Wheat Chili

I'm trying to slowly add some meatless dishes into our regular rotation, and this one fits the bill.  The wheat berries have a nice chewy texture when cooked, and they take on the flavor of the seasonings quite well.  I use a zillion and one spices in mine, but a chili seasoning packet from the grocery store should substitute just fine.  If you use storebought seasoning, you still need to add 2 tsp salt to your chili since you're using dried beans.

1 cup dry wheat berries
2/3 cup dry pinto beans
2/3 cup dry black beans
2/3 cup dry white beans
6 cups water
2-28 oz cans diced tomatoes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp dried onion
1 Tbsp dried minced garlic
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp cumin
4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Rinse the beans, then dump all the ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 6-8 hours or until beans and wheat are soft.

Wheat Waffles

These have the lightest texture of any other wheat waffle recipe I've tried (and I've tried a bunch!) Beating the egg whites separately seems to be the magic step.

Yield: ~14 waffles (4"x4")

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup non-fat dry milk powder
1 3/4 cup water
6 Tbsp oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix dry ingredients together, including the powdered milk. Stir in the remaining ingredients. For lighter waffles, separate eggs. Beat egg whites until stiff, and carefully fold in just before baking in waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.


Source: Basic Food Storage Cookbook

Susan's Bread

Susan's Bread (yield: 2 loaves)

2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp yeast
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup oil

4 Tbsp vital wheat gluten
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Vitamin C powder (optional, but this keeps the bread fresh for a longer time)
3.5 cups whole wheat flour (I prefer white wheat)
0.5 cup ground flax seed
2 cups bread flour


Put water, sugar, and yeast in the stand mixer bowl; stir enough to barely combine, then let it sit for about 10 minutes until the yeast has doubled. Add honey and oil, then all dry ingredients except bread flour, and mix on level 1 until blended. Then add the bread flour; mix on level 1 until you have a smooth dough ball no longer clinging to the bowl.

Allow dough to rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes. Then divide in half, shape into 2 loaves, and place in loaf pans. Allow to rise in a warm place for another 45-60 minutes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool on wire racks, covered by a towel.