Wheat is a highly versatile crop that can be grown in almost any climate and be stored for long periods of time. Wheat can also be used to make delicious foods that are incredibly nutritious.
If you thought wheat was only good for making bread, think again!
Wheat can be grinded into wheat flour and then used to make biscuits, bread, cakes, crackers, muffins, noodles, pasta, pastries, and more! Wheat can also be used to make wheat paste and wheatgrass. Whole wheat berries can be cooked and used in recipes as well.
If you’re on the fence about growing or buying your own wheat, you might be surprised by how useful it is if you’re into cooking from scratch. And if you’re looking for somewhere to utilize your wheat stores, look no further!
Below are the most common things you can make with wheat.
Growing and Storing Wheat
Growing your own wheat is a great way to be more self-sufficient. This incredibly popular grain can be used for so many things that it’s a huge plus to have a store of it you can rely on no matter what’s happening in the world.
You don’t need a lot of land to grow your own wheat. A small patch of land in your garden will give you more than enough to add to your food stores. It’s possible to grow 25 plants in one square foot.
When it comes to storing wheat, the most important thing is to keep it dry and cool. If you store your wheat correctly, it can stay good for upwards of 30 years.
There are multiple ways you can store your wheat – in cans, bags, buckets, and bottles. The most important part of wheat storage is keeping out moisture, so any containers you use need to be airtight.
While you can store wheat you grow yourself, buying wheat in bulk for storage is also a perfectly viable option.
Milling Wheat Into Flour At Home
There are ways to use wheat berries without grinding them into flour if you don’t have a wheat grinder at home. However, most wheat is put to use after it has been milled into flour.
Milling your own flour comes with the added benefit of higher nutritional value than flour you would buy off the shelf.
If you’re interested in milling your own flour, it’s important to do your research beforehand. There’s a learning curve that comes along with milling and using fresh flour because it works a little differently than flour from the store.
For example, freshly milled flour is more absorbent than regular flour, so you’ll have to use more water than normal in your recipes. It also ferments faster, is more inconsistent, and takes up more volume than regular flour.
Most Common Uses For Wheat
Wheat is such a great grain to have in your food stores because there are so many ways to use it. Whether you keep the wheat berries whole or mill your wheat into flour first, there’s something out there you can make with it.
Let’s take a look at some of the things you can make with wheat.
Popular Whole Wheat Recipes
Whole wheat bread will, without a doubt, always be the most popular thing you can make with wheat. When you think of wheat, bread is usually where your mind goes first. Along with regular old bread, there are plenty of recipes for delicious whole wheat rolls out there too.
Breakfast wouldn’t be the same without the recipes that utilize whole wheat. It goes great in pancakes, waffles, muffins, biscuits, cereal bars, and English muffins.
Past breakfast, utilize your wheat by looking for recipes for pizza crust, tortillas, crackers, and scones.
And, of course, we can’t forget about dessert. Whole wheat is perfect for baking and tastes scrumptious in so many different cakes, pies, cookies, crisps, doughnuts, and buns. You can even turn your regular bread into a loaf with extra ingredients like cinnamon, raisins, and so much more to give it a sweet touch.
Wheat Berry
Wheat berries are the nutritious whole grain you buy or harvest to store. If you’re not so keen on milling wheat into flour, there are plenty of delicious ways to use whole wheat berries.
Once you cook your wheat berries, you can turn them into wheat berry cereal for a smart way to start the day. You can add honey, apples, pumpkin puree, raisins, brown sugar, cinnamon, or anything else you like! This hot cereal is served hot and creamy for your enjoyment.
By far the most popular way to use wheat berries is to toss them in a salad. There are so many variations to this one that are worth looking into, from salads with apples and cranberries to butternut squash salads. You can even throw a handful of wheat berries on your favorite salad for an extra punch of fiber.
Believe it or not, there are even ways to use wheat berries in chili and burrito bowls, if you’re hoping for something more hearty.
Wheatpaste
Once you’ve milled your wheat into flour, you can use some of it to make your own wheatpaste.
This useful adhesive is a simple mixture of flour and water that anyone can make at home. Wheatpaste has been used for some time as a way to hang street art and posters to get messages out to the public, as it’s a quick and easy way to put paper up on many surfaces.
It’s also a great paste to use for bookbinding or book repairs as well as other crafts like decoupage and paper mâché.
Wheatgrass
Growing your own wheatgrass is another way to use your wheat in a way that will provide you with something extremely healthy. Wheatgrass is considered a superfood because it contains iron, calcium, a ton of vitamins, and more.
It is most commonly made into wheatgrass juice.
The benefits of wheatgrass include boosting your immune system, aiding your digestive system, eliminating toxins, boosting your metabolism, and giving you more energy.
In order to grow wheatgrass, you first have to sprout your wheat berries to prepare them for planting. After that, you can juice your wheatgrass using a juicer specifically made for wheatgrass and produce a drink that brings your body a host of nutritional value. Just remember it might take you a while to develop a taste for it.
