Hummingbirds and Bread

What do hummingbirds and bread have in common?  Generally speaking, not much but today they had a lot in common at my home.

Yesterday my new flour mill arrived.  Not being one to say much about organic foods or highly processed foods, it no doubt surprises people who know me that I like to make bread.  We, as a family, have always had a preference for the bread that I make.  I do it all by hand, no bread machine, no dough hook on the mixer.  Bread dough is a very organic and living substance.  I enjoy watching it with my eyes and feeling it with my hands as I knead it.  It changes from a sticky glob of flour and liquid to a smooth, elastic, silky living substance.  The process of kneading also is soothing to my psyche. 

Lately I have not made very much bread.  I have been wondering what bread would be like made with home milled flour.  Last week Amazon had home flour mills on sale.  It did not take much nudging for me to order one.  Amazon informed me that it would be delivered yesterday.  We had a bulk mailing to take to the Post Office for church so it was very easy to pick up some wheat berries.  I wanted white wheat because I want the light color for pastry.  It turns out that there is not as much demand for white wheat.  I have to special order it in a 25-pound sack.  It should be ready for me to pick up next Thursday or Friday.  In the meantime, we brought home about 2¾ pounds of red wheat.  We were home by noon but the deliveries are not until mid to late afternoon.  It was extremely difficult to wait.

This morning, I ran the wheat through the mill.  Two and three-quarters pounds of wheat berries translates into five to six cups of flour.  I tried all the levels from fine to coarse so my flour has an unique consistency.

I think that even the coarsest setting is finer than commercially milled whole wheat. 

Whole wheat produces a dough that is stickier and less elastic than white flour.  That is true for home milled whole wheat flour; it was a little messy to work with.  Resting time is mandatory for the dough to be able to fully absorb the liquid.  While the dough rested, I watched what was going on in the backyard.

The hummingbirds were up to their usual antics and were extremely entertaining.  The cardinal vine with its little trumpet flowers began to bloom this week.  Earlier in the week, the hummingbirds hovered in front of it and one actually flew in and out of it but they did not go in for the flower nectar.  Today they fed upon the nectar.

I was not able to get any pictures of the hummingbirds feeding.  There are so many buds that perhaps another day I will be able to catch a picture of them.  

Here are the loaves ready to go into the oven.  They have a little egg white glaze on their tops. 

It is impossible to wait long enough for the bread to cool before we cut it.  That was the case today.

The loaves have a very tender texture and are not at all dense.  That may be more because I raise the dough twice in the bowl before I shape it and raise it in the pan.  The flavor is wonderful.  I used half molasses and half honey because I only had dark molasses and I did not want the taste to be overwhelmed by molasses.

It is more flavorful than bread made with commercially milled flour.  The texture is more delicate than that made with commercially milled flour.  The scent of the warm bread had a slight graham cracker note.