Homesteading: Flour in Bulk

One of the first considerations a homesteader makes is how to address the family’s bread needs. Bread making can be a management-heavy task, and some homesteaders opt to skip regular sandwich bread in favor of one-off baking, but if you’re planning on having sandwich bread available, it helps to have some basic conversions.

A basic sandwich recipe uses about 550 grams of flour (mine uses 553), which means that a 50 pound bag makes roughly 40 loaves (the math divides to 41 loves, but life is imperfect, so I use 40 as a benchmark). A fifty pound bag takes up 8-10 gallons of storage space. 

If you make 3 loaves of bread each week, a fifty pound bag of flour will last about 13 weeks, or one quarter of the year, making a bulk purchase reasonable if you can accommodate the storage. I like to store things in glass whenever possible, and I promise you that even if such a thing as a ten gallon mason jar existed, it would be useless for me, since I would have nowhere to put it and wouldn’t be able to wrangle it, even empty. I have a few 2.5 gallon jars, and that’s about the maximum I can handle at a time, and about the largest that fits on the pantry shelf. I find that dividing up the bag into 4 jars and rotating them out is perfectly serviceable. 550 grams is about 1.5-2 quarts, so if you prefer, you can fill a few 2 quart containers with pre-measured flour to make the upcoming baking more streamlined. This also helps younger children (or distracted adults) and helps separate the task of weighing the ingredients from the baking.

If you only make a single loaf each week, it might make more sense to divide the purchase of a 50 pound bag with another family as opposed to storing it for most of the year (the per-pound savings are eye-popping enough to make a bulk buying group worth the time to set up). 

If you plan on storing bulk flour for longer than a few months, I strongly recommend a glass jar with a rubber ring at the seal and a spring closure. Flour is too attractive to every little pest and mite to leave this to chance, and there’s nothing sadder than opening a bag only to find it infested. (If it gets infested with weevils, put the flour in a freezer container and set it in the freezer for three days or more to kill the weevils and eggs. You can pick out or sift away the dead bugs and use the cleaned flour for baking or any of the scads of non-food uses for flour. If the flour is musty or clumpy, or shows visible mold, it’s ruined; throw it out).

You don’t have to be a homesteader to appreciate having freshly-baked bread on hand. 

The aroma alone is worth it.

Pantry: Whole-grain Mustard

Whole-grain mustard is super simple to make and it stores for six months in the refrigerator, or so I hear; mine never lasts that long. This mustard is usually found in the gourmet aisle, and carries an eye-popping price tag that simply is not reflective of anything. There is almost no labor involved, and the ingredients are extra cheap, less than two dollars for a pint of this excellent and essential condiment. 

The flavor is perfect for ham sandwiches on homemade basic loaf bread, and it really shines on a baguette. Set a small pot on a charcuterie board.

Equipment

Immersion Blender

Two 8 ounce or one pint glass (or ceramic or stoneware) container with tight-fitting lids

Mixing bowl, about 4 cup capacity

Ingredients

1/3 cup yellow mustard seeds, whole

1/3 cup brown mustard seeds, whole

1/2-3/4 cup apple cider vinegar, depending on how tangy you like it (recipe from apple scraps)

1/2-3/4 cup water (enough to make the total liquid 1.25 cups)

1.5 Tablespoons raw sugar (or light brown sugar)

1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Combine seeds in the mixing bowl and stir in water and vinegar. Let sit for 24 hours. (If you’re in a massive rush, you can reduce this to 8 hours, but the seeds won’t be as infused with the vinegar, and they won’t be as easy to mash). 
2. Remove about 1/2 a cup of the seed mix and set aside if you want a particularly toothy blend.
3. Add the salt and sugar and process with an immersion blender or in a food processor until relatively smooth, scraping down the sides as you go. I find pulsing the blender helps keep the blades clear. Process until desired consistency.
4. Fold in reserved seed mix, if using.

Pour into jars and cover with tight fitting lid.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Flavor matures with age.

Summer: Vegetable Beef Soup

When the vegetables start coming in, there’s nothing quite like a pot of vegetable beef soup. The garden medley shines in this recipe with fresh corn and fresh green beans, and the tomatoes deepen the flavor, letting the beef flavor come through. Fresh parsley helps keep everything fresh and light.

Everything comes together pretty quickly on the stove top; an hour of simmering and you’re ready to serve it with a hearty sourdough roll for a dinner that’s perfect for family game night or after a day out in the sun. 

If you’re craving a bit of sunshine goodness in the middle of winter, this recipe works just as well with dried herbs and frozen vegetables and canned tomatoes. 

Volume measurements are really just to keep things in balance. Adjust as you’d like given the amount you have on hand and what you prefer as far as flavor profile. If you like a broth soup, add more water or broth; if you like it to be more like stew, keep the liquid ratio low, and tilt the lid while simmering to help reduce the liquid further. 

Ingredients
1 lb. Ground beef (or stew meat, or a chuck roast cut into cubes)
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1/2 Yellow onion, diced
3 Carrots, diced
2 stalks Celery, diced

Half a head green cabbage, chopped (optional, but it gives it a hearty base)
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 pounds Tomatoes (fresh or 28 ounces canned), chopped
4 cups Beef Broth
1/4 cup total Dried herbs – basil, oregano, and thyme
Salt and pepper
2 pounds New potatoes, chopped
1 c Green beans, chopped
1 c Corn, cut from the cob
Handful Fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Dab meat dry with a paper towel, then coat with salt and pepper. Set in a heavy soup pot coated with olive oil and brown over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, turn and brown for another 4 minutes. Work in batches if necessary, depending on the size of your pan. Set beef aside once cooked.

 

In the soup pot, sauté onion, cabbage, celery, carrots, and garlic in olive oil until onion is transparent. 

Add broth, tomatoes, beef, and herbs and stir to combine. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring once or twice throughout, for 30 minutes. 

Add potatoes and green beans and simmer until everything is tender, about 30 minutes more. Add corn and parsley and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve with sourdough rolls or crusty bread.

Make plenty, as it stores well and the flavor is even better the next day.