Product Description

The only book written on modern home grain milling. This book manages to present a technical topic in a fascinating and entertaining way. Unusually detailed and littered with historical tidbits. Includes mill selection criteria, an education on bread wheats, secrets for making deliciously light whole meal breads, and purchasing contacts for dozens of grain mills, plus oat rollers and bread wheats.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #112963 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
"What a fine book! Every foodie, every baker, everyone who values nutrition... will find it fun, fascinating and eye-opening." -- Laurel Robertson, author of Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book

An indispensible resource for anyone interested in real whole grain foods ... shows [how] to get vital nutrients back in...bread -- Mother Earth News, Dec 2004

the only comprehensive guide... to home flour milling. A top pick and a "must" for any serious whole foods cook. -- California Bookwatch, May 2006

From the Publisher
Home flour milling is quick and easy, but who needs it? Only gourmet bakers... heart patients... constipation or celiac sufferers... diabetics... dieters... and anyone else who yearns for "good" carbs, more fiber, old-fashioned bread flavor or a secure food source. With a huge collection of modern grain mills to choose from, even the busiest person can get all their daily grain servings from whole grains without sacrificing flavor or texture, or kitchen time, for that matter – just ten minutes to mill and dump ingredients in the bread machine bucket.

Flour Power explains why commercial flours (including "whole wheat") lack flavor and nutrition, why home-milled flour is the most feasible (and delicious) source for the "good" carbs that are so vital to a healthful diet and proper weight and how to select the right mill for any lifestyle – from frantic to mellow. It provides an education on bread and dessert wheats, explains how to make American-style breads light and artisan loaves authentic, gives exhaustive detail for comparing, locating and selecting a home flour mill, and offers recipes for delicious (100 percent whole wheat) breads, muffins, cookies, quick breads and much, much more. The appendices contain sources for over 30 grain mills, for oat rollers and the "right" wheats for specific baking projects. Detailed, entertaining, rich in historical tidbits; indispensable for the time-starved, health-conscious bread lover.

About the Author
The author, who has a B.A. from Stanford University, has been milling flour and making 100-percent whole meal bread for over 25 years. In the beginning, her bread was heavy, earthy and toothsome. After many trials, many errors and much research (including a review of cook books from the early 1900's), she learned how a few "secret" ingredients could turn her whole meal bombs into fluffy, light, flavorful loaves–without adding white flour or commercial gluten. The most secret of ingredients, it turned out, was the wheat that she milled into flour.

For many years the author lived, worked and traveled abroad (Paris, Vienna, Saigon, Beijing and more). She did a solo six-week motorcycle trip in the former Yugoslavia, lived in San Francisco, wrote six failed mystery novels and crocheted a large bedspread using skinny thread. She has worked at many jobs, including contract writer, advertising manager, technical editor, solar and life insurance salesperson and secretary. These experiences have contributed humor, richness and depth to her writing.

Customer Reviews

A Flour Powerful Book
I'm a bread-baking microbiologist with a different take on this book. One reviewer thought it had too much info but I think when an author examines a topic microscopically - without leaving a
who-what-where-when-why question about any aspect - the reader can't lose. And even if you happened to decide milling wasn't for you (a possibility another reviewer speculated about), the book is still a treasure trove of tidbits, details, history and how-to's that make for satisfying reading on a hot-tea evening.

Once I got my mill (I took one of the "quick-pick" options the author provided.) and some good high-protein wheat (I'm lucky to have the legendary Bob's Red Mill within driving distance.), it
was surprisingly easy to get bread without a hassle every three days or so. Although the bread machine makes a crust slightly thicker than I like, the rest of the bread is incredible and it's truly a time-saver. As the author of this book stresses, it's not the milling that takes time, it's the bread making.

Another book I recommend to real gourmet bakers (the kind who wouldn't stoop to a bread machine) for some delicious and heart-healthy ways to use home-milled grains is "Mediterranean
Grains and Greens" by Paula Wolfert. Similarly well written and detailed, it provides a tantalizing glimpse of a whole new realm of possibilities for using whole grains (and greens).

Delivers what it promises -- and more
This book is really a winner. The author obviously writes from experience, but she also provides source information to back up her "facts" (which are otherwise just author assertions, in my opinion). Because I'd done what I thought was extensive research on grain mills before I stumbled onto this book, I was a bit disgruntled about how much very important stuff I'd missed. For example, I'd been repeatedly cautioned about keeping milling temperatures "low" without a clue to what temperatures we were talking about. This author explained exactly what damage was done to which components at what temperatures, what the damage was and what authority had said so -- now that's the kind of detail I like.

I was also mezmerized by the information on wheats, amused by what another reviewer complained about as the mundane details of handling and storing grains (all new to me...), and encouraged and inspired by the prospect of actually liking the switch to whole-grains that a recent heart attack had mandated for me. In short, this book is informative, well written, well documented and a lot of fun to read.

Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
My wife read this book and was so excited about making bread at home, that I had to read the book myself to see what all the ruckus was about. I'll have to admit that before I opened the book, I thought that milling raw wheat and making bread was something reminiscent of the "foxfire" series of do-it-yourself books. Was I ever wrong. The book is at once engaging and entertaining. Ms. Basey's research is heads above any I've read. Her knowledge of grain mills, proteins, glutens, natural vitamins and minerals is amazing. Her practical bread-making technique and application is easy to follow and even a tough guy like me can make great bread. I'm not talking bread like some make from a pre-mixed bag of flour bought at the local market. I'm talking the bread that fills the house with that fresh baked smell one never forgets. The kind that causes you to drool waitng for the baking cycle to finish. The kind that begs for fresh butter and a hungry mouth. Thanks for this wonderful resource and congrats on creating the best book of it's kind since sliced bread !!! Pardon the pun, I couldn't resist.