THRIVING after the FALL

The Index · A subject

Grain, flour and bread

Wheat, rye and the summer grains, from the field to the flour to the loaf.

20 documents · 4 chapters · 5 dishes · 82 rows

In the chapters

Documents 20

On the Menu

Wood-fired wheat sourdough Rye sourdough Hearth flatbread Barley risotto Millet porridge

In the Workshop

The summer grains

In the log 82

  • 56 confirmed
  • 7 amended
  • 6 partly confirmed
  • 13 unresolved
  • 8 marked for safety
  • W11 confirmed Safety Dressing a stone releases respirable quartz (silicosis): cut wet, outdoors, face covered; a cracked stone (dull ring) sheds grit; first flour after a dressing goes to …
  • G3 amended Safety Humanure compost rests a full year after the hot phase and goes only under fruit trees and grain, never under anything eaten raw
  • F1 amended Safety Ergot: alkaloids, gangrene/convulsions, St Anthony's fire; brine at ~1/6 salt (160 g/l) floats sclerotia, wash and dry at once; EU limit 0.5 mg/kg alkaloids in rye flour …
  • B13 amended Safety Scald safety: 200 l at 62 °C from a 50 l copper lit at four; over-scald >62–63 °C cooks skin and sets bristles (only remedy skin the pig), under 58 no release, loosening …
  • B9 amended Safety Trichinella: every part of an untested pig cooked to 70 °C at centre; no raw Mett, cold-smoked raw sausage or air-dried ham from an untested pig; dies in 1 min at 60, at …
  • D1 amended Safety A pot still does not separate methanol from ethanol; drinking heads can blind or kill; fruit high in pectin (apple, plum, pear) makes more methanol than grain
  • T7 unresolved Safety Candle in a catching dish or stick, a hand's breadth from hangings, never left in an empty room, put out by pinch or snuffer not breath
  • J5 confirmed Safety Ergot (Claviceps purpurea) in a wet rye harvest: black horns in the ear; discard every sheaf with them; never grind it
  • H17 confirmed Pompeii buried 33 bakeries with domed ovens, bread in some
  • H19 confirmed About 0.9 kg wood per kg flour in a direct oven, 0.55 in an insulated one; a village that bakes together burns a third of the wood
  • H36 confirmed Cob oven build: bottle-and-slurry or vermiculite base, firebrick floor with a finger's gap, sand form 60 to 90 cm by 40 cm, 1:3 clay to sand 8 to 10 cm, straw layer 10 …
  • I32 confirmed File fracture test: through-hardened snaps with fine silky grey grain; cased bends and shows glassy rim round fibrous core
  • K22 confirmed Normalise three times: 900, 815, 730 °C in still air; grain to a few thousandths of a millimetre; the triple quench is a myth that cracks blades
  • W31 confirmed Biringuccio, De la Pirotechnia 1540: lute of lean clay, horse dung, egg white, hammer scale, linen strips and flour; rye flour and water as the modern lute
  • W32 confirmed Fibre saturation 26 to 30 % MC; kitchen EMC 6 to 12 %; shrinkage green to dry: longitudinal 0.1 to 0.2 %, radial 2 to 5, tangential 6 to 10, T/R about 2; end grain dries …
  • W33 confirmed Split through the pith and discard it and the first rings; carve green; dry slowly in a paper bag with shavings; with the grain
  • W40 confirmed Dutch beam 9 ft by 27 in square with iron hoops; wool bags in horsehair mats; hot iron plates; end-grain blocks; two wedges; stamper 150 kg from 1.2 m, about 1,765 J; 40 …
  • W46 confirmed Stones 300 to 500 mm, runner 20 to 50 kg; bedstone flat, runner slightly concave; eye gap 3 to 4 mm, rim near touching; harp of 8, 10 or 12 quarters with master, …
  • W47 confirmed 75 W at 50 to 60 rpm, crank 250 to 300 mm at elbow height; flour under 38 °C; roller mills (1880s) above 60 °C and strip the germ; stone mills damage 6 to 9 % of the …
  • G20 confirmed VDLUFA humus ledger: cabbage and vegetables −1,000, potatoes and roots −760, winter rye −280, grain legumes +160, clover-grass and vetch +600 to +1,400 kg humus-C/ha/yr; …
  • G22 confirmed Sand's organic matter oxidises faster than in any other German soil because of free air between the grains
  • G38 confirmed Winter rye plus hairy vetch sown by mid-September; winter cover cuts N leaching 39 to 54 %; crimp at rye anthesis and vetch full bloom in late May, before 50 % anthesis …
  • F12 confirmed Norfolk four-course (turnip, barley, clover, wheat) doubled yields on East Anglian sands, 18th c.
  • F13 confirmed Five-year rotation lupin→cabbage→carrot→potato→rye with the stated cover crops and dates
  • F14 confirmed Lupin 150–180 kg N/ha, peak ~110 days, 80 % Ndfa; root 2.5–3 m; protein 21–27 %; harvest late Aug; rye+vetch by mid-Sep; leaching −39 to −54 %
  • F15 confirmed Humus ledger figures (cabbage −1000, potato −760, rye −280, lupin +160, clover 600–1400; −75 kg floor)
  • F18 confirmed Rye allelopathy suppresses small seeds for weeks; carrots two years from rye; fresh dung forks carrots
  • F21 confirmed Crimp rye/vetch at anthesis (≥50 %, before milk), late May; transplant through mat
  • F26 unresolved Yield 20 t/ha potatoes, 3 t/ha rye on sand (model); 60 kg potatoes and 80 kg grain per person per year; 30 m² and 300 m² per person
  • F30 unresolved Winter wheat "frequently fails" on sand vs 26/27 treat as routine; rye premier
  • F31 unresolved Rye sowing early–mid Sep, 180–240 seeds/m², TKW 30–40 g → 7–9 g/m²; landraces 100–150; formula S = PD×TKW/(10×V×E); late +10 %/week after 20 Oct
  • F32 confirmed Ferdinand von Lochow, Petkus, from 1881; Petkuser rye
  • F33 unresolved VERN e.V., Greiffenberg (Uckermark), >650 cereal provenances; five ryes named; Champagnerroggen pre-1900, 2 m, no fertiliser
  • F34 unresolved Saatgutverkehrsgesetz forbids sale of unregistered varieties; Directive 2008/62/EC conservation varieties; farm-saved seed ~50 % of German cereal seed with Nachbaugebühr
  • F35 unresolved Ha locus Pina/Pinb: both wild-type = soft (8–10 % protein, pastry), mutation = hard (12–15 %, bread); soft wheats spring-sown 300–350/m²; sprouting in wet August
  • F51 confirmed Self-pollinators 1–2 m; rye 250–300 m (27 also "up to 200 m"); rye floor 100–200 plants; Hopkins ear-to-row 1908
  • F52 confirmed Withhold rye 97 kg/ha good year, 180 bad year (scenarios A/B); 2.5 / 5 kg per 300 m²
  • F54 amended Bunt: mustard flour 10 g/kg or 5 % acetic acid 20 ml/kg
  • F73 confirmed Summer grains: millet sown 20 May to 5 June, 75 to 90 days, 1.5 to 2.8 t/ha, 250 to 300 kg water per kg; hulless barley 20 March to 10 April, 95 to 110 days, 2.2 to 3.5; …
  • F74 confirmed Linum rice trial: 2021 drilled crop lost to frost; 2023 3.5 ha, 326,000 greenhouse seedlings, waterfowl took up to 40 %, combines sank
  • F75 confirmed Flax after rye in Thaer's 6 to 7-year rotation with lupin or serradella; seed 130 to 150 kg/ha, 1.0 to 1.5 cm, rows 7.5 to 10 cm, 1,800 to 2,200 stems/m², weed once at 5 …
  • F76 confirmed Hand processing per 100 kg: spelt 8 to 12 h at a quern gapped 2.8 to 3.8 mm; millet 14 to 18 h in a mortar, 1.5 to 2.5 kg loads, 40 to 50 strokes/min, 62 to 68 % …
  • O41 confirmed Acorn 58 % starch, 5–12 % oil, 300–400 kcal/100 g flour; autumn return 600–1,350 kcal/h; weevils 35–90 %; mast gone by January
  • A18 confirmed Plant diet gap: rye 1.5 % fat, potato and cabbage near none; working body 60–80 g fat a day, child a larger share; the rotation gives about 10 g
  • A20 confirmed Rye and potato lysine-limited, lupin and bean sulphur-amino-acid-limited; grain-plus-pulse complementarity; higher need in under-fives, pregnancy, convalescence
  • A22 confirmed German (and Brandenburg) soils selenium-poor, feed supplementation supplies eggs and pork; phytate halves zinc absorption from whole-grain diets; inland goitre, iodised …
  • A33 confirmed Family of four on sand: garden 1,000 m², rye 1,200 + seed, potatoes 150 + 550 for pig, lupin fifth of arable, orchard 0.25 ha, pasture 1.2, meadow 0.6, heifer 0.9, pig …
  • A40 confirmed 118: 200 kg sow 588 kg concentrate/yr = 0.084 ha; finisher 278 kg = 0.039 ha; doubled on sand at 3 t/ha; 4 kg boiled potatoes replace 1 kg grain, 278 kg grain = 1,100 kg …
  • A48 partly confirmed Laying hen eats 110–130 g/day, 40–45 kg/yr, against 118's 200 kcal and 25 kg; a dozen hens on grain eat as much rye as five people; on gleaning 15–20 kg grain and ~150 …
  • A72 confirmed Goat milking 70 to 90 strokes a minute, pre-dip thyme and sage, post-dip sour whey with tallow or rosin, canal open 30 min, healthy milk pH 6.4 to 6.7; buck 150 m …
  • A77 confirmed Hen ration 80 g grain, 30 g pulse, 40 g roots, 25 ml whey, 8 g grit; c. 29 kg grain a bird a year, 438 kg for 15 birds, 0.18 to 0.22 ha of rye
  • B41 confirmed Scald: Brühtrog or door and pails; bristle-tuft test; rosin (Kolophonium) handful makes bristles pull; bell scraper with the grain; turned with a chain (Brühkette); half …
  • B44 confirmed Blood sausage / Grützwurst: per litre blood 1 kg boiled rind and head meat, 300 g scalded back-fat dice, 18 g salt/kg of whole, marjoram, pepper, allspice, boiled barley …
  • B49 confirmed Hen scald: mature 54–58 °C 60–120 s, young 50–54 (56 gives 50–54 °C 120–210 s soft), >66 °C cooks breast skin; wing-feather pull test; large feathers against the grain, …
  • E34 partly confirmed Natural production of an unfed carp pond 100–300 kg/ha/yr in this climate, low end on sand; grain feed 3–4 kg per kg gain gives 30–40 kg from 1,000 m²; family eats ~50 …
  • E38 confirmed Sömmerung: drain dry one year in five, lime 200–400 kg/ha, sow oats or vetch, plough in
  • C11 confirmed 7 m³ cellar, 0.85 m³ grain bin, 6.3 m³ smokehouse for a family's year
  • C12 confirmed Per head per year about 90 kg bread and grain, 70 kg potatoes, 100 kg vegetables, 65 kg fruit (126 gives 93, 71.7, 98.6, 66.5); wheat packs to nearly 800 kg/m³ (772)
  • C17 confirmed A rat eats 6.5 kg of grain a year; rat incisors harder than iron, aluminium and any timber; a colony of twenty
  • R12 confirmed Dickmilch as a Brandenburg farmhouse staple, eaten with sugar and breadcrumbs or drained to quark
  • R5 confirmed Rye starter: false rise day 2 to 3; Berlin hard water delays pH drop to day 4; climax by day 14 at 100:1 LAB to yeast
  • R6 confirmed Quick yeasted wholemeal keeps 60 to 70 % of phytate; sourdough unlocks minerals
  • M26 confirmed Saturated brine: 26 parts in a hundred of brine, about 360 g salt per litre of water, grains left on the vat floor as the cue; half a day (12 h) per kg of wheel
  • M42 confirmed The wheel: 300 ml whey per 30 l at 32 °C; cook to 45 to 48 °C until the grains squeak; press at ten times the weight, turning at 1, 4 and 12 h; 3 kg; turn daily then …
  • D13 confirmed Malting: alternate 8 h soak and 8 h air three times to about 45 % moisture; sprout at 15 to 18 °C 4 to 6 days until the acrospire is three-quarters of the grain; wither …
  • D23 confirmed 1516 Bavarian law: barley, hops, water; also a grain rule keeping wheat and rye for bread; the north did not follow it for four centuries
  • D24 partly confirmed Berliner Weisse: 3 parts wheat malt to 1 barley; wort not boiled; mixed yeast and Lactobacillus; pH 3.2 to 3.4; hops barely used; "champagne of the north" story stands …
  • D41 amended Mary the Jewess and the bain-marie; al-anbiq; al-Razi distilling before 900; Brunschwig, Liber de arte distillandi, Strasbourg 1500, lute of linen, salt water and egg …
  • D44 unresolved Korn: unhopped rye or wheat beer distilled twice; Prussian potato schnapps the 19th century's cheapest spirit, sold by the bucket from the estates east of the Elbe; …
  • D46 confirmed Chicory, dandelion, roasted barley, rye and acorns contain no caffeine; pine and roots cannot replace coffee
  • T21 confirmed Medieval bread trencher: tranchier, four-day-old coarse bread ~4 in × ½ in, given to the poor or the dogs; wooden trenchers by early 16th c.; Newcastle 1499–1500 import …
  • J11 confirmed 117's model: 1.0 ha arable in five 0.2 ha blocks (lupin, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, rye) + 0.5 ha clover grass; 3 goats, 12 hens, 2 pigs
  • J12 confirmed Sand yields: potatoes 20 t/ha, carrots 30, cabbage 30 (70 % edible), rye 30 dt/ha, lupin 20 dt/ha; block outputs 4,000 / 6,000 / 4,200 / 600 / 400 kg; milk 2,100 kg, …
  • J13 partly confirmed Buffers: 200 kg rye and 400 kg lupin to hens, 35 % drought/blight, 10 % seed/spoilage; net ≈ 5,440,000 kcal ≥ 4,000,000; "a subsistence model cannot rely on emergency …
  • J14 unresolved Kitchen arithmetic (own): 340 kg rye to the kitchen → ~280 kg flour at 80–85 % extraction → ~400 kg bread → a large loaf a day; 4,000 kg potatoes less 400 seed and 1,000 …
  • J20 unresolved Three narrows: (1) mid-April to end May: potatoes in, lupin, carrots, cabbage transplant, kidding, garden; (2) June hay, late July rye at yellow ripeness, August second …
  • J21 unresolved Hay: a mower with a peened scythe cuts about a third of a hectare of grass a day; rye 0.2 ha: two days cutting with cradle and binder, one day stooking, a dry week in …
  • J22 confirmed The harvest is "fundamentally incompatible" with one nuclear family; boon-work, Bittarbeit, meitheal; households cut each other's rye in an order agreed in winter; the …
  • J24 partly confirmed No document in the library grinds flour; the quern (runner 40–50 cm) gives 1–2 kg coarse flour/h; 340 kg = 200–300 h/yr; women's work from the Neolithic; worn joints in …
  • J25 partly confirmed Post mill (Bockwindmühle) in the Mark from the 13th c.; grinds in an hour what a quern grinds in a week (50–100 kg/h); needs a millwright, a miller and 30–40 households' …
  • J39 unresolved Order of specialists: herdsman (paid by the head, since settlement), miller, smith, cheesemaker (40 cows, 100 l/day), potter (Ch 17), cooper, wright, tanner (Ch 9), …
  • J46 unresolved Boon-day ledger: a day given is a day owed, written, read at Martinmas, settled in days, grain, wood or meat; the sick and old are carried; commons need a stint set by …