Amanda Miller
Columnist
Lettuce Eat Local
Here in central Kansas, there is always a feeling in the air around wheat harvest. It’s more than dust and chaff, although there’s definitely that too — it’s hard to really describe. It’s just harvest, you know?
I’m guessing the feeling isn’t as noticeable for people who aren’t farmers, but even though I didn’t grow up experiencing the phenomenon and our family doesn’t have much wheat acreage, I can always feel it. It’s a mixture of energy and exhaustion, excitement mixed with apprehension, sweat running alongside satisfaction…or disappointment.
Let’s be honest, this year there was more disappointment. To put it bluntly, the wheat was trash. But that happens sometimes, and maybe it’ll be different next year. We are fortunate we don’t base our livelihood on the wheat harvest, and it’s a good (although not necessarily good-feeling) reminder that we can do all we can do, but it’s the Lord who provides the harvest and we are dependent on him.
We never even got to the stage of waving seas of golden wheat that I so love. The amber waves of grain were there, but so short and weedy that they barely even rustled in the breeze, which is one of my favorite sounds. Nonetheless, we did get something, and that’s more than we are entitled to or could even count on earlier in the year; I still love harvest.
Keep in mind that my role in harvest is very minimal…I run people and food to the fields sometimes, and that’s about it. My love is an air-conditioned, I-still-go-to-bed-on-time kind of love.
Part of the reason I love wheat harvest so much is that it’s so Kansas. I try hard to bloom where I’m planted, and there is something deeply meaningful and satisfying about these undulating golden fields stretching far and wide that just belong here. The combines and grain trucks are out in full force, the farmers in their sweat-stained hats are putting in the hours, and our whole nation (and beyond) reaps the benefits of their reaping. Kansas doesn’t do all things well, but (most years) it does grow wheat — and we should celebrate that.
I have a special way I get to celebrate Kansas’s “Breadbasket of the US” identity all year round, since Brian always saves me a bucket or few of wheat berries from our very own fields. Talk about local! We don’t have a fine-tuned method of cleaning them, so we get a little extra “fiber and terroir” (i.e. chaff and dust), but freshly-ground whole wheat flour from our farm is a true gift.
Benson loves all parts of this arrangement. We got to spend a few mealtimes with Daddy in the combine last week; he was mesmerized by the stalks rolling in through the header and the wheat filling up the hopper window. He will tell you many times how “the combine cuts the wheat, and then it goes into the grain truck, who takes it to the…(needs a cue) grain elevator!” And while it is assuredly not the efficient method, I try to make bread when Benson can “help.” He often shakes with excitement dumping in the flour and watching the mixer go around and around, and it’s all I can do to keep him from pinching off a hundred pieces of dough while it’s rising.
Not many two-year-olds get to see their slice of bread go from sprout to oven, and honestly neither do many adults. Wheat harvest is never as romantic and easy as I like to make it sound, but it’s a true gift, and we’ll look forward to it coming around again next year. Until then, we’ll eat bread.
Cracked Wheat Loaf Bread
While auto-steer in the combine means Brian got some actual plate-and-fork meals delivered during harvest, sandwiches are still the general name of the game. I usually have a whole-wheat oat bread on hand, but it seemed appropriate to make wheat the star this time. The cracked wheat berries add this surprising yet enjoyable texture to a standard crumb, and I might just start adding them to other loaves more often. This recipe makes two loaves.
Prep tips: you don’t need to own a wheat field to get wheat berries! Many groceries, especially bulk or health-food stores, sell both whole and cracked wheat berries (you want cracked, unless you have a Vitamix/other grinder at home). Just make sure you let the berries soften to chewy, not still crunchy, in the hot-water step. Hudson Cream flour is local and lovely, and what I buy for all-purpose flour.
2 cups cracked wheat berries
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups boiling water
2 eggs, beaten
5ish cups all-purpose and/or bread flour
2 tablespoons instant yeast
Mix wheat berries, brown sugar, salt, and butter in a heat-proof bowl, and pour in the boiling water. Let set until cool and the wheat berries are softened, then mix in eggs. Measure in 4 cups of flour and sprinkle the yeast over, then mix in thoroughly, adding the rest of the flour plus more as necessary to achieve a cohesive, moist but not sticky, dough. Knead for several minutes, then return to oiled mixed bowl to rise until doubled. Press down, divide into two, shape, and place in two buttered bread pans to rise again. Bake at 325° for about 35 minutes.
