The Taste of Summer

I love a a good fire pit. The sounds of the cracking wood, sparks flying, and toasting marshmallows for s’more’s. Sounds and smells can trigger memories of childhood. I’ve been missing summers spent in Alabama. The warm, humid days spent playing tennis or out on the lake, and the evenings gathered around the picnic table eating supper, ending the night in the hammock watching the stars with the fire pit going. It was this exact memory that I wanted to paint and then make s’mores from scratch.

For several months, I spent most of my free time working on Lonnie’s baby book (scrapbook). I’ve been taking a break from that so I can tend to my other hobbies. I finally got around to painting the campfire. It took two days to finish. I was happy with how it came out and excited to show my husband, I went out of the den with the painting in one hand and my water cup in the other. I reached down to grab one more thing without thinking, and my water spilt on the bottom half of the painting. Paint started dripping off the paper and made water lines throughout. That’s the bad part about watercolor, but the good part is that it’s fixable.

The only thing left to complete the memory is to make s’mores.

I wanted to make them completely from scratch; the graham crackers with fresh milled flour and marshmallows with grass-fed gelatin. Wanting to do this and planning it out came in good timing because I also needed to bake a fresh milled flour loaf in preparation for teaching a bread making workshop at the extension office. I have a few friends interested in baking and making bread, so I knew they would enjoy learning all about fresh milled flour and seeing the process from start to finish. What better way to share my hobbies. It took some planning, though. Friday evening, the marshmallows were made because they needed to set overnight.

Bloom the gelatin in cold water.
- I used grass-fed gelatin for making the marshmallows primarily to maximize the nutritional benefits and its neutral flavor. Traditional store-bought marshmallows rely on highly-processed gelatin.
- A gut-friendly treat. Grass-fed gelatin contains high levels of glycine and other essential amino acids. Helps soothe, repair, and seal the intestinal lining, promoting optimal digestion.
- A natural source of protein and collagen.
Used creamed honey because it is able to be roasted.
After whipping, quickly transfer to the pan. It thickens/sets up quick. So easy to make!

Saturday afternoon became the fresh milled flour bake day. I was trying to think of a fun name for us like The Kneady Crew or Grains, Gains & Good Company (Lonnie being the Official Crumb Supervisor) haha.

We had friends over for dinner a couple years ago and preserved strawberry jam. We called it Jammin' with Jordan. I even had little stickers made to put on the jars. It's hosting with a twist of sharing a bit of knowledge, to create something tasty and memorable.

I set up two stations: separate areas of the counter with two kitchen aid mixers to make the graham crackers and sandwich bread. First, we milled soft white wheat berries for the graham crackers and got that recipe going. Then, milled a 50/50 mix of hard white and hard red wheat berries. I ran out of hard white and hard red is the best substitute, it gives a nice nutty taste.

Graham cracker recipe from Grains in Small Places
- I love her fresh milled English Muffin recipe!
- This was such an easy process. With fresh milled flour, you must let it rest to absorb the fluids because it contains all the parts of the wheat kernel. It needs to hydrate.
Before baking, we cut into squares (oblong shapes) and poked holes for the classic look.

They came out great and so flavorful. I cut up the marshmallows and plated the crackers, along with the chocolate. We torched the marshmallows and they roasted! I love a good burnt marshmallow. We assembled the s’more’s and you could just tell everyone loved it. The marshmallows were so light and fluffy, with a hint of honey. The crackers weren’t as crunchy as store bought but I think with a little tweaking, I can roll them out thinner. It was the perfect snack and really brought me back to those fond childhood memories. We enjoyed these while waiting for the dough to rise.

Fresh milled sandwich bread recipe from Generation Acres Farm.
- Two methods I had never tried before: The Tangzhong method and the windowpane test. I had heard of both but never needed to do either. Tangzhong makes the bread soft and fresh for days. The windowpane test is used to check if the bread dough has developed enough gluten. The first test failed (stretched the dough after kneading and saw a slight windowpane but it was tearing), so we let it rest for 10-15 minutes and retested. Then it was ready for the rise!
Since the oven was on for the graham crackers, we covered the dough and let it rise on top of the stove. It doubled in no time!
After dividing into pans, it needed to double in size before baking.
- At the time of baking, I needed to put Lonnie down for a nap, so my husband took over the baking. One loaf was in a smaller glass pan and the other was in a wide aluminum pan. After baking, the smaller finished earlier, even though from the outside they both looked done. My husband checked the temperature a couple times before taking it out.
I sliced the smaller loaf and the taste is unbelievable. The fresh milled flour retains all the nutrients in the whole kernel. We practically devoured that loaf. I had sliced cheese and chicken breast slices. We were making sandwich benders and honey butter toast, right there at the counter. So good, we didn’t even sit at the table.
- The whole wheat kernel has the bran, endosperm, and germ. Each layer contains vital nutrients our bodies need, like antioxidants, fiber, and iron.

There we were, making nourishing snacks with feel-good ingredients, enjoying each other’s company. The bread was broken and shared. Milling is just a hobby of mine, but after this day, it makes me think if I could exclusively mill. I love baking so much that it would be an adjustment, but it is so worth the taste and health benefits.