As I’ve watched the price of wheat and flour rise over the past year or so, and seeing that wholesale prices for wheat are currently topping 90 cents per pound, while 25-pound bags of flour are on sale for $6.99 (or 28 cents per pound), my mind keeps turning to the extreme importance of bread and how it contributes to a stable society.
My thoughts on the topic probably stem from reading Eggs or Anarchy, the biography of Lord Woolton, Minister of Food in Great Britain during World War II. He was responsible for all the rationing instituted in Britain and her colonies to ensure that everyone had food throughout the duration of the war. In fact, some of that rationing lasted up to a decade after the war ended. However, one item that was never rationed, something Woolton insisted on, was bread.
When it came to food, Woolton reasoned, the best way to make sure the people complied with rationing restrictions and shortages, was to make sure that they would never be hungry. And the most reliable and economical way of filling their stomachs was with bread.
Filling their stomachs, that feeling of satiety so essential to maintaining morale and discipline within the troops and the people at home, was crucial to preventing fear and winning the war. This original fast food provides essential carbohydrates to keep the body going.
I have marveled as I’ve watched people come together to feed the Canadian convoy or the Ukrainians fighting for independence and their lives. People who could not join the convoy or personally fight contributed by feeding those involved in both situations. It has given me a little faith that perhaps my fellow citizens will also put up a fight here when our turn comes. As the saying goes, “An army marches on its stomach.” Whether people are fighting at the front or supporting them and others at home, they need food. Bread is that ideal food for several reasons.
After it’s baked, bread stores for a week, sometimes more, without refrigeration or the need for further baking. It is fast food (after it’s baked, of course), ready to eat at a moment’s notice. Bread is also incredibly versatile. Sandwich bread can be used for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, eaten on the side, or used to make sandwiches, French toast, croutons, and so much more. Flatbreads like tortillas can be ready to eat in 30 minutes, while yeast breads will take at least a few hours from start to finish.
Yeast breads also require yeast (duh), which also got me to thinking about how yeast became one of those items that disappeared from grocery store shelves fairly early on and was pretty slow in returning. On the plus side (for me, anyway) after the yeast manufacturers got up to speed in producing yeast, demand waned almost immediately. And shortly thereafter, yeast became very inexpensive again. In fact, it was put on clearance at many grocery stores and we were able to pick it up very cheaply.
Unfortunately, I’ve got the sneaking suspicion that many people did not learn from the recent pandemic and they haven’t taken to storing much yeast. Fortunately, there are ways to make a yeast bread without using the dry yeast that comes in packets or 1-pound bricks. I addressed one of those options last week.
Also fortunately, some breads, like tortillas, don’t require any leavening at all and can be prepared fairly quickly.
The grocery situation and just-in-time shipping deteriorates by the day. Grain prices increase daily it seems. In fact, as I write this, wheat prices on the Chicago Board of Trade have been maxing out their increases daily all week. We have to be prepared to feed our families at home when bread skyrockets in price. We’ve all seen the images of a German gentleman using a wheelbarrow full of worthless German currency to buy a loaf of bread. Russia and China are both upset enough with us to make sure we get to experience some of the hurt they’ve had over the past 60-70 years.
Loads of recipes on this blog provide many options. There’s everything from tortillas, biscuits, and corn bread to sandwich bread, sourdough, and other recipes. We’ve got to be prepared for trucks to stop rolling and still be able to feed our families. Bread can be made from the most basic of ingredients—just flour, salt, and water at its most basic (and boring). With lard or shortening, one can have tortillas ready in 30 minutes. With yeast, you can begin a sourdough starter for sourdough bread, pancakes, muffins, and more. Add in eggs, milk, and/or sugar for some nice sandwich bread.
Got bread?
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4.26.24
Jennifer have you and current recommendations about sources of bulk wheat?
ReplyDeleteI just went looking. Now I've got a pit in my stomach. Wow.
DeleteSo, two months ago my little independent store advertised 25 lb bags of white wheat for $8.49. They never actually got any in, and the store owner was very unhappy about it being in the circular and not on the delivery truck. This month they advertised the same wheat for $8.99, and again, no wheat in the store.
Several years back, some Walmarts carried it in store; others let you order it in. But I couldn't find anything larger than 5 lb bags on their site this morning.
Rainy Day Foods (formerly Walton's--good reputation) has it for $75-90 for 50 lbs--various options in that range. Ouch.
Honeyville Grain was similar.
If I'm going to pay over $1 per pound for wheat, I'd be going with the Home Storage Center https://store.churchofjesuschrist.org/usa/en/food-storage-3074457345616678849-1/hard-white-wheat
It's a couple of dollars less if you pick up in person, but with the price of gas, it wouldn't be worth it unless you were very local to it.
Maybe if you post your location, other readers might have suggestions. I somehow think you are somewhere back east. Winco stores in the Western US often have wheat. My husband and I will try to pick some up there for our son when we go to Reno next week.
Jennifer I'm in New England and out our way we have https://www.azurestandard.com/drop-point-locator.
DeleteNot cheap but I've gotten good service and meet nice folks at the drop.
Hope it helps you.
Are you going to plant a Pancake Gardn this year? If you can grow grass, you can grow wheat. I found using shredded leaves an excellent weed suppressing mulch.
The home storage around here is in Boston area. Not an easy drive.
Hi Michael, Thanks for posting the link for Azure Standard. I have no experience, but I have heard good things about them. And if you look at their drop point locator, I'm smack dab in the middle of the biggest patch of green in the lower 48.
DeleteI've never heard of a pancake garden. Out here, the only commercial crop grown is hay, and that's only by people with water rights. I'd say about half the folks on our street have water rights, but we're not among them. And those people also have level lots. Our lot rises about 400 feet from the driveway entrance to the top. LOL.
Even my fenced garden area isn't level, which I know isn't a requirement for growing wheat, but it does make irrigation challenging. The little level area we have is used for fruits and veggies and medicinal herbs. And on top of everything else, we're in a drought, which I suspect will only worsen.
I think most people would say this is a terrible place to be in a societal collapse, but I think it will work out for us. No one's going to flee to the desert thinking they'll find resources. Ranchers do raise beef cattle out here, but I'm sure the closest dairy operation is hundreds of miles away, and no chicken or pork places, either.
All that to say--no wheat growing for us. And with the way wheat prices have skyrocketed, we're so glad to have a really good supply right now.