How will you use grain from your long-term storage?

In an SHTF scenario, what will you cook from your bags of wheat or soft grain?

Do you plan on making unleavened bread like hardtack, and tortillas or will you stick with leavened bread?

Overall, I'm just curious about what your plans are to use huge bags of grain when the power is out.



Thanks, Scott

Grains
Wheat Flour has a shelf life of 1yr (baked and fried, dough can also be boiled)
Rolled Oats is 2yrs (porridge)
Rice is 4yrs (porridge, cooked, steamed or drained like pasta)
Dried Corn is 8yrs (porridge)

I wouldn't prepare these any different from how I currently make them. Unless SHTF means that I cant buy flour/sugar/etc or a new pot. In that case, I will try to get most of my calories from nuts, fish, meats, honey, fruits and tubers. I don't have decades worth of grains, I don't even have a 6 month supply, and I would not try to grow, harvest, process and save these. I much rather dehydrating/sun-drying and fermenting what I produce.

For those who don't have a hand pump/stream on a 40+ acres homestead a multi-year SHTF situation would kill most of us due to dehydration, sickness, homelessness and violence. In a short term situation like say the hurricane in PR, If I have grains I will have all of my usually non-perishable minor ingredients to go with it.  

Really the simplest way is to just boil them and eat like rice. you could also make flummetry (English not Australian) Bring the grain of your choice to the boil, boil around 10 minutes, then put the pot into a hay cooker and leave it overnight, by morning the grains will have burst and the whole lot will be a mix of burst grains sitting in a jelly like porridge, add any flavoring you wish.

I never really understood the length some preppers seem prepared to go to make normal bread, flat breads are much much easier to make and take an awful lot less fuel to cook.

Skandi Rogers wrote:Really the simplest way is to just boil them and eat like rice. you could also make flummetry (English not Australian) Bring the grain of your choice to the boil, boil around 10 minutes, then put the pot into a hay cooker and leave it overnight, by morning the grains will have burst and the whole lot will be a mix of burst grains sitting in a jelly like porridge, add any flavoring you wish.

I never really understood the length some preppers seem prepared to go to make normal bread, flatbreads are much much easier to make and take an awful lot less fuel to cook.

I haven't heard of flummery; I will look into it.  I've been thinking about people who have long-term food storage. You know Hermetically sealed in food-grade buckets or #10 cans.   Rice and Hard-grains will last up to 30 years if properly stored, that's a long time.

The suggested amount of grain to have on hand is around 200 lbs per person per year.  (Stuff I've read )  That's a lot of hard or soft grain.  I think you'd want to make it part of your regular diet and rotate your stock.   The #1 aspect of survival is psychological; varying your diet as much as possible is essential.    

Milling flour and baking leavened bread, and other baked goods would make sense when you're rotating stock, and times are good.    You have this excellent base in the form of grain.  Grind flour and add foraged or grown flora right into the mix.  

I see what you're saying about flatbread and porridges.  The working poor during the colonial era survived on Johnny Cakes: cornflour, salt, and water...cook the dough directly on the fire when necessary, increase or decrease water to change consistency, add cream, meat, butter, fruits or herbs if you have them. etc., authentic survival food.

I looked into tortillas, but processing the field corn requires extra steps.   Oats seem to be big too.  The Scotch Highlander survived on Oats, salt, and water cooked on a grill or a hot rock.  Add fat or foraged herbs if you have them.  

Overall I agree with you, though; Flatbreads/unleavened bread has been a staple back to neolithic times.  The Romans, British Navy, Civil War Soldier, all survived on flatbreads. (ship's biscuit, hardtack, etc.)

I've been experimenting a little with Johnny Cakes:  Here's a picture of panfried johnnycakes, Next time, I would bake them in the oven on a greased cookie sheet to make a crunchier version.  I'm eating them, but they soaked up too much olive oil.  I'm toasting them in the oven before eating them.  



1 cup of Quick Oats
3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 Cups Water
Teaspoon of Salt

Let dough sit an hour.  

Rolled golf ball sized dough, rolled them with a pin and fried on both sides.

you got me thinking----I should probably bottle up a couple gallons of the buckwheat from the sack I got to plant in the garden---just in case. I guess I'm lucky to have an antique hand crank grain mill
my grandfather taught me pancake recipe. he never measured anything so I'll do my best at providing measurements

a cup or so of whatever flour you have, buckwheat is my favorite
a couple teaspoons of baking powder
an egg or two
a tablespoon sour cream or cream cheese or even cottage cheese
one or two tablespoons of molasses
enough milk or cream to mix it all together so it will spread out on a butter greased hot pan or griddle

flip em when bubbles appear over most of it

can be served with peanut butter spread on it and maple syrup on top

or

fry an egg to put on top

bon appetit