Baking Resources
Choosing the Right Flour
Not all wheat varieties are created equal! Different grains have different characteristics, making some better suited for fluffy sandwich bread and others perfect for tender biscuits and pastries.
Hard White Wheat
Best for: Sandwich bread, dinner rolls, hamburger buns, pizza dough, and yeast breads.
Hard white wheat has a relatively high protein content, making it a wonderful choice for yeast baking. It produces a mild, slightly sweet flavor without the stronger wheat taste often associated with traditional whole wheat bread.
Soft White Wheat
Best for: Biscuits, pancakes, waffles, muffins, cookies, cakes, and pastries.
Soft white wheat has a lower protein content and is excellent for baked goods where a tender texture is desired.
If you're looking to make delicious homemade biscuits or a batch of fluffy pancakes, this is a wonderful place to start!
Ezekiel Blend
Best for: Hearty breads, rustic loaves, flatbreads, and other whole-grain recipes.
Our Ezekiel Blend combines grains and legumes inspired by the biblical passage Ezekiel 4:9.
This blend offers a hearty flavor and a unique combination of ingredients. Because it contains grains and legumes with different baking characteristics, it may require recipe adjustments and is especially suited to recipes developed for multigrain flour.
Tips for Baking With Fresh Milled Flour
1. Give Your Flour Time to Hydrate
Fresh milled whole grain flour often benefits from additional resting time after being mixed with liquid.
Allowing your flour to hydrate helps soften the bran and allows the dough to absorb moisture more evenly.
Helpful tip: For many whole wheat bread recipes, a 20–30 minute rest after initially mixing the flour and water can improve dough handling. Follow your recipe's instructions when working with yeast, salt, or other ingredients.
2. Don't Be Afraid of a Little Extra Water
Fresh milled flour often requires more liquid than refined white flour.
If you're converting a traditional recipe, you may need to adjust the hydration gradually until the dough reaches the desired consistency.
Remember, dough made with whole grain flour may feel different from dough made with store-bought white flour.
3. Knead With Patience
Whole wheat dough can take time to develop its gluten structure.
When working with hard wheat varieties, proper mixing and kneading can help create stronger dough and improve the finished loaf.
Try not to add too much extra flour while kneading, as this can result in dry, dense bread.
4. Watch Your Dough, Not Just the Clock
Room temperature, humidity, flour variety, and yeast activity can all affect how quickly your dough rises.
Instead of relying entirely on the time listed in a recipe, pay attention to how your dough looks and feels.
5. Start Simple!
If you're brand new to fresh milled flour, start with something familiar.
Pancakes, muffins, biscuits, and simple sandwich bread are wonderful ways to learn how your flour behaves.
Every batch is an opportunity to learn!
How to Store Your Fresh Milled Flour
Because fresh milled whole grain flour contains the grain's natural oils, it is more susceptible to oxidation and rancidity than refined white flour.
To help preserve freshness:
Room Temperature: Best for short-term storage in a cool, dry location, ideally using the flour within a few days.
Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container to help extend freshness (1-3 months).
Freezer: An excellent option for longer storage (6 months - 1 year) Keep flour tightly sealed to protect it from moisture and odors.
For the best quality, we recommend using your flour as fresh as possible or freezing it until you're ready to bake.
Helpful tip: Allow frozen flour to come to room temperature while still sealed to minimize condensation before opening.
Helpful Baking Conversions
Baking by weight is one of the easiest ways to achieve more consistent results, especially when using fresh milled flour.
Here are a few general kitchen conversions:
| Measurement | Approximate Equivalent |
|---|---|
| 1 cup | 16 tablespoons |
| 1 tablespoon | 3 teaspoons |
| 1 cup water | 237 milliliters |
| 1 pound | 454 grams |
| 1 ounce | 28 grams |
Remember: Flour weights can vary depending on the grain, milling fineness, and how the flour is measured. For the most accurate results, use a kitchen scale and follow your recipe's flour weight.
A Few Reminders From Our Kitchen
Homemade doesn't have to mean perfect.
Every loaf won't look the same, and that's okay.
Simple ingredients can make something wonderful.
Baking is a skill that grows with practice.
Some of the sweetest memories are made in the kitchen.
At Holy Flour Milling Co., we're passionate about helping families rediscover the joy of homemade food, wholesome ingredients, and traditions worth passing down.
Happy baking!