Whole Wheat Flour crust

[Jersey Pie Boy]

sounds really good...will have to try to find some..Walmart didn't seem to have it this morning online

[The Dough Doctor]

The sifting by itself doesn't help but anything you can do to mill the bran particles into smaller pieces will help significantly. With smaller bran particles you reduce the deleterious effect upon the gluten film as well as improving the absorption rater of the bran (smaller particles = greater surface area = faster hydration).
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[norcoscia]

From my taste bud perspective - removing some / most of the bran from the flour is the best option - bran does not taste good to me. Yuck 

[The Dough Doctor]

When whole-wheat flour is made the bran is separated out just as it is when making white flour, it is then reintroduced back into the flour so it constitutes 20% of the total flour weight. When you separate out the bran from whole-wheat flour you have what is affectionately known as ......white flour. Whole-wheat flour made from varieties of hard white wheat, aka whole-white wheat flour, don't have the pronounces bitterness in the bran portion due to the lack of tannins in the white wheat bran, this is also why whole white wheat flour is said to be "sweeter" than conventional whole-wheat flour made from hard red wheat varieties.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[norcoscia]

Tom, I don't consider the germ part and parcel to the bran - so I would not consider it normal white flour with just the bran removed - Am I missing something. I know it can be broken down much more than this but a wheat berry as three main elements. The bran, the germ and the endosperm - the endosperm is what white flour is made from. I'm hoping I have not been wrong about this for over 40 years :-)

I know it is possible to separate out the germ since you can buy it alone?

[The Dough Doctor]

In commercially milled flour you are correct in that the germ is removed but only because the oil is so unstable, it will turn rancid very fast, this is one of the reasons why white flour has a long shelf life while whole-wheat flour has a relatively short (2 to 3-weeks) shelf life. In home milling/grinding of wheat into flour sifting only removes the larger bran particles so there is still some bran remaining in the "white" flour and as you correctly state, most of the germ is still in the flour too. So there is a difference, I stand corrected. 
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[norcoscia]

Thanks Tom - for a bit, my world was upside-down 

I think something that could be important for this thread is a discussion about how the flour is ground - I have never been to a facility that commercially makes flour but my understanding is there are 3 common ways to do it. They are -- with rollers, with wheels (aka stone ground) and (by a method I don't know the name of that involves smashing the grans at a very high speed). It is my understanding (and I could be wrong) that the smashing method and the roller method will generally produce finer particles out of the kernel and that maybe an important consideration for someone interested in the health aspect of flour.

It makes sense to me that the finer the grind, the more surface area is presented to your body and the blood sugar reaction would be affected by this - so eating a flour that has been crushed or smashed to a microscopic size will produce a greater blood sugar spike compared to a larger size grinding (like from a typical stone mill).

Wondering if you have ever come across any information on that aspect and what your viewpoint is?

PS. I might not be right about the methods - funny, my dream vacation involves going to various mills around the world (and eating lots of pizza on the trip) 

[The Dough Doctor]

I can't think of any stone grinding mills producing commercial flour although there might be a few local ones doing specialty flours. When you see "stone ground" on a bag it is only in reference to particle size being like that of stone ground flour. To the best of my knowledge most of the flour produced in the U.S. is made using roller mills. There are also hammer and pin mills used to make flour but these are pretty well limited to small and home type operations. I don't recall ever seeing any scientific data on how flours of different average particle size react in the human gut, that's not to say it's not out there, I just haven't seen it, and remember too that I've been retired for five years now and this is a pastime for me, no longer my occupation so I don't spend an average of three hours a day keeping up with scientific journals and attending scientific meetings.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[norcoscia]

Meetings - I remember lots and lots of those (and don't miss them). I think Bob's Red Mill stone grinds (at least that is what he said on the last commercial I watched).....

[The Dough Doctor]

That's a good point about Bob's Red Mill, I think they do stone grind all of their flours. I agree about those meetings, but they did keep us informed and on top of things but after 50-years, it is time for me to do MY thing and attending endless meetings is not one of them, neither is International travel, nor getting up at 6:00 a.m. and coming home at 6:00 p.m. (when I was able to come home).
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[TMB]

I have White Wheat on order and very interested in working with it.  Should have some by the 21st (back ordered)       

Will be trying different hydration times so stay tuned......

[norcoscia]

I have used the white whole wheat from Trader Joes and liked it - not sure it they have a store near you...

[HansB]

King Arthur makes a good white whole wheat too that is readily available.

[norcoscia]

If you would like stone ground, this is available too....

[TMB]

King Arthur makes a good white whole wheat too that is readily available.

King Arthur is what I have on the way.  I can't wwait to try it!