I did the first test of the harvest a day or two after we finished in the field. The dough was springy and easy to work with. I think it is a winner! Can't wait to get a sample to the bakery and hear what the pros think. I will also bake some loaves as soon as I have time.
It will be another week or two before I can get the harvest cleaned and bagged locally. In the mean time, I drove out to Hubbleton, WI, with 5 bushels to get some bakery samples cleaned on this Clipper 47 BD. This is a three screen machine that is not set up for small quantities, but the owner was kind enough to accommodate me. I had to carry the bags up two ladders to dump the grain into the hopper.
The machine was set up with a 16 round hole scalper, a 14 round hole scalper, and a 1/13 x 1/2 sifting screen. The grain was cleaned well except for a few unthreshed berries that are sneaking through. Without a de-bearder, I don't know if all this can be removed. I would like to try increasing the fan next time to see if some of this will blow out. The seed cleaner in Racine plans to run the harvest through twice so I am hopeful about getting this last stubborn bit out of the product.
I immediately dropped a sample in the mail to Great Plains Analytic Laboratory. Can't wait to get the results!!!
