As I am starting to grind my own wheat berries into flour I wanted to make sure I was buying the correct wheat berries as there are a variety of them that are used for different purposes. This is what I have found in my research.
There are six wheat classifications: 1) hard red winter, 2) hard red spring, 3) soft red winter, 4) durum (hard), 5) Hard white, 6) soft white wheat. The hard wheats have the most amount of gluten and are used for making bread, rolls and all-purpose flour. Soft wheat, such as soft red or soft white, is ideal for baked goods that not kneaded, like cookies and pancakes, pie crusts and crackers. Soft wheat has a very low gluten content, which when used in baked goods that are not kneaded, results in a tender finished product.
The truth is that traditional peoples ate grains. Wheat, oats, corn, etc., were consumed in traditional diets. The difference is that these grains were properly prepared. They were either sprouted, soaked or fermented in order to neutralize phytic acid and make the grains nutritious instead of nutrition-robbing.
In my research, I have found that fermented grains are the easiest to digest and most nutritious. Why is this?
Well, it all goes back to phytic acid and the lack of the digestive enzyme phytase in the human body. We cannot digest phytates. Phytates bind to essential nutritients and take them from our body. Because we lack phytase, we must have the phytic acid neutralized before the grain reaches our digestive system. (Digestion begins in the mouth) Fermentation neutralizes phytic acid, making wheat and other grains easily digestible and even improving their nutrition content by making the nutrients more available.
There are six wheat classifications: 1) hard red winter, 2) hard red spring, 3) soft red winter, 4) durum (hard), 5) Hard white, 6) soft white wheat. The hard wheats have the most amount of gluten and are used for making bread, rolls and all-purpose flour. Soft wheat, such as soft red or soft white, is ideal for baked goods that not kneaded, like cookies and pancakes, pie crusts and crackers. Soft wheat has a very low gluten content, which when used in baked goods that are not kneaded, results in a tender finished product.
The truth is that traditional peoples ate grains. Wheat, oats, corn, etc., were consumed in traditional diets. The difference is that these grains were properly prepared. They were either sprouted, soaked or fermented in order to neutralize phytic acid and make the grains nutritious instead of nutrition-robbing.
In my research, I have found that fermented grains are the easiest to digest and most nutritious. Why is this?
Well, it all goes back to phytic acid and the lack of the digestive enzyme phytase in the human body. We cannot digest phytates. Phytates bind to essential nutritients and take them from our body. Because we lack phytase, we must have the phytic acid neutralized before the grain reaches our digestive system. (Digestion begins in the mouth) Fermentation neutralizes phytic acid, making wheat and other grains easily digestible and even improving their nutrition content by making the nutrients more available.