Wakelyn’s YQ organic wheat grain (for home milling)

Key information

Variety name: Wakelyn’s YQ Population Wheat
Certified organic wheat grain
A very diverse population of intercrossed wheat varieties developed by the late Martin Wolfe at Wakelyn’s Farm
Above-average values for most key minerals
Suitable for home milling to make real bread (with long fermentation and no additives) and pastries, cakes and biscuits

More Information

Wakelyn’s YQ (Yield/Quality) wheat is a ‘composite cross population’, created in 2002 by the late Professor Martin Wolfe at Wakelyn’s Farm in Suffolk. Twenty distinct wheat varieties – both modern and older – were crossed with each other and the resulting hybrids were mixed and sown together to form a ‘population’ with a very high degree of genetic diversity. Many generations later, the YQ population has evolved in various parts of the UK and has been subject to extensive evaluation by scientists at the Organic Research Centre in Berkshire, UK.

At an early stage of the YQ’s development, Scotland The Bread’s Andrew Whitley worked with Martin Wolfe and colleagues to assess this new wheat’s suitability for real bread baking without additives and processing aids and also to measure its nutritional quality – things that had rarely if ever been done with new wheat varieties in the UK. Wakelyn’s YQ is now established as a favourite of UK organic artisan bakers and millers. Scotland The Bread sold its entire 2018 crop of YQ to e5 Bakehouse in Hackney, London.

Top tips for milling and baking with this grain:

Keep the grain dry. Around 15% moisture is best. We send it out at about 13%, but it can absorb moisture from the atmosphere, especially in rainy or humid weather. If you don’t have a moisture meter, you’ll have to judge by the hardness of the grains when you bite one. If it’s soft and easy to bite through, the grain is probably too moist. You’ll know if you are trying to mill grain that’s too moist because it will clog up the stones and cause them and the motor (or your brow) to get very hot. Grain can be dried, spread out on a baking tray and turned regularly, in a very low oven – anything higher than about 50°C will begin to damage important yeasts and enzymes and may affect the gluten quality of the flour
Always ferment your bread slowly (using sourdough) to control dough development, bring out flavour and enhance digestibility and nutrient bioaccessibility
If you’re struggling to get a longed-for lightness, sieve the flour to remove some of the bran or add a portion (up to 25%) of ‘strong’ flour

You will find more baking advice and recipes here.

This grain is special. Apart from its above-average mineral content, this grain has some other special qualities:

It has a full, slightly malty flavour which comes in part from harvest conditions in 2019. When grain is ripe and gets wet in the ear, the naturally occurring amylase enzyme begins to turn starch into maltose sugar. This is what happens when grain is ‘sprouted’ for making into malt for brewing. Maltose in the flour will, like any sugar, make the dough slightly sticky to the touch. This isn’t a problem if you knead your dough with wet hands. And one of the many advantages of genuine sourdough fermentation is that this process makes the dough acid enough to stop the excessive amylase from going crazy at the baking stage. If the loaf sides seem to shrink in after baking or if your knife comes out sticky however well you’ve baked the loaf, you may not have fermented your dough long enough to neutralise the effects of the amylase turning flour starch into maltose sugar. This can be disappointing until you savour the natural maltiness of your bread and reflect that you achieved this without adding any expensive specialist malt flour
It contains gluten that is naturally softer, less elastic and more extensible (and arguably more digestible) than in common breadmaking flours. In this respect it is reflecting its evolution as a grain adapted both to the temperate Scottish climate and to the various needs of ordinary bakers. While this grain may not produce super-aerated dough, it comes into its own when extensibility is required in flatter loaf shapes such as ciabatta, focaccia, naan, pancakes etc. If scones and shortcrust pastry are in your repertoire you may be pleasantly surprised that baking with this flour avoids a certain ‘rubberiness’ that tends to be a by-product of using high-gluten or ‘strong’ flours
Dough made with slightly malty flour (as with additions of honey, sugar or significant levels of fat etc) takes more colour when baking, so it is advisable to reduce your normal oven temperature a little to avoid excessive caramelisation (or ‘burning’ as it is sometimes known). Try 200°C for ten minutes, reducing to 180°C for the remainder of baking.

You will find more baking advice and recipes here.