Put your wheat to bed

A few nights ago, I put my kids and husband to bed, then put my wheat to bed! :)

Here's how I did it:
Cooked Wheat Berries - the easy way!
In a pot, soak 1 cup dry wheat in 3 c water for at least 8 hours. Bring to boil with lid on, then put the pot to bed! (Wrap in a blanket or put in a bed for about 8 hours, it will cook and still be warm.)

(I'm sure this would work for many grains.)
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I could go on and on about the wonderful world of wheat, but since I hope most of you already know how wonderful it is, I'll just give you some reminders. Here are a few things that I dug up:


Whole wheat flour is the foundation of good bread-making. It is an excellent source of Vitamin E, the B vitamins and others. It contains the highest amount of gluten of any grain. This becomes the elastic part of the dough and holds the yeast bubbles within the bread causing the bread to rise. The gluten in wheat is the only gluten that can be removed from the rest of the grain.

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Wheat - More than Just Bread

Yes, most people do just think of bread when they see the word "wheat," yet this is only one of hundreds of uses for the most versatile of all grains! Yes, it is considered the most important grain crop in the world -- providing 40-60% of the available energy and protein in developing countries. Because it stores so very well, it also is key to long term food storage. The purpose of this knowledge is to get you to understand the importance of having whole wheat in your diet. There are many reasons beyond the basic terrific nutritional benefits, but one of the most important is this: by adding high fiber whole grains to your diet will improve your health. Besides the nutritional benefits it is also tasty and good for you.

There are several types of wheat, but the most used are the soft and hard wheat. Hard wheat have the highest protein content and are best for bread making. They can either be winter or spring wheat, red or turkey or white (golden) in color. Soft wheat is best for quick breads, pastries, crackers, and cookies where protein content isn't as critical. White hard wheat makes exceptionally good bread -- a lighter loaf than the hard red wheat.

Whole Kernel (a.k.a. wheat berries). Soak wheat overnight then boil it which gives you soft wheat kernels. Prepared this way, they can be used for many things such as bulgur, popped wheat, pilafs, tabbouleh, meat extenders, cracked wheat cereals, bean substitutes, rice substitutes and noodle substitutes. Sprouted, wheat can be added to casseroles soups or stews, breads, muffins ... you name it.

Wheat conversions:
1 cup uncooked wheat = 2 cups cooked wheat
2 cups whole wheat = 3 cups ground flour
1 LB whole wheat = 2 1/4 cups wheat berries