recipe for cooking wheat, using your food storage, whole wheat berries
February 10th, 2009 at 10:26 am
What is the difference between hard red and hard white wheat from the cannery?
February 10th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Annalee, I called both the Dry-pack Cannery at Welfare Square and the corporate office of Honeyville Grain and they both told me the exact same thing. Nutritionally the hard red and hard white wheat are the same. The main difference is that the hard red wheat is darker, and heartier, as it bakes a heavier bread. The wheat used in these pictures is hard red wheat. I use both and prefer the white.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I surfed in during your time of Great Crisis, when you baked a brick doorstop.
Having cracked the code for hard red wheat, I am going to share what worked for me and let me know how it turned out.
Potato Pearls are our friends. They make great soup and fantastic bread. A tad salty for mashed potatoes, but a great timesaver when One is Rushed.
Here are the ingredients:
six cups of water
1 cup of potato pearls
4 1/2 tsp. yeast
1 cup of honey
3/4 cup of good oil. I use either grapeseed or light olive oil
14 cups of ground flour
Method:
Boil water and dissolve potato pearls in it
Put in your mixer bowl and add the cup of honey
Monitor the temperature of the water…this is critical if you have old yeast.
If you have dry yeast in a package, I cannot recommend Hodgson Mill’s yeast for whole grains highly enough. Even Red Star and Fleischman’s yeast can’t compare to how good this yeast is. Even so, the water temperature must not be higher than 110 degrees, and no lower than 100.
Dissolve the yeast in the water when it falls between those two temperatures. Add four cups of flour and start your mixer on low. When you have it mixed pretty well, put your dough hook on the mixer, and start kneading. During the kneading, you will continue to add the remaining cups of flour, knead for a total of 8-10 minutes.
Turn your dough out on a board or in another bowl and cover it with plastic, letting it rise until double. Shape into loaves (about 4 one pound loaves) and let rise until doubled again. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Carolyn! You’re a genius! Thank you for sending in this recipe. I’m going to give it a try and let you know how it works. Actually, I’ll let you know how I do with it, you already know that it works. Thank you!!!
February 16th, 2009 at 10:04 am
You’re welcome. We used this same recipe, cut in half, to make the best cinnamon bread. While eggs do help with texture, and make a richer bread, what if you don’t have eggs or just want to use the dehydrated eggs for a cake? My husband used high gluten bread flour in it for laughs and giggles. He made two loaves, and the Child Labor Units consumed both loaves in less than 12 hours. It was that good. I did have one piece…yum.
One thing I didn’t mention was that before you cover your dough with the plastic wrap, do oil the dough so the wrap won’t stick to it.
February 16th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Thanks for the added details. I need all the help I can get when it comes to new recipes.
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:23 am
I had to thank you for the wheat berry cooking instructions
IT’s awesome!
May 2nd, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Great Lela! So good to hear that it’s a help!
May 5th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Liesa,
I loved the update of your girls. That was inspirational. Give them all a hug for me.
I cleared a shelf off and am putting the stored ingredients on the shelf for easy access, with the recipe. It was a really great idea. I also met with my Stake Relief Society President and she is really interested. I don’t know if anything will happen there but I at least let her know about it. I am still your greatest fan.
Lee Wilson
May 5th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Thank you Lee! I’ll tell the girls that you said hello. Good for you on getting your storage organized. We’ve got one box built and hope to mix the soil tonight. Slow, but getting there! I’m your greatest fan!!!
May 13th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
After the wheat berries are finished cooking, should they be dry or a little gooey? Just wondering . . .
May 13th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Both ways, depending on your wheat, the time, and your crock-pot. It doesn’t even matter. I actually like to have my wheat berries cook until they are a little gooey because I know that they are fully cooked and soft. I want to have plenty of kernels burst open during the cooking process. As soon as they are mixed in with any recipe, the gooey-ness disappears and they’re fine. You could also drain any extra liquid if they’re fully cooked and still very watery.