# Red and White Wheat Berries!!



## WWhermit (Mar 1, 2012)

Going to start my research on wheat berries, grain mills, etc.

What is the difference between red and white wheat berries. Do you use one or the other for whole wheat bread, or other breads, etc?

Please impart your glorious wisdom on this naive soul!


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## thenance007 (Oct 8, 2012)

Bread made with white wheat tastes pretty much like white bread, but with the nutrition of whole wheat. Red wheat has the typical nutty whole wheat flavor. You can mix and match them any way you wish. I've mostly seen it used in breads, so I assume it has a fairly high gluten content. Meaning that if you use it in cakes, they might be a little chewy.


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## WWhermit (Mar 1, 2012)

Thank you very much for that clarification!


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

White bread is made from red wheat too, just with stuff removed. There are MANY classes of wheat. Typically hard red spring is the best for bread HARD white wheat is ok for bread, of course opinions vary.

Wikipedia has a decent blurb http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat
"Durum - Very hard, translucent, light-colored grain used to make semolina flour for pasta & bulghur; high in protein, specifically, gluten protein.
Hard Red Spring - Hard, brownish, high-protein wheat used for bread and hard baked goods. Bread Flour and high-gluten flours are commonly made from hard red spring wheat. It is primarily traded at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange.
Hard Red Winter - Hard, brownish, mellow high-protein wheat used for bread, hard baked goods and as an adjunct in other flours to increase protein in pastry flour for pie crusts. Some brands of unbleached all-purpose flours are commonly made from hard red winter wheat alone. It is primarily traded on the Kansas City Board of Trade. One variety is known as "turkey red wheat", and was brought to Kansas by Mennonite immigrants from Russia.[35]
Soft Red Winter - Soft, low-protein wheat used for cakes, pie crusts, biscuits, and muffins. Cake flour, pastry flour, and some self-rising flours with baking powder and salt added, for example, are made from soft red winter wheat. It is primarily traded on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Hard White - Hard, light-colored, opaque, chalky, medium-protein wheat planted in dry, temperate areas. Used for bread and brewing.
Soft White - Soft, light-colored, very low protein wheat grown in temperate moist areas. Used for pie crusts and pastry. Pastry flour, for example, is sometimes made from soft white winter wheat."


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## neldarez (Apr 10, 2011)

I cooked some wheat berries for the 1st time to see what they taste like, my jaws got tired chewing! Very little taste..some folks say they use the wheat berries instead of rice. I would like to find uses besides grinding for bread. Don't know that wheat berries are going to catch on too much here,,,any ideas on other things to do with them besides cereal ? Would they be beneficial or add to, if I were to throw a handful in the soup, stew, etc? What's your thoughts..........thanks in advance


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Two things, is it hard red wheat you are using and how long did you cook/soak for. 
Either way there should be more flavour than rice.
I guess what you call wheat berries is very similar to a very important dish to us, there are MANY ways of preparing it but it is all called Kutia. With just poppyseed and honey it is my favorite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kutia
I don't really understand why people call them berries, shouldn't we call rice, rice berries then It is a well established term these days though for what ever reason just one of those things that make me wonder, like how Americans say tuna fish, is there some other kinda tuna?


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

cowboyhermit said:


> Two things, is it hard red wheat you are using and how long did you cook/soak for.
> Either way there should be more flavour than rice.
> I guess what you call wheat berries is very similar to a very important dish to us, there are MANY ways of preparing it but it is all called Kutia. With just poppyseed and honey it is my favorite.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kutia
> I don't really understand why people call them berries, shouldn't we call rice, rice berries then It is a well established term these days though for what ever reason just one of those things that make me wonder,* like how Americans say tuna fish, is there some other kinda tuna?*


yeah, you can tuna piano! or a guitar! I crack myself up! :laugh:


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

neldarez said:


> I cooked some wheat berries for the 1st time to see what they taste like, my jaws got tired chewing! Very little taste..some folks say they use the wheat berries instead of rice. I would like to find uses besides grinding for bread. Don't know that wheat berries are going to catch on too much here,,,any ideas on other things to do with them besides cereal ? Would they be beneficial or add to, if I were to throw a handful in the soup, stew, etc? What's your thoughts..........thanks in advance


I need to look into this a lot more, but I thought you could sprout them, and then either eat the sprouts or plant them, and get a new crop of wheat. Now you're self sustaining and can feed chickens, and other critters, as well as yourself.


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## neldarez (Apr 10, 2011)

Dakine said:


> yeah, you can tuna piano! or a guitar! I crack myself up! :laugh:


You crack me up too............:rofl:


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