The aroma of freshly baked bread greeted me as I stepped onto a neighbor's porch around a month ago.  The heavenly smell of cinnamon wafted from the kitchen, where pans of puffy dough filled every inch of counter space.  Rolls glistening with warm syrup and nuts cooled on racks while more raised under damp towels.  My friend, and neighbor, just loves sharing her mouth-watering baked goods with everyone during the holidays, so I anticipated this delicious treat with excitement.  When asked the secret to her specialty, she testified to grinding her own wheat.  I was impressed that anyone would make time for this activity, knowing that her nursing career must be extremely busy.   We discussed the health benefits of eliminating preservatives, white flours, and sugars from our diets, and that we've forgotten how easy the old methods were.  There's something about the flavor of a freshly ground flour that gives bread and pastries a delightfulness unsurpassed by grocery brands.  It satisfies the taste buds like fine Belgium chocolate or coffee made from freshly ground beans.   

 I was compelled to research the options of grinding wheat.   There was a time when farmers took their harvest grains of corn, wheat, oats, and rye to the village mill.  Most of these old mills are no longer working with the exception of a few relics standing by the creeks of sleepy towns.  Thankfully, what has emerged in this technical era are electric appliances that grind the wheat in your own kitchen.  Now, I'm normally not a person that likes to use large appliances, but these WONDER MILLS are precision tools with fine-to-course settings and take only minutes to grind enough flour for a full recipe of bread.  Eight cups of wheat kernels makes 12 cups of flour- whohooo!  I received my grinder as a gift and made bread for the first time last week.  My family agrees that other breads do not compare in taste or texture but the best part of bread baking is the "aromatherapy"  and eating the heel with melted butter while it is still warm.  

Sally