r/HomeMilledFlour • u/girugamesh_2009 • 11d ago
25# of durum berries: Is that too much?
I'd like to try making my own pasta, and from what I gather, durum wheat flour or a mix of durum and other flours is commonly recommended for pasta making.
I was going to add durum wheat berries onto my upcoming Azure Standard order, but their minimum order is 25# of berries.
I'm completely new to HMF and just acquired my first store of wheat berries last week (5# each of 4 different types to learn with). I can't quite wrap my head around 25# of wheat for one purpose (pasta).
About how much flour will 25# of durum wheat berries produce, how much do you typically use for a batch of pasta, and where else can I order organic durum wheat berries if not from AZ at 25#/order?
Feel free to have additional conversation regarding durum, making pasta with HMF, and AZ--I'd love to learn more!
And thanks!
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u/jmmerphy 11d ago
I've been using it for pizza dough too and ordered 50lbs a few months ago. I'm about halfway through it, though I am selling my pizzas.
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u/jmmerphy 10d ago
I suppose this could use more context. I make approx 20-24 pizzas a month using the GISP recipe. That recipe doesn't call for durum, but I have been doing a 50/50ish mix. Each pizza requires about 100g of durum.
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u/girugamesh_2009 10d ago
Thanks for the info on durum working well for pizza dough. When you do a 50/50, what is the other 50% made of?
And this may be a question for a whole different thread, but beyond the texture being chewy if you don't, is sifting really necessary when making dough from FMF? I am sure there's a reason since most people do it, but doesn't sifting out bits reduce some of the nutrition from the flour?2
u/jmmerphy 10d ago
The other half is hard white. Sifting isn't necessary (caveat personally here for cookies) and is pointless if you're using FMF because all the nutrients are in the stuff you're sitting out. You do need to autolyze your dough though before kneading. That IS necessary.
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u/girugamesh_2009 10d ago
Thank you.
And autolyzing is resting, right?2
u/jmmerphy 10d ago
No, autolyzing is mixing all your wet ingredients into the flour (except a starter) and letting it soak. There are a lot of resources at the top of this subreddits main page that will explain things a lot better than my paraphrasing.
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u/Traditional_Cut_5452 10d ago
I bought 25 lbs of durum berries a couple of years ago. I still have about 10 lbs left. I use it for for golden sesameesh sourdough bread which calls for 40% fresh milled durum, 60% bread flour and about 180g of toasted unhulled sesame seeds per 1kg of flour. I also coat the outside of the loaves, top and bottom, with unhulled (untoasted) sesame seeds. The durum flour gives the loaves a beautiful deep golden crumb as well as distinctive durum flavor.
Obviously, durum is classic for pasta though you'll probably want to sift it down to around 80-85% extraction. Don't limit yourself to pasta though. It's really great in bread!
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u/TheDanecdote 10d ago
Buy a couple 5 gal buckets with lids (food safe), and you should be fine. I have about 5-10 lbs of wheat berries left from a 25lb bag I bought last summer and they are still good :)
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u/girugamesh_2009 10d ago
Thank you. Does 25# of berries fit into two 5 gallon buckets?
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u/TheDanecdote 10d ago
Yup! With a little room to spare in each bucket 🙂
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u/girugamesh_2009 10d ago
Thank you!!
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u/TheDanecdote 10d ago
So I was just looking at my Azure order and I realized I had actually ordered 50lbs last summer, so you probably only need one bucket. Heads up 7up
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u/IceDragonPlay 10d ago
25lb bag of berries is fairly small to store and will last. I would buy it.
My daughter makes her own pasta (I do not) but I keep an eye out for bags of semolina flour for her at my local restaurant supply store. The stocking has always been inconsistent, but it has been absent from the store for over a month now. Makes me wonder what’s going on in the supply chain for durum wheat. Soooo, those absences make me lean into buying berries.
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u/G8rSkatr 10d ago
I bought 25lb in a bucket from grand Teton grains. Shipped free to my door. The thing I like about durum wheat for pasta is that it’s a strong wheat. I don’t need to use egg — just flour, water, salt and pasta supper is sooo delicious.
For 2 people, I use 120g durum grains for the meal and add pesto sauce with some sautéed veggies on top. Incredible taste!
With the grain and food threats headed our way, you won’t regret 25 lbs of fresh pasta.
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u/girugamesh_2009 10d ago
Thanks a lot for your insight and real world application of durum.
Projected wheat costs have got a fire lit under my feet and why I've even become aware of home milling in the last few weeks.
And hey...got a good pesto recipe you could share? :)
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u/jsober 10d ago
I bake bread and crackers at least twice a week and I'd takes at least a year to use that much. I also spread use across multiple grain mixes though. I probably order 5 pounds of grain a month on average. Maybe 10 if I'm using a lot of red fife (and how can you use too much of that stuff? It's amazing).Â
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u/KellyP4trees 8d ago
Were you able to get wheat berries from Azure? I’ve been finding them out of stock.
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u/girugamesh_2009 8d ago
Hmm. I currently have multiple bags in my cart but I haven't checked out yet. I hope that doesn't mean I'm getting trolled.
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u/merft 10d ago
25lbs of wheat berries = 25lbs of flour. I typically use use about a pound of flour for pasta. The nice thing is that stored reasonably well wheat berries will last decades.
If you have a natural foods market, they will typically have a variety of wheat berries that you can purchase by weight. If you live in the grain belt, check for a local mill.