|
|
|
Whole Grain Week · Plus: Introducing The Mill
|
Stop Blaming the Whole Wheat
|
|
By Henry Hunter · July 29, 2026
|
|
|
A member asked me this week whether he should mill his berries at the finest setting. He'd heard it protects the gluten. He was right, and the reason why explains almost every dense whole grain loaf I've ever been sent a photo of.
Bran doesn't come off the mill as dust. It comes off as flakes with edges. When you fold and stretch that dough, those flakes work like tiny blades, cutting the gluten strands you're building. Your loaf didn't fail because whole grain is difficult. It failed because the structure got shredded on the way up.
Mill finer and the particles shrink. Smaller particles cut less. Same grain, same recipe, noticeably better rise. Add a longer rest after mixing and time softens whatever the mill didn't tame.
|
|
|
Berries in, flour out. Everything about the loaf is decided in between.
|
|
Two cautions before you crank the dial all the way down. Every mill has a point where finest becomes gummed up, so if yours starts smearing or laboring, back off a notch. And fine grinding runs warmer. If the flour comes out hot to the touch, run smaller batches.
|
|
|
From the Pantry
|
|
Four loaves that teach whole grain
|
|
|
Start Here
Fresh-Milled Einkorn Sourdough
Einkorn is the oldest wheat we still bake with, and it does not behave like the modern stuff. Weak gluten, thirsty, and it rewards a gentle hand. Overmix it and you'll feel the dough give up. This one walks you through it.
|
|
|
|
The Workhorse
Henry's Foolproof Whole Wheat Sourdough
If you've been burned by whole wheat, bake this one first. It's built to be forgiving, and it proves that a whole grain crumb can be open and soft rather than tight and dry.
|
|
|
|
Go Further
Buckwheat Sourdough Bread
Buckwheat isn't wheat at all, and it brings a dark, earthy depth that nothing else in the cupboard can match. Blend it, don't lead with it, and you'll see what a small percentage can do to a loaf.
|
|
|
|
For the Skeptics
Whole Wheat Honey Milk Bread
No starter required. A tangzhong keeps it pillowy, honey rounds off the wheat, and it slices clean for sandwiches. This is the loaf that wins over the person in your house who says they don't like whole wheat.
|
|
|
|
New in the Recipe Pantry
|
|
Introducing The Mill
|
|
More of you are milling your own flour every month. And every month I get the same message: I milled my berries, followed the recipe, and the dough turned into a sticky mess.
So we built you the tool that fixes it. The Mill takes any recipe and rewrites the plan for fresh flour. It's free, it lives alongside the Recipe Pantry, and it works on your phone at the counter.
|
|
|
Weigh your berries in. Weigh your flour out. From then on, every plan is tuned to your mill, not to an average.
|
|
|
What it gives you
| ● Exactly how many grams of berries to mill, after your extraction and mill loss |
| ● Which grain fits the crumb you're after, and how to blend up to seven |
| ● Grind setting, sifting, and how much water to hold back |
| ● How your rest, mix, and fermentation change with fresh flour |
|
|
|
Every one of the 159 recipes in the Pantry loads straight into it, with the baker's math already attached. Build your plan, then tap back to the original recipe when it's time to bake.
|
|
|
|
Prefer to watch first? Here's the 5-minute walkthrough.
|
|
|
Keep Going
|
|
More whole grain in the Pantry
|
|
Marble Rye (Sourdough)
Rye brings tang and a sticky dough. Worth every bit of the mess.
Bake it →
|
|
Whole Wheat Pullman Loaf
Square, soft, and sliceable. The sandwich bread that changes minds.
Bake it →
|
| |
|
Fresh-Milled Einkorn, Yeasted
No starter, same ancient grain. Fresh-milled without the wait.
Bake it →
|
|
Henry's Seeded Power Loaf
Whole grain carrying a full load of seeds. Soak them first.
Bake it →
|
|
|
|
Saturday Bake-Along
|
|
This week, bring the grain
|
|
Every Saturday the Academy bakes together. One thread, everyone's dough, and I'm in there answering as it goes. It's the fastest way I know to fix a problem you can't name yet.
Here's my challenge for this one. Whatever we're baking, mill your own flour for it. Run it through The Mill first, hold back the water it tells you to, then post the crumb shot in the thread. Say which grain you used and what your mill loss came out to. That last part helps everybody else more than you'd think.
|
|
Baker's tip for a fresh-milled bake-along
Mill the night before and let the flour rest in a covered bowl. Fresh flour off the stone is warm and it keeps absorbing for hours. Giving it a head start means the dough you mix Saturday morning behaves like the dough in the recipe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Perfection is not required. Progress is.
Henry ⭐🔥
Founder, Crust & Crumb Academy
|
|
Scoring fresh-milled dough takes a steady hand. My Wire Monkey lame is what I reach for every time.
|
|
|
Recipe Pantry
·
Crust & Crumb Academy
·
The Mill
·
From Oven to Market
© Henry Hunter Jr. All rights reserved.
You're receiving this because you signed up at the Recipe Pantry.
Unsubscribe
|