Whether I have a large walk in pantry with a years worth of food set by, or a much smaller pantry with only a few months of food stored, one thing you will always find in my pantry is wheat berries. Why store wheat berries you may wonder?
Making my own bread is one of the many steps I do in living a self-reliant lifestyle. Not only do I make my own bread, but I also grind my own flour using wheat berries. For the last twenty five years wheat berries have been a common household staple.
Wheat berries are a true whole grain! Without these kernels there would be no flour. They are loaded with nutrients and are as easy as rice to prepare, perfect for a meal any time of the year. Did you know that raw wheat, if kept dry and free of insects, could last hundreds of years without any loss of quality or taste?
Unfortunately, once wheat is ground into flour, it will last only a few days without turning rancid, which is why regular store-purchased flour is heavily bleached and full of preservatives. I started buying wheat berries more than 25 years ago even though I didn’t own a wheat grinder. I had a friend that would grind the berries for me. Eventually I purchased a wheat grinder of my own and have been happily grinding my own wheat for years.
In addition to grinding wheat berries to make your flour, you can also enjoy them in other ways. When they are boiled, cooked wheat berries have a chewy bite and a nutty, earthy flavor. They can be eaten as a breakfast cereal with milk and cinnamon or added to a salad or main dish. A cup of cooked wheat berries has about 300 calories and is packed with fiber, protein and iron. If you Google major cooking sites like The Food Network and search “wheat berries” you’ll find at least 50 tasty suggestions that incorporate whole wheat into soups, salads, sides and main dish casseroles.
Our favorite recipes using whole-wheat flour are bread, whole-wheat scones and whole wheat brownies.
I hope you have been following along as we challenge ourselves to live a more self-reliant lifestyle for the entire month of January.
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Kathi – Oak Hill Homestead
Nancy – Nancy On The Homefront
AnnMarie – 15 Acre Homestead
Farmgal – Just another Day on the Farm
Candy – Candy’s Farm House Pantry
Kristi – Stone Family Farmstead
Marla – Organic 4 Greenlivings
Heidi – Healing Harvest Homestead
Victoria – Modern Homestead Mama
Shawna – Homegrown Self Reliance
Stephanie – Happily Homegrown
Bethany – Family Growing Pains
Dianne – Hidden Springs Homestead
Julie – The Farm Wife
Lacey – Home & Harrow
Robin – A Life in the Wild
Sheri Ann – Experimental Homesteader
Lisa Lynn – The Self Sufficient HomeAcre
Nancy on the Home Front 
HI Nancy,
Very interested article. I never thought about storing wheat berries but it sure is a good idea. Sharing on twitter & Pinning. Have a healthy, happy & blessed day.
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Your baked goods look super yummy!
I would love to grind my own grains…maybe someday 🙂
Thanks for sharing, Nancy!
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I love the idea of storing wheat berries. Since I love baking bread, this just makes so much sense to me. I am going to get started right away! Thank you for the great information!
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We grow our own wheat, clean the berries and grind them fresh everyday. Our grinders stays on the counter. We even sell the wheat berries now.
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Candy,
I’m jealous! You are certainly eating close to the land! 🙂
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We grow, harvest, clean our own wheat. Grind when needed so it is fresh. Makes great food storage
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I store wheat berries! But I only ever have used them for making bread–and they make THE most delicious bread ever! I’ll need to try them in other things! Thanks for sharing, Nancy!
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I just ordered some wheat berries from one of my co-ops…I will be sprouting them for wheat grass. I am still thinking about grinding them. 🙂
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I love storing grains in their original form, it gives you so much more versatility when using it. I’ve been bad about rotating mine lately and need to get back into using it. I purchased a wheat grinder last summer (it was supposed to help) and I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t use it much. Thanks for the reminder!
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Shelle,
You can always grind up a bit of wheat and then freeze the flour you don’t use right away.
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Awesome! We have lots of wheat berries but sadly we never use them as is. Just to grind for flour ! You do so much! What a great inspiration you are!
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I am a bread baker and have been wanting to grind my own wheat berries. You make it look easy. I am encouraged!
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Amy,
It is easy and makes such good bread!
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Wow! Now I need a new gizmo so I can do this. I loved this article! Thanks for making me aware of a new way to do things.
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Wow! I love a couple of wheatberry salads that I have had, and have them in my pantry for that reason. Never even occurred to me to grind them up! Thanks for this article! Now, to find myself a grinder. 🙂
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Tamara,
Since you are a blogger you should reach out to the company that makes the grain master. They gave me one to use and write a review on and the other to offer in a giveaway!
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This is such a good idea to keep chemicals out of your diet.
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the food looks yummy and I love the idea you can eat them as cereal or with salad also #goinggreen
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I am not sure where I would get wheat berries in big enough quantities to grind for flour locally but I would love to mill my own flour if I could find them. I can buy them in small boxes for using in salads etc though but must admit I have never bought them. #GoingGreen
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Rosie,
Keep looking! Sometimes you can buy in bulk from a local food co-op or buying club.
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