How to learn how to grind wheat and bake it into bread
It made me
Proud. 
"It's ridiculous-easy, people stare at you in wonder when you serve it to them, and they ask in awe, "ou 'roumd id 'ourfelf?" (with mouthfuls of bread) "
How I did it: It no doubt conjures images of you in a skirt, hand-cranking a mill full of bushels of wheat, which you undoubtedly hand-plucked from the fields, pausing only momentarily to mop the sweat from your brow...
But don't worry, it's not nearly as impressive as all that. (But your guests don't need to know that!)
In this day of modern conveniences, grinding your own wheat is as easy and takes about as long as microwaving some popcorn. All you need is a wheat grinder (duh), which will run you about $200ish, and some wheat, which you can easily procure from your Mormon friends (via the Church Cannery), or... I don't know, look online. Survivalist types have lots of webpages for end-of-days supplies.
Anyway, the following recipe is borrowed from a lovely woman in my friend's church (I have added my own notes, as I don't follow the directions exactly):
(also, it is not necessary to grind your own wheat. You can use wheat flour if you like.)
This recipe makes 4 small loaves, but I usually make 2 gigantic, overflowing ones (my husband likes them to be proper sandwich slices like store-bought bread)
It takes about 2 hours, but you're not working the whole time, and you can easily do housework, watch TV, or... paint your nails in between steps.
STEP 1: "THE SPONGE"
-4 Cups whole wheat flour
-3 Tablespoons yeast
-4 cups warm water
(I do this in my KitchenAid mixer, but you can also use a regular bowl. Use your largest mixing bowl.)
Mix yeast, water, and flour together. Let sit 15-30 minutes until it doubles in size. (Important step. Don't skimp. If it doesn't double in size, the yeast is bad and you'll have to start over.)
STEP 2:
-1/2 Cup butter or oil (I always use olive oil for healthiness, and nobody has EVER complained, even people who hate olive oil.)
-2/3 Cup honey or molasses (I sometimes use agave nectar. It makes for sweeter bread.)
-3 teaspoons salt
-6 to 8 Cups whole wheat flour **
**The amount of flour varies because of the quality of wheat, type of water (hard/soft), humidity, etc... It is best to start with the least amount and add until it no longer sticks to your hands or mixing bowl, and it is easy to work with.
Add butter/oil, honey, and salt to the sponge.
Add flour one cup at a time until desired consistency.
(dough should be soft, so add as little flour as necessary)
STEP 3: KNEADING
Knead for 15-20 minutes by hand, or about 5 minutes if you have a bread mixing machine. (I use my KitchenAid mixer for 5 minutes with the bread hook, and then knead for about 5-10 minutes depending on my mood. I like kneading.)
If the dough becomes sticky during kneading, add a little flour.
STEP 4: SECOND RISE
Place in oiled bowl, roll around to cover dough in oil.
Cover with plastic wrap/wax paper and damp towel (I'm told the plastic/wax paper is to prevent sticking to the towel... I have never actually done this. I just use a damp towel, and the Earth thanks me for creating less waste. My dough never sticks because I make sure it's oiled on top. ...?)
Let it rise for at least 30 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.
STEP 5 : FINAL RISE
Punch down and knead for a few minutes.
Divide dough into loaves. (The recipe calls for 4, but my husband likes giant loaves for sandwiches, so I always do 2 or 3, depending on how much bread we need. It's odd. Kindof like Jesus and the loaves and fishes. It seems like if you make it into 4 loaves, you end up with more bread than if you put the same amount of dough into 2 pans.)
Shape them into nice, smooth loaves and place into oiled bread pans. Cover again with plastic/wax paper and/or damp towel.
Let rise 30 minutes until doubled in size.
STEP 6: BAKE
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until loaves sound hollow when you smack 'em.
Remove from pans immediately and place on cooling rack. If you wish, you can brush the tops with butter or oil. This softens the crust and makes them look shiny, like display loaves at the bakery.
I keep my loaves in big ziplock bags, and they seem to keep for weeks... Even longer than store-bought bread. I think it is because of the honey. Honey has antimicrobial properties, so maybe this helps prevent mold?
Resources: Mormons. They are wonderful. They are surprisingly hip when it comes to organic, all-natural foods. And they can do AMAZING things with wheat!!!
I went to an emergency preparedness fair at my friend's ward, and they showed us how to make wheat sausage, with just ground wheat and sausage seasoning - it was so amazing I couldn't believe it was meatless!
Check out your local Church Cannery. I don't know if they are all open to the public, but any Mormon church will have some sort of program set up for ordering food stores such as wheat, and they'll be excited to help you. I've never met a Mormon who wasn't thrilled to find me interested in emergency preparedness and food storage.
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