LeeDee

I ask a lot of questions on another thread, but throughout the day more questions keep popping into my head, so I thought I'd start a thread to keep all these thoughts together! If anyone can help answer my questions I'll be grateful, otherwise, I'll post the answers on here whenever I do manage to find them out.

We're getting a tax rebate and I really want to buy a flour mill with some of it and start grinding our own. I have so much to learn though.

Here are a couple questions to get started

1) So I know the enzymes in flour die after a few hours of being milled, and that like 90% of the nutrients die within the first couple of days (or something like that). But what about the breads etc you make with the flour. Does it need to be eaten within a few days or else the enzymes and nutrients will die too, or does the baking somehow preserve them?

2) What is the best way to store homemade bread (not just home milled flour bread I guess). I don't like the thought of wrapping them in plastics all the time, since that can leech toxins. Would a bread bin work for unwrapped bread, or will it go stale super fast?

3) How noisy are the mills? I live in a duplex and the kitchen is right next to their house, we can hear the neighbours talking. I worry they'll be mad if this thing is deafening. I use a lot of flour in the day, I bake a lot. Pancakes, breads, cakes etc.

4) What is the best type of wheat berry to use for cakes and what is the best type for breads?

5) Will I need to add vital wheat gluten or anything for bread? Is the home ground flour higher or lower in glutens?

6) How do I substitute measurements in recipes that use bread flour. Is it the same, cup for cup?


That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I'll have loads more!
If anyone has any good links I'd be grateful.