Whole Ground, Home Baked

[History of white flour]

Bread is frowned upon because we messed up wheat. Real wheat contains minerals, oils, protein and plant starch. Today’s flour contains only plant starch, an empty carbohydrate that the body becomes addicted to because it burns so quickly for energy. Bread is supposed to be delicious and filling not make us bloated and break out. When Jesus is teaching he continually compares himself to bread, in biblical times it was a staple food taken straight from nature and so rich in nutrients that it, if it were the only thing available to eat, could actually sustain you all day. How did it become so different now? The fluffy bread buns and packaged crackers we have today hardly make a filling snack, and everyone comes away from meals unsatisfied or still “feeling munchy.” Why is there gluten intolerance and processed flour that causes so many problems? God didn’t intend for it to be unhealthy and avoided. 

Prior to the 1900s everybody milled their own wheat at home, everything was locally grown and stored as whole grains that were perfectly shelf stable as long as they didn’t get wet or too warm. Flour was ground on a daily basis, just enough to use for the meal and no extra to sit on the counter. Once the whole grains were ground up the naturally present oils would begin to oxidize and the flour would go rancid if it was kept around a long time. 

A whole kernel of grain has three parts:

• The bran- the fibery outer shell on the grain containing minerals like iron and magnesium. 

• The germ- the little seed part inside the kernel containing natural fats that are digested as real protein.

• The endosperm- the starchy-white protein inside the kernel, when ground up and sifted out it makes commercial flour. 

Freshly milled grain has all three parts still available, all the fats make it satisfying to eat and “stick with you longer”, the minerals refill your body and whole protein sustains you longer. However, to be able to store our milled flour without it oxidizing and going rancid, the bran and germ have to be sifted out– removing the fats, minerals, and protein. What’s left over is the convenient starch that can sit on a shelf forever and be made into addictive pastries. This white flour became popular because it could be manufactured, farmers sold the bran and germ as livestock feed and Americans no longer needed to make bread for every meal. 

But a couple things happened after that; gluten intolerance became a thing, and Americans started suffering from diseases linked to the lack of phenolic acids they would have been getting through the wheat bran and germ. Birth defects, dementia, tons of digestive problems (also caused by the pesticides used to mass produce grain) poor skin health, and nervous disorders. Suddenly the once nutritious wheat that the world had grown up on was causing a lot of problems and it wasn’t until the 1990s when bleaching flour was banned because it was linked to the rise in seizures. 

Finally in 1949 the government stepped in and forced flour mills to start replacing the nutrients that were missing from our milled white flour. Enriched flour was born, but all they did was add synthetic vitamins and iron, only four of the 35 to 40 original nutrients that were in the organic, freshly ground bran, germ, and endosperm. Because we couldn’t easily digest flour due to its lack of minerals and actual protein, gluten intolerance became common. Commercial bread started slowly wrecking gut health because it didn’t support the micro flora with enzymes and minerals, and we became unable to digest other foods (particularly processed dairy.)

Gluten isn’t even part of a wheat kernel– it’s not even in the freshly ground flour. Gluten is created when proteins in the plant starch meet water, rearranging to make a stretchy bond that traps the gas let off by yeast eating the starch. It’s a natural occurrence when we make something with flour which causes it to be stretchy and fluffy. 

Today, store bought bread that’s labeled “whole wheat” is so far separated from what it used to be that it’s just carbohydrates, bread conditioners and preservatives for even longer shelf life. Even organic bread is empty starch. So what would happen if we reintroduced freshly ground flour and home baked bread, eating it regularly because we need complete proteins and fats in order to have enough energy for the day? About a year ago my mom made the switch to baking all our bread again. And for a month we really craved the thin sliced, fluffy white store bread, but almost instantly we all noticed how filling this real whole wheat was. 

• Bread buns and homemade noodles with dinner are satisfying and thick sandwiches or crackers for lunch are actually filling. My brothers have fast metabolisms and even they stopped snaking as much. 

• It was noticed that after a while everyone’s mood greatly improved (direct link to gut health).

• Far less heartburn because we no longer wanted store bought products with processed white flour.

• My mom and I noticed our energy lasted longer in the day because we weren’t craving things after meals. 

• My hereditary psoriasis that I wasn’t doing anything to treat (caused by a bad gut) slowly cleared up. 

• Waffles or pancakes, just those homemade bread products for breakfast no longer left us feeling shaky and lacking protein by early noon. 

• And perhaps the largest proof of change; when we only have store-bought bread to eat everyone feels gross or bloated and unsatisfied– even with the old organic sliced white bread we regularly bought. 

https://youtu.be/WpgHG7sKZro?si=8_A8gtmVI36Fwa8U What is Gluten?

https://youtu.be/s2EDmwxFVPA?si=qZE6_SBnpbSzfV0- Interview with Sue Becker

https://youtu.be/b-Vz7uIuk2U?si=KSQN1P6O8GnYKdWB The Truth About Wheat and Gluten - Original Recording, by Sue Becker

https://www.youtube.com/@BreadBeckers/featured Bread Beckers YT Channel 

*DISCLAIMER: Nothing in these videos or articles should be construed as medical advice. Consult your health care provider for your individual nutritional and medical needs. The information presented is based on our research and is strictly that of the author and not necessarily those of any professional group or other individuals.