Ears of wheat along with a small pile of wheat grains (also known as wheat grains).
Wheat berries are actually whole wheat seeds that can be ground into fine, nutritious bread flour or planted to produce wheatgrass. When choosing wheat berries, it is important to know how they will be used. Those who use these seeds for roasting must take into account the flavor and quality of the fruits. Berries chosen for growing wheatgrass should be fresh and plump. Both varieties of berries must be healthy and free of mold.
A field of wheat.
The choice of wheat seeds to make flour depends a lot on the flavor of the fruits. White wheat berries have a light, subtle flavor, while red wheat berries have a richer, deeper flavor. Both varieties generally produce heavy, dense baked goods, although those made with white berries are lighter in color. The wheat berries chosen for baking can be fresh, dried, or sprouted, depending on the baker’s preference. Fresh and dried berries will produce nice baked goods, while recipes made with sprouted fruit will taste fresh with a slight crunch from the buds.
While buckwheat groats are available online, many bakers like to personally pick their buckwheat groats. Fruit should be rich in color with no black, green, or gray discoloration. Fresh berries should be fleshy and firm, while dried fruits feel tight and are slightly darker in color. The dried and fresh varieties should smell a bit like freshly baked bread.
Once picked, roasting berries need to be stored properly to ensure they retain their flavor. The baker must wait to grind these fruits until they are ready to bake with them. Dried fruit generally lasts longer than fresh or sprouted fruit, which means the baker should plan to use the latter two types of seeds soon after purchase. Those planning to store their berries should choose the dried variety and store them in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
Those who choose grains of wheat to plant sometimes have a slightly more difficult task ahead of them. Fresh berries are usually the best to plant, which means the gardener should purchase them in late fall, when wheatgrass sows its seeds. Fruits for planting should also follow the above guidelines, which means they should be plump, firm, and free of mold or disease. The gardener’s berries should also typically come from healthy plants, which can be difficult to determine unless the gardener knows the seller personally.
Many types of fresh wheat berries sprout from storage, so they are best planted right away. The berries should be soaked in cold distilled water overnight, drained, and sprinkled over a seed tray filled with soil. The berries can be covered with about 1 inch (about 2 cm) of soil and covered with plastic wrap until they sprout. Wheatgrass germination requires plenty of warm, indirect sunlight to grow properly.