Story by Deb Peterson | Photographed by Deb Peterson
There will be no more whole grain bricks coming out of Shirley Hurt’s oven in Mountain Home, nor from the oven at Bruce and Nan Bixby’s home in Wynne. And you won’t find flour dust all over their kitchens either. These three bread lovers are now baking whole grain goodness the Tamara Carl way—with self-milled grains.
For health and weight reasons, Tamara and her husband, Barry, of Lakeview, educated themselves about whole grains five years ago. They learned that products that were just 51% whole grain could be labeled “whole grain.”
“Is it whole grain or isn’t it?” Tamara found herself asking.
“Why don’t you mill it yourself?” was Barry’s response.
The couple bought two mills—an impact mill and a stone mill—and they’ve never turned back. Tamara read every book and tried every recipe she could find, and finally came up with her own baking methods to avoid the dreaded brick.
When people heard about her self-milled flour and started buying it from her, she worried they would stop when they, too, baked bricks, so she started offering classes.
“If you don’t learn anything else here today, learn the window pane,” Tamara tells her class. “Without a window pane, you have a brick. You need to see light through it. If it tears, it’s not kneaded enough.”
She teaches her students about the importance of weighing and kneading and resting, about proper temperatures, the right kind of yeast to use, and the most effective equipment.
“Do not oil the bowl before setting the dough in to rise,” she says. “Every book tells you to oil the bowl. Don’t.”
The dough needs to climb up the sides. Everything matters, including the size and shape of the pan you bake in, and the way you place the bread in it.
“For whole grains, you must have a 4-inch wide pan,” Tamara says. “The bread needs support. You’ll get a higher loaf.”
Tamara demonstrates every step, and her students participate. They make sandwich bread, buns, and dinner rolls.
Tamara is working on a sourdough class and cook book.
But the whole grains are the stars of the show—hard white, hard red, soft white, 7 grain, rye, quinoa, and kamut (found in Egyptian tombs). When Tamara starts talking grains, she rivals Food Network’s own Alton Brown. She can tell you the science behind every ingredient and method she uses.
“Whole grain in the body burns four times more calories,” she says. “It takes more energy for the body to digest it.”
She knows which grains to mix and which ones require a bigger bowl.
“If you want rye,” she says, “you’re going to need a bigger mixer.”
And she can tell you why.
Learn more about Tamara’s classes, home parties, flours, and mixes at wholegrain.orbs.com.
Next Bread Class:
Dec. 10, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., Anglers Coffee Cafe, Mountain Home, Only 6 seats! Call Debi Cooke to reserve: 870-508-4040
M! Dec 2011/Jan 2012
Susan Rowald
Tamara is an expert on all things whole grain! She taught me to make bread years ago. I only wish I lived close enough to take every class she offers. Thanks Tamara! 🙂 We miss you in Houston!