Soft White Wheat

Dec 15, 2024

There are so many different types of wheat and today I’m taking a closer look at soft white wheat. What’s the difference between soft and hard white wheat? That’s what I aim to discover…come with me while I bake a variety of foods that are possible with soft white wheat.

Soft White Wheat - US Wheat Associates

Difference between hard and soft wheat? - Montana Flour & Grains

Soft wheat is lower in protein, therefore not a good one for bread. The gluten structure in soft wheat is too fragile to support the rise of bread. Soft wheat shines in making pastries, cookies, cakes, and more. Today I’m discovering the many wonders of freshly milled soft white wheat flour and the nuances with cooking and baking with it. Soft wheat, along with rye and spelt, have a higher moisture content and require more flour when converting recipes. This characteristic is another difference between hard white and soft white wheat. There are genetic differences but I won’t get into that much detail here. Instead let’s get started baking something tasty…huh?

What could be more American than apple pie? I used soft wheat to make the pastry for the best pie with a flaky crust, at least by my husband’s critique. I used the recipe, “Soft Wheat Pie Crust” on page 265 in “The Essential Home-Ground Flour Book”. It may not be the prettiest pie ever photographed but it was the best tasting in my house after years of using prepared pie crusts…it was…well, taste the difference for yourself. Try it. You’ll thank me later. The trick for flaky pie crusts is COLD. I grated frozen butter for this one and ice water I had waiting in the wings for adding to the dough.

Apples are mast cell stabilizers and are the main ingredient in my apple pie. The only thing that could make it better is to serve it with some homemade vanilla ice cream. Wrong time of year for ice cream, the cows are on hay now and not producing enough cream. Soon they will be “dried” up in preparation for spring calving.

Storage Potatoes

Time to check on those potatoes in storage since about now there’s bound to be some that need to be used up now, instead of later. As you can see, one potato was trying to sprout. My next projects were featuring potatoes even though they are high in oxalate, a balance is important to avoid “oxalate dumping”. Oxalates deserve a whole post of their own. For now…

Gnocchi

Gnocchi anyone? My first time trying to make gnocchi was a trip. I had flour everywhere by the time I was done. I served ours as a dumpling in our homemade chicken soup I had already canned earlier this fall. It was delicious way to substitute noodles with gnocchi.

I froze most of the gnocchi I made for future meals. There are so many ways to serve gnocchi it’s incredible and nice to have some on hand. I plan on having some on the pesto I made this summer with my bumper crop of basil. I also want to try the gnocchi with some bacon bits and served with sour cream, just like pierogis, which is my next project…another first.

Pierogi

Pierogi another great way to use some of the potatoes in storage that may need to be used now…not later. I’m using some goat cheese in my pierogi filling instead of the conventional dairy cheese. I avoid commercial dairy due to the high histamine issues that come with most dairy products made with A1 milk. Did you know that A1 milk contains histadine, an amino acid, which converts to histamine? Milk from Jersey, Guernsey cows and the traditional “family cow” are A2 milk (unless bred with an A1 milk cow). Goat’s milk, sheep’s milk and water buffalo all are used in alternative dairy products and are all A2 milk. You can read more about A1 vs A2 milk in my blog post, My Story. Did you know that goat’s milk is also a great source of MCT (medium chain triglycerides)? You can learn more about MCTs below.

Morning Glory Muffins

I based my muffins off the recipe in Sue Becker’s book but I modified it slightly to accommodate my dietary needs (low histamine). Instead of crushed pineapples I used my zucchini pineapples I canned earlier this summer. Did you know that zucchinis will inherit the taste of anything you pair it with?

Pineapples are a high histamine food and some cannot tolerate it at all. Me, I don’t have any major issues with pineapple so the 100% pineapple juice I used to can my zucchini in doesn’t bother me. However, I am lowering the histamines since instead of all the pineapple it is actually zucchini which is a low histamine food and it keeps the “histamine bucket” from filling up so fast.

I also substituted Ceylon Cinnamon for the cinnamon found in grocery stores (typically Cassia cinnamon). Ceylon cinnamon is tolerated by some histamine sensitive people whereas cassia cinnamon is not. I’ve included more information about Ceylon cinnamon (below).

I used sunflower seeds in place of the walnuts called for in the recipe. Sunflowers are considered low histamine and walnuts are high histamines, hence the switch.

For the oil called for in the recipe. I actually used some solid coconut oil which is usually not recommended due to the solid nature, (typically it is melted before adding to batter) but my kitchen was warm enough that merely stirring it into the other ingredients it “melted” and incorporated well enough into the batter. Better to melt the coconut oil and let it cool before adding it or use the liquid coconut oil if your kitchen temperature is colder than 70 degrees F. I provide more information (below) on coconut oil and MCTs.

Ceylon Cinnamon

Personally I don’t seem to have a reaction to cinnamon but some people with mast cell and/or histamine issues can tolerate ceylon cinnamon but have reactions to the cinnamon usually found at the store, which is cassia cinnamon. But what’s the difference, you’re probably asking.

Sustainability

Some of you may be wondering about sustainability, regenerative agriculture and how and why haven’t you heard of this before? I want to know more about the food I eat and how it’s made, manufactured or processed, since sometimes you’ll discover a reason why you react to foods the way you do and what to avoid. More about that in a future post…promise.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil comes in two forms, one is solid at room temperature, imparts a coconut flavor in the dish, and is half the price of coconut oil that is liquid at room temperature. The liquid version is comprised of more MCT oil and is twice the price. Some individuals with histamine issues may have problems with coconut products but typically can tolerate coconut oil and specifically MCT oil.

Since this recipe already included shredded coconut I thought the coconut flavor would be tasty…so I opted for the solid version and saved a little money too. I like adding the oil in muffins, it softens the bran in the freshly milled flour, easier for me to swallow but not sacrificing the benefits of the fiber.

MCT (Medium Chain Triglycerides)

7 Natural Food Sources Rich in MCTs

The research I did on the way this fat is metabolized in the body was interesting. MCT oil can provide energy to the body despite any digestive issues since MCT more or less by-passes the typical fat digestion used by the body and goes directly to the liver. My research was based on a number of studies and if you’re interested in learning more, please comment below. In the meantime, I thought you might find this post interesting, “Low Histamine Fats” by Alison Vickery.

BTW, I got flour just about everywhere. Are you a neat baker or messy, like me?

The Lone Zebra

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