Back to Basics

First off, I was just skimming through and noticed that the majority of my photos are out of focus. Sorry, guys, I'll pay more attention!

So me and my baking buddy Ames went to a class on baking with freshly ground flours. It was informative and I will definitely be looking into this further. I found the free class through another blog, Life's Daily Bread. A couple run the site and the classes; their adult daughter joined in, too. They also serve as a source for equipment and ingredients. They really are a nice couple, but I have to admit I felt like I stepped into Stepford once everyone else arrived. If anyone has experienced Franklin, TN you know exactly what I'm talking about.
What intrigued me was milling whole grains. I have never done it before, and as far as I can remember I have never known someone who did. It's something I have always been interested in, as I see it as a way to get back to the land, get back to simpler (ie better) ways. However, it seemed too daunting, like how I see canning. Both of those in addition to sourdough are on my divide and conquer list. The biggest thing I took from the class was Bob's story of the drastic improvement of his health since switching. He shares on the site:
“After three months of eating bread made with this freshly milled grain, my cholesterol dropped 30 points. It also helped me jumpstart my weight-loss and now that I am eating a healthier diet including 2-3 servings/day of our homemade bread, I have lost 40 lbs. I feel better than I have in years and look forward to sharing this with our family and friends.”
That my friends, is a good enough reason for everyone to look into this!
I was pleasantly surprised that the products--a wheat bread, some kind of taco pie casserole thing, morning glory muffins, apple spice cake, and blueberry bread--were not heavy and as dense as a brick but had a great texture and what I would consider umami . The electric mill was as loud as a plane and almost as expensive, so I'm looking out for an old-fashioned manual model.