There. I said it.

It is now written on the internet, so it must be true. At least until the internet goes down, and when that happens buying bread will probably be one of the more minor things to worry about.

Why am I pledging to never buy bread again?

1. At a heritage like skills (read: prepper) conference I attended last year, I attended a home milling workshop and was so inspired I bought a hand mill and a 100lbs of wheat grain.
2. A year later I have 98.5lbs of wheat in my basement and a beautiful (nearly new) hand mill in my kitchen.
3. Grain lasts way longer than flour – viable wheat grains have been found in the pyramids. Food longevity ticks an essential post-apocalyptic survival box.
4. Milling my own flour for bread-making ensures I am accessing the actual whole-grain and not the industry ‘whole-grain’.
5. *The Real Reason* – I’m addicted to bread. Marmite on toast makes me so happy, but I need to curb this addiction. I’m no fan of extreme food restrictive diets (exception: I haven’t eaten a mammal for quite some time), but I do recognize that a high grain diet probably isn’t the best in the world. So, the above pledge kills two ants with one slap: eating bread that is better for me and eating less bread by removing it from the convenient foods list.
6. Bonus reason: it’s way cheaper ($25 for 50lbs of organic hard red wheat).

I asked Emily to take the pledge with me. She’s not using words yet, but I think the concept confused her:

Emily’s current mindset: I’m hungry. I cry. I get milk. I’m happy. I sleep. I poop. I’m hungry. (events don’t necessarily occur in this order).

Milling Grain and Making Sourdough

I ground 1 1/2 lb and now question whether milling my own flour is a viable survivalist tactic. It is very possible I used more calories turning the mill than I will gain from eating the bread. That said, it is a great way to keep in shape when you have a 3 meter operational radius from Emily.

The result: really dense bread. I’m talking a weaponized wheat loaf.

Back to the drawing board on true ‘whole wheat’ bread making.