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Grain Gathering 2016
8/7/2016
The Grain Gathering is held at the Washington State University-Mount Vernon Research Station. Many of the sessions were under tents amidst picturesque fruit orchards and a short walk to the test wheat fields. A truly lovely, bucolic setting and the July weather was perfect.
Attendees had class options options to choose from. The first session we attended was on sweet dough and lamination with whole grain doughs, taught by Jeff Yankellow and Jonathan Bethany. One of the big revelations was the fineness of the whole grain flour they were using. The flour was supplied by Camas Country Mill in Oregon. They pass the grain through their stone mill, sift the flour then run the course material they sifted out back through the mill again to make it super fine, then recombine everything. The result is a nutritious true 100% whole grain flour that feels almost as fine as typical store bought all purpose flour. Perfect for laminated doughs, brioche, pasta and more.
The croissants they made were better than any I had ever eaten. You can tell by the photo how light they were. This is 100% whole grain flour, folks. All the original bran is present. The whole grain imparts a richer flavor and way more satisfying experience than you’ll find with white flour.
So of course I had find out if I (an average home baker) could duplicate the experience with fresh milled flour at home. Before I get into that, it’s important to note that you can still make awesome laminated dough products with normal whole wheat flour. I think these 100% whole wheat croissants are well worth the effort. Yankellow advises simply sifting out the large bits of bran in the flour which is easy enough to do and reduces the tendency of the dough to tear when stretched thin. You can get very fine flour this way, but it will be missing much of the significant health benefits that bran in the diet delivers.
When I got home I ran wheat berries through my Komo mill at the finest setting. Following the method used by Camas Mills, I then sifted out the course bran with a very fine 50 mesh screen. Then I twice passed the sifted material back through my mill. I wasn’t able to get the bran as fine as the Camas mill is able to do, but when recombined with the sifted flour it was still a big improvement over what I started with. Not a bad hack job under the circumstances. There are other milling options for producing superfine 100% whole wheat at home that I’m looking into and will report on later.
It was really helpful to watch a couple of master bakers plying their skills live. And it didn’t hurt that they are both great teachers and pretty hilarious. One of the more important parts of successful laminated dough making is getting the butter the right consistency. If it’s too cold and stiff, it’ll break into chunks and you won’t have even layers of butter between the dough layers. Too soft and it will ooze through the dough layers and out the edges too much. In this video you’ll see Jeff plasticizing the butter with a rolling pin. I also got a lot out of watching him shape and fold the butter into the dough. By the way, they use Plugra unsalted butter which is kinda a European style butter with good flavor, texture, high butterfat content and widely distributed in US grocery stores.
Here’s a brief compilation of shaky video clips taken from my phone while standing in the back. Another thing I quickly learned – get to the class early if you want a good seat. Apparently everyone else had already figured that out. Between Jonathan and Jeff and the several dough products being made simultaneously, it was challenging to follow everything. I didn’t. This video is just a sampling of a few steps I was trying to focus on…
7/31/2016
Well folks, so much for the best laid plans. There wasn’t a spare moment to post during the Grain Gathering. For every minute of the event, from the wee hours of the morning to falling into bed at night, the many brilliant and wonderful class instructors and co-attendees, generously sharing their wealth of knowledge and experience, commanded our full attention.
So over the next several days we’ll get some photos, comments and a few brief video clips posted to try and convey our experience a bit. You’ll also find a great collection of photos with a search on #graingathering2016 on Instagram.
First off, all gratitude and admiration goes to our hosts and organizers of the Grain Gathering. Among the many remarkable people responsible for its success each of the past 6 years, I hope I’m not too far off by singling out Dr. Stephen Jones who heads The Bread Lab, which is doing invaluable work towards restoring a local grain economy, and Wendy Hebb, the main event coordinator. Saints among the many we were fortunate to be around for a few days.
7/27/2016
The Grain Gathering starts tomorrow. On the way up through Seattle, we detoured to a holy spot in the Ballard neighborhood where Tall Grass Bakery and Besalu sit side by side. We’ve been there before and will no doubt go again. Picked up a half loaf of seeded pumpernickel at Tall Grass and some pastries next door at Besalu. Both bakeries are top of their game.
Then on up to the town of La Connor where we’re staying for the Gathering, and met up with our baker friend Emmanuel Hadjiandreou here from the UK. We’re excited about the bread adventures lying just ahead.
7/23/2016
Denyce and I are on our way to the Grain Gathering in the beautiful Skagit Valley in WA State. Can’t wait to see and learn from many of the worlds great bread and grain luminaries. We’ll do our best to post brief updates and photos from here as we go. Keep an eye on our twitter feed if you want to know when we post updates along the way.
The main event doesn’t start until Thursday so we’re visiting family and friends in the Pacific Northwest prior. As is the case with all our travels, we manage to visit cool bakeries along the way. We landed in Portland last night to see my brother and nephews. I didn’t have to twist arms to arrange a family excursion to Blue Star Donuts the next day.
My interest in Blue Star began some time ago with what seemed like a benign donut craving but quickly escalated into a search for “the ultimate donut.” I thought I had made some decent brioche donuts at home but had no benchmark to judge. After one bite into a Blue Star, I knew I was headed back to the kitchen to try again. If I get it right, I’ll post the recipe and video. Of course I’ll try to incorporate some measure of whole grain without compromising the decadence factor. Tip for day: If in Portland, OR, visit Blue Star donuts and get there early for the best selection.
Grain Gathering 2016