Making Master Mixes or Individual Prepackaged Mixes at Home

Sometimes, I like the convenience of having a master mix but I don't want all the chemicals and whatnot that are in commercial mixes. Plus, I like the taste of the recipes I normally use and they're expensive when compared to how much it costs to make it at home.

Want those $4-$8 fancy bread machine mixes? Want taco seasoning? Cinnamon toast "seasoning"? Cookie mixes? Pancake mixes? Cake mixes? Hot chocolate? Bean Dip? Baking Mix (ala Bisquick)? "Cream of whatever" soups to cook with? You know, those just add liquids, the contents of the package, mix and cook mixes? Those pricy who-knows-what's REALLY in them and has it been recalled mixes? What to do? Why make your OWN!

Make them yourself! Yes. You. CAN. Cheaper, no chemicals. Nothing but what YOU put in it. That taste like YOU made them at home - because you did! And did I mention - it's CHEAPER?!! You don't need anything special and I'll be that the ingredients are already on your shelf.

What are "prepackaged" mixes? Why nothing more than packages of (usually) dry ingredients that you add in the liquid to at home and then bake. Yeah, it's really THAT simple. You can do prepackaging of wet ingredients, but then it has to be used in a rather short period of time or frozen. For starters, stick to dry ingredient items.

 "Cream of whatever" soups CAN be made dry and then the liquid added back into them. They can even be "dairy free" and even GLUTEN-FREE if you use dried beans that you've milled into flour. Don't even HAVE to have a mill. I've done it in a coffee grinder (I don't drink coffee, so I don't have to worry about imparting a "coffee" flavor to my flour. I'd use a dedicated grinder for grinding grains.) And used a small canning jar instead of my large blender jar and "blended" the grains/beans into flour. (Bet you didn't know you can do this with any US blender. Yep, the "business" end of the blender will fit onto standard mason jars. You can use it like a "Bullet blender". No need to buy one!!) AND I've used my food processor to blend things to a flour.

Really, you can do this with ANY recipe that has dry ingredients in it. Pre-measure the dry ingredients into storage bags, jars, or whatever you like and store for later. Then when you're ready to cook, you've already got a lot of the work done for you.

And you can opt to do it two different ways. You can either store them in individual, pre-measured packets or as master mixes that you'll scoop out the designated amount of mix and go from there.


Individual Packets:

It's easy to do and I do this with my favorite bread machine recipes. While I'm measuring out the dry ingredients into the ABM pan, I line up several storage bags and measure out all the dry ingredients (including yeast) into the bags as well. I roll up each bag to remove air, zip or snap close and then mix the ingredients together so the yeast doesn't end up concentrated in one spot. I then put the smaller bags together in either a larger storage bag or a repurposed #10 can and mark what's in the bag. Since I use all whole wheat, I store them in the freezer so I don't lose the vitamins in the wheat. When I'm ready to bake, I open my cabinet over where the ABM sits, look at the 3x5 card taped inside with just the liquids I need listed that I need to add to the machine. Measure those out and dump into the pan, add one bag of the mix from the freezer and start the machine. Spend about 3 minutes adjusting the flour/water ratio and you're good to go. Perfect each time - well each time the power doesn't go out - in the middle of bread making! (Take it out, finish kneading it, if needed; let the dough rest for about 15 minutes, flatten the dough out into tortilla/pita/naan size portions and cook using "alternative cooking methods" - unless the power is back on. Then you'd just let it rise, shape into loaf, let it rise again and bake. You can even let it rise once in the ABM pan and then turn the ABM to the "bake" setting. No need to heat the whole house for one loaf of bread.


"Master" mixes:

Making master mixes takes a few minutes longer the first time you convert the recipe and some EASY kitchen math, but once you've done it the that first time and WRITE DOWN the "master" recipe, it's a breeze there-after!

You need to measure out - down to the portion of a tsp, how much a single recipe makes. Next, decide how many portions you want to store. Multiply EACH item in the recipe by that number, writing down how much you'll need in total. You'll only have to do this the first time you make this "master mix". (Just WRITE DOWN that amount and there-after you'll know) Then place your ingredients into a storage container MIX THEM WELL, mark how much you need to measure out for a single recipe and store that info on the container. When you want to use the recipe measure out that amount, add the liquid for one batch and cook.

Some basic kitchen math. Remember that 1 cup = 16 Tbs and 1 Tbs =3 tsp. So...
1/4 cup = 4 Tbs
1/3 cup = 5 Tbs, 1 tsp
1/2 cup = 8 Tbs
2/3 cup = 10 Tbs, 2 tsp
3/4 cup = 12 Tbs.

And measure carefully as you go so you have consistent results. So you can scoop, but make sure you use a knife or other flat object to sweep the excess off of the top to level it out. Do this for both measuring cups AND measuring spoons. Even a little bit too much or too little will affect how most recipes will turn out. (And yes, the queen of scoop-and-shake-off-the-excess actually does this with EVERY master mix and EVERY bread machine recipe I make.)

For instance, for a single recipe of ABM bread I need 3 1/2 cups flour, 3 tbs sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 Tbs gluten, 2 tsp yeast. Mix this together and measure how much dry ingredients you end up with. (It comes out to 3 cups, 12 Tbs, 2 tsp which converts to 3 3/4 cups, 2 tsp for one batch.)  I want to have 6 batches stored. I measure out 21 cups of flour, 1 cup + 2 Tbs sugar, 2 Tbs salt, 6 Tbs gluten and 3 Tbs yeast. I mix that in a large container and when ready to use, measure out a single portion and add it to the liquid this recipe needs. (1 1/4 cup warm water, 3 Tbs olive oil). Turn on machine, adjust flour/water as needed to get the proper dough consistency. You really should do this each time you use your ABM anyway because it gives better result bread. It takes all of about 3 minutes or so to stand there and adjust it.

That's it. Yep. Not rocket science after all, though when you read the labels on prepackaged foods you'd think it was. 

If you'd normally cream butter and sugar together like for making cookies and cakes, doing this will change the way the recipe comes out. But you can always opt to measure the sugar into separate bags and grab a bag out for each batch you make. However, you buy pre-measured packages of cookie dough and cake mixes and it's all mixed together for you.


Shelf life:

The shelf life of any product will depend on how hot/cold the temperature is where it's stored and whether it has oils/shortening/butter, baking powder or whole grains that have been milled in it. These items shorten the "life-span" of mixes on a shelf. That's why all the chemicals are in store-bought mixes. It stops things from going rancid, though it can't stop baking powder from losing it's "oomph" nor loss of vitamins in the food. The solution to this is to either make smaller amounts of mixes and/or store them in fridge or freezer.And know that if you use butter in place of shortening, it needs to be refrigerated.

As far as I can tell from my research, most mixes that don't have shortening in it will last for 6-9 months on a shelf in room temperature. If it has shortening in it, 3-6 months. Spices are good for a year before they start to lose their potency. (And the year starts from when they're picked, not when you make the mix.)  If my spices are a little older, I just add a "tad" more to make up for the loss.


Using "food storage" items:

In some places, it's easy to find things like powdered milk, eggs and butter. It's quite all right to use these in place of the "real" thing in your mixes. I live in an area where I have to special order them and they are expensive, so I don't use them in the prepackaged mixes I make. However, to use them just substitute each item you want to use with it's DRY equivalent. Then remember to add the liquid you'd use to rehydrate it into the total liquid when you go to cook with it. So if you're using powdered egg and want to sub out 2 eggs, measure out the dry amount of egg powder (I think it's one Tbs per egg - so 2 Tbs) and mix that into the dry ingredients. Then when you go to make your mix, add in the liquid amount called for (I think it's 2 Tbs per egg, so 4 Tbs. And that 4 Tbs WILL make a difference in a lot of recipes - it's 1/4 CUP!)

Grinding your own flour

First some things you need to know. There are grains, "greasy" and "non-greasy" legumes; and "greasy" and "non-greasy" seeds that can be converted from their "seed" form to a flour or paste.

Grains are drier and only have a little oil in their germ. You can grind grains in any mill, grinder or whatnot. Grains include wheat, corn, rice, oat groats, barley, rye, etc.

Legumes and seeds are a different matter. Peas and most beans are not "greasy", that is, you can not extract oil from them very easily. However, soy beans ARE "greasy", meaning that if you try to mill or grind them in a regular mill or grinder, you will soon have a coating of oil on the grinding parts. Think Soy oil - oh, and peanut butter. Some seeds are also "greasy" - think sunflower, flax and sesame seeds. Sometimes you can get away with milling "greasy" - IF you only grind small amounts at a time and IF you grind at a coarse setting and IF you then run some hard red wheat right after milling to clean the mill head, blades or stones. NO! Strike that! Do NOT try to mill peanuts, soy or sesame seeds with stones! It will KILL the stones. And it's not too good for anything else, either. Use a blender or food processor with a strong motor!

I have about 5 different ways to grind grains, most beans and some seeds to a flour.

1.) I have a wheat grinder. I bought if off of a guy that was moving and didn't want it. Paid $50 for a K-Tec mill. Such a deal! And after I talked about what I was going to grind with it and how to use it, he only half-jokingly wanted it back. No dice! This mill will grind all non-oily seeds, nuts, beans and grains. (Don't want to go making Peanut butter in the grain mill, it would kill it.)

When you mill, the grains/legumes/seeds must be CLEAN and FREE of debris or it will burn out your mill. Even LITTLE, TINY-TINY pieces of dirt/rocks will damage an impact mill. This is also a noisy machine and I mill OUTSIDE with it so I don't get flour dust in my house. It's a lot easier to just sweep off the porch than wipe up flour, mop the floor and clean off the wall like needs to be done when I mill in the house. This mill makes a very find flour - even on the coarsest setting, it's a pretty fine flour. And you can NOT make cracked wheat with this.

There are mills out there that don't make a mess. I just have one that DOES, but for $50, I'll just mill outside. My friend has a mill that is quiet and self-contained. It has one piece that the grain goes into and another piece that the milled flour goes into. The pieces are connected by an enclosed tube "shoot". Both of the pieces have tight-fitting lids on them, so there is no dust - EVER. Of course, she paid about $350 for hers. I'm too poor to afford that. lol And she can't make cracked wheat with hers either.

2a.) I have a "Back to Basics" mill. I bought it recently and I paid $50 for it. It turns easily. I can grind 2 cups of wheat in it in 1-2 minutes. It's not quite as fine a grind as my electric mill, but it works in a pinch or if you can't afford an electric mill. I use it to make a corn meal from popcorn that is a little more coarsely ground than my K-Tec makes - which is what I want for corn meal. I like it and wish I had bought it years ago instead of 2b. I can mill grains, seeds and legumes in it and I can also make cracked wheat with it.

2b.) I have 2 different hand mills. One is a "Little Ark". Paid WAY too much (about $175.00 nine or so years ago) for a very poor preforming mill. It does have both a set of stone grinding wheels and a set of metal burrs. Problem is, you either have to be a gorilla, have access to a gorilla or buy the parts and motorize it. And in case of power outage, you'd use it how??? It was supposed to be an "easy turning" model and it is NOT! I don't think it grinds all that well either. When I tried to get the pattern that was supposed to be included (so that the flour didn't go all over the place instead of into a bowl or pan), the company appeared to be out of business. I tried for years to get a contact for them to no avail. I can grind non-greasy grains, seeds and legumes in it, but it is VERY DIFFICULT to turn the handle. I can crack wheat in it, but again, it's VERY hard to do.

3.) Food processors will grind grains, legumes, seeds and nuts. It takes a lot longer to do with a food processor than in any of the mills. You don't want to try and grind too much at one time, but it has to be "enough" to grind. Usually about 1/3 to just under 1/2 of your processor bowl full is about right. It won't be as fine a grind as if it were in a mill. You can use a sifter to sift out the larger particles and regrind them, but it is time consuming. I used this method when I didn't have a mill. You can make cracked wheat as well as flour with this method. CAUTION: You can burn your motor out if you don't pay attention to what you're doing and let the motor rest when it starts to smell "hot"!

4.) Blenders will also grind grains on a high speed. My blender needs to have a 1 pint regular mouth mason jar attached to it instead of the regular blender jar. Most blenders will thread a 1 pint mason jar on their attachment ring so that you can use it to make smaller portions or to grind with it. Depending on the power of your blender, you can even make peanut and nut butters, but it takes a stronger motor or adding some oil to do it. Only fill the jar 1/2 full of grains/legumes to grind and know that it won't be as fine a grind as in a mill. You can use a sifter to sift out the larger particles and regrind them, but it is time consuming. I also used this method when I didn't have a mill. You can make cracked wheat as well as flour with this method. CAUTION: You can burn your motor out if you don't pay attention to what you're doing and let the motor rest when it starts to smell "hot"!

You can grind oatmeal in a blender very easily. Oatmeal has already been either flattened (rolled) or chopped (steel-cut) into smaller pieces, so the blender can handle it more easily. When my kids had chicken pox, I bought a package of that expensive stuff to put into the bath water. Then I read the ingredients and looked at what I was pouring into the water. I paid SIX BUCKS for 4 packets of ground oatmeal. That's what's IN those little packets. I know this, because I went in and ground my regular old oatmeal and it looked JUST LIKE the stuff from the packets! It WORKED just like the stuff in the packets. And with 3 little ones with Chicken pox, I went through the 4 packets in a couple of hours. Needless to say, I didn't buy any more of the packets! At the time, oatmeal was about $1.50 for the LARGE container that was a couple of pounds of oatmeal. Worth my 30 seconds of grinding to grind my own.


5.) Wallyworld has coffee grinders for about $10. They won't stand up to heavy duty usage, but you can grind spices and non-greasy legumes and seeds in them. You can also grind small amounts of wheat, but I think you'd probably burn out your motor if you tried to grind enough to make bread with it. It will grind beans enough for a couple of tablespoons to make bean flour with it, but I wouldn't try mill a cup or so of beans to a flour at one time. CAUTION: You can burn your motor out if you don't pay attention to what you're doing and let the motor rest when it starts to smell "hot"!

There is one other option for using wheat without a mill.

Blender pancakes

1 cup Whole Wheat Berries 1 1/4 cups water 3 Tbs dry powdered milk (non-instant; if you use instant it would be 1/3 C.)* 2 tsp Baking Powder 1- 1/2 tsp Salt 2 Tbs Sugar 2 eggs 2 tbs oil In blender, add 1-1/4 C. water and wheat kernels Blend on highest speed for 4 or 5 minutes (don’t worry it won’t hurt your blender, promise!) or until batter is smooth. Add dry ingredients, eggs and 2 T. oil Blend on low. Pour out batter into pancakes from the actual blender jar (only one thing to wash!) on to a hot greased or Pam prepared griddle or large frying pan. Cook; flipping pancakes when bubbles pop and create holes. One other tip. I double or triple pancake and waffle recipes, then freeze the extras. Nuke or put in toaster/toaster oven to reheat. And I use MORE THAN ONE PAN to cook them in. I have two waffle irons I use and 4 cast iron skillets for the pancakes. Makes it go SO much faster than doing one or two freaking pancakes at a time!

*Non-instant is a finer grind than "Instant". Non-instant is not found in most grocery stores. You have to get it from Food Storage places or in Utah at a regular store. Most grocery stores carry "Instant non-fat dry milk" in either store brands or name brands. Since the "non-instant" is a smaller powder than the "instant" it takes less of it to cook with. To use instant as "non-instant", either make the change in amount OR grind it in your blender or food processor until it's a powder instead of small "pebbles".