HOME MILLED AUSSIE RED WHEAT(spring variety) Beaufort
I recently posted about a trip that Lachie and i did to check out the red wheat and meet the man growing it . Tim very kindly gave us some samples to play with and yesterday i collected some from the Big Loaf Factory where it is stored. i located the Kenwood attachment i purchased many years ago Judy says i paid $10 i thought it was $5 but thats no matter. i was actually going to put it to use, it came with a booklet that you read only if you cant get it to work, i did try installing up side down and was wondering how the hopper was going to attach! All systems go turn it on and they recommend the high speed on the Kenwood. i was surprised how quickly it was doing its job, it was on its coarsest setting so i thought i would process again on the mid setting and got a very nice result. Due to the lateness of the hour i decided that i would have a go with the fresh milled flour the next morning. 
I formulated a dough to make a single 750g loaf it was to be a 50% W/M FRESHLY MILLED RED WHEAT and it is "BEAUFORT" the Spring variety and 50% Bakers flour: 2% salt: 2% fresh compressed yeast: 2% Canola oil this was to assist countering the wholemeal abrasive effect on the gluten strands: i started with 65% water but added more during the mix , at least 20ml possibly more. i wanted to keep the dough simple to evaluate the taste of the w/m fresh flour. i started off by soaking all the fresh w/m flour 220g in all the water 285g and letting it sit for 2 hours, i didnt want to wake my wife with kitchen noise and i thought it would benefit the dough to soak the w/m. i usually do this when im using w/m especially if im adding my stout! i was giving the Noodle machine its 2nd dough making task, i was impressed with the way the dough was forming and developing with the gentle action of the paddle arm , it has the same action as the bread makers but a much larger squat mixing bowl and it doesnt bake the loaf like the bread machines but does have a proving warmer and timer function but i have yet to use that its been pretty warm here in Perth of late with a record summer heat averaging 33 degrees for summer. The Salt 9g the oil 9g and the fresh yeast 9g were all added. The mixer was set for 15 minutes and it became obvious that it would take more water so i added 20ml or possibly more than that, the dough developed nicely and was taken from the mixer a little cooler than i expected it was placed in a bowl covered and placed into the micro wave out of the way to prove. Judy and i then headed off for our Fit for Life class. upon our return the dough had risen higher than i had anticipated and was taken immediately i was anticipation 3 hr bulk fermentation but it was ready in 2hr 50minutes. 
The dough was degassed and handed up for a short bench rest it felt very good in the hand. After 15 minutes it was shaped and placed in the Banneton in a plastic bag for a final proof of 1 hour.
I was using the clay baker and i decided to soak the lid and had the oven up full at 250 on the gas knob. the dough was rolled out onto my small hand peel slashed with my new $5.00 lame slid into the cold Romantoph the lid placed on and it the hot oven. 
The plan was to leave at the high temp for the first 15 minutes reduce the temperature and remove the lid all executed to plan. the bake continued and the aroma being generated was intoxicating. 
the bake went well and i did increase the temperature a bit toward the end to promote the colour, normally my doughs would also contain malt sometimes milk but i wanted to assess this loaf purely on the w/m ability. tasting still a little way off as the loaf cools 
Comments
sliced and taste tested
ticks all the boxes for me aroma , handling , taste looking forward to doing another with the good stuff i usually like to add malt ,and home brew stout or at the moment store brought Porter.
Congrats on the loaf. It looks great!
That looks great Derek, it would seem that you’re quite happy with the red wheat now being grown in Australia, that’s wonderful that you now have a source!
Benny
Early days yet Benny but the wheat currently gets exported as feed wheat we will do some bigger batches at the bakery and test the gluten content. i was impressed with my first go at milling and using fresh wholemeal.i do believe Lachie has trialed the lupins and the linseed and was quite impressed with those so its all good news for the farmer. i just cant wait to place a loaf of bread on his table for them to enjoy!
It's obviously straight from the bin without any fanning or other steps taken to remove the debris that naturally comes with the harvesting process. The extra fiber might not hurt your diet but a stray pebble or bit of metal could play hob with your mill.
Overall, it looks like you have a lovely loaf of bread from the wheat.
Paul
Hi Paul, i used a hair dryer to blow away the trash as i poured it slowly from one bucket to another. The farmer said they have a mobile service that comes and cleans the wheat prior to sowing. He saw the pictures and report on the outcome and asked if there was anything that he should or could be doing to improve things. i said at this stage its a matter of keeping dry mostly. We hope to make a bigger batch at the big loaf bakery with the bigger mill and great spiral mixers proovers and cool rooms and great ovens. Very keen to see the farmer with a loaf of bread from his wheat.
Looks like loads of promise there Derek. Handling properties sound good. Crumb looks good. Hope it tastes good too :) It's good your dough came out cool as short, warm fermentation can make red wheat taste insipid (IMO).
Hi Deb thanks for your comment do you have any recommendation for a further bake? its really interesting where i have posted in our local bread group and the farmer producer has responded and asked "Nice work Derek Hughes. Now be honest, is there anything I should be doing to make it a better product. This wheat was grown harvested stored in a way we have always done. Certainly weren't expecting it to be used in this sort situation." Do you have any thoughts in that regard.
Kind regards Derek
Jeffrey Hamelman's Barley and Beer Bread (pg 188 3ed) might interest you. I made that one not too long ago (40% ww, 40% white flour, 12% whole rye, 8% barley [roasted and ground], 36% beer [lager], 36% water and 1.8% salt with 25% of total flour prefermented in a stiff ww levain). I really liked the roasted barley, but not a fan of the whole rye. When I make it again it will be with no rye, or not more than 5% medium- instead of whole rye. That's about my limit for rye, but that would leave more room for wheat flours :)
I'll pull together some contacts and get back to you.
Happy Baking!
dw
thanks DW it does sound very interesting
Nice bake Derek. I was intrigued with your milling process. When I mill whole wheat, I use the finest setting on my stone mill, but I have to do small batches or else the flour heats up. Looks like your experience and choice of ingredients has produced a nice loaf. I always use canola in general cooking as it doesn't spoil the flavour of other ingredients. DW's suggestion to try Hamelman's Barley and Beer bread has my interest.
Cheers,
Gavin.
Being my first foray into milling i was mindful of heat being a problem but didnt detect any in the process, i will try the finer setting to see what i end up with. i elected to use the canola so as not to influence the flavour. It looks like next Tuesday is going to be milling and baking day at the Big Loaf Bakery, Lachies number 1 man has suggested 6.00 am as a good time for him so i intend being there to mill and bake with the red wheat hopefully compare the two varieties side by side. looking forward to that. I am also going out into the country to the Eastern wheatbelt over the weekend for a days bread baking tuition with a lady that owns the pub, she wants to add another string to the bow and baking bread might be the go, she has a commercial kitchen and does meals there. Dinner rolls and breads to compliment that as well as some favourites like Cinnamon buns and genuine fresh bread rather than the frozen store bread that they have carted in from the Metro area. its quite interesting because as an apprentice i worked at 2 reasonably close by bakeries that have both since long disappeared. i shall be traveling Saturday afternoon staying at the hotel and sussing out the kitchen and equipement and oven space etc and gearing up for an all day session on the Sunday as the pub doesn't open that day or Monday, probably another early start if there are not too many overnight guests staying.and requiring breakfast.
Getting back to the red wheat i thought it performed very well and you can see the rise in the Banneton . The bulk proof surprised me as it we had been out and when we returned it had topped the container i had placed it in and i wasnt expecting it to get that high and it was well and truely fully proofed. Still need to get a proper reading of the wheat's gluten content rather than the (about 9%) quoted by the buyer.
regards Derek
Nice lift to that loaf and it looks delicious. Will be interested to read how Lachie gets on with it to and how the other red wheat performs.
Hi JonJ we will find out next week when we are planing to have a mill and bake. I left some of my loaf for Lachie to have a taste of at a meeting he was attending and got a quick message back "Good Bread". You and Gavin must feel part of this journey that we are on and is rolling along like any other road trip with twists and turns along the road and an air of excitement as to what might be around the next bend! i will endeavour to record the fun day ahead at the bakery.