Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Yogurt and Toasted Wheat Germ Bread / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Pane allo yogurt e germe di grano tostato

A few days ago I went to the Mill to collect some flour to develop new recipes and asked Alessandro if he had any new interesting products. Happens that I just arrived on a lucky day while freshly ground wheat germ was available. Wheat germ is no more than 3% of the entire grain kernel, and is generally discarded because of its more intense flavour and the presence of moisture which can reduce shelf life of the flour. A product rich in vitamins, starches, proteins and lipids, wheat germ is really good for our health. Presence of Omega 3, Omega 6, vitamins A and D, make it a very valid aid for skin, hair and helps fighting free radicals too. To best preserve all its nutritional qualities the advice is to eat it raw (in this way all its properties, especially vitamin E and B and fatty acids are kept intact) in addition to milk, yogurt or soups but without exceeding a daily dose of 50 g. Being a highly perishable product in order to keep more than a few days you can toast it lightly to remove the moisture which encourages rancidity and mould formation.

Spelt, Semi-Whole Wheat, Buckwheat flour, Wheat Germ Sourdough Bread / Pane al lievito madre con germe di grano, farina di farro, semi integrale, e farina di grano saraceno

Until a few years ago, when I baked my bread with yeast and used AP flour only, it didn’t occur to me that flours could be so different and serve different purposes. In Switzerland we do not have a thing such as AP flour, mostly because wheat flours found in the shops have all 11% protein content, unless semi-whole meal, wholemeal or other kind of grains flour. Yes, how distressing.