Content:
Introduction
Making the flour (video)
Bake bannock or flatbread
Classification as emergency food
Oaks, and therefore acorns, are among the most widespread trees and fruits in the northern hemisphere. With a little effort, a very high-energy dough can be made from the acorns, which can be further processed in a variety of ways. However, this is quite bitter.
Making the flour
The production of the flour is quite complex. It is therefore worthwhile to produce a larger quantity right away in order to have a supply. Also ideal as a supply.
Peel. The best way to peel the collected acorns is to break the shell with a blow of the hammer and then peel it with your fingers.
Water. The acorns now have to be watered several times so that the bitter tannins are washed out. In the beginning the water is very brown very quickly. It gets clearer every time. The acorns are welcome to water for 24 hours. Soda powder in the water should improve the result (if available).
Peel. The brown skin around the light core should be removed. This works fine manually as long as they are wet.
Dry. Depending on the weather, the acorns can be dried in the sun for several days or, as in a film, at a low temperature on a fireplace or stove.
Chop coarsely. The dried acorns can be roughly chopped with an old meat grinder or with stones or a knife.
Grind finely. In order to get flour, it must now be finely ground. This can be done with a manual grinder (if available) or between two stones. Stone meal is then, so to speak, an addition of minerals (* 1).
Stock. The flour has a long shelf life when dry. As with all flour, watch out for insects that like the flour too.
In the video I show the entire process of making the flour (duration: 6 min)
Bake bannock or flatbread
It has worked well for me to knead the dough quite wet. In classic recipes, the acorn flour is mixed about 1: 1 with wheat flour to get a tough dough. The problem is that acorn flour contains little or no gluten. This is the protein glue in the flour and makes it impossible to process the pure acorn flour into bread because it crumbles.
In an emergency it can be assumed that salt, oil, baking powder, yeast and wheat flour will not be available.
If so, this should be mixed in. (see below)
If not, the dough just needs to be made with water. If fresh or dried berries are available, this can be added. It improves the taste. Or the dough is used as a kind of pizza dough and then topped. But beware! As written, it is very friable.
I do not recommend using the dough to make flat cakes that are too thin and bake them directly on a hot stone or pan in the fire.
Bake with wheat flour, salt, baking powder and oil
The result is significantly better if you mix the acorn flour 1: 1 with wheat flour.
The gluten is an excellent glue in the dough and results in a smooth dough. 1 sachet of baking powder and a little salt improve the texture and taste of the dough.
Baked as a bannock or thick cakes in a covered pan over medium heat, the taste is much milder and more suitable for everyday use.
The finished Bannock can be stored and consumed for days.
Classification as emergency food
Acorn flour dough is an excellent, high-energy, high-quality food in a survival situation.
The fruits of the tree can be collected in large quantities under oak trees with little expenditure of energy and time until spring.
The processing is tedious and time-consuming, but the dried acorns or the flour can be stored and stockpiled for a long time. I myself have been able to store this for over 1 year without any problems.
The taste is dry and bitter. That certainly takes getting used to. It is therefore a good idea to use this as a high-calorie side dish.
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(* 1) Stones are a mixture of minerals. Finely ground are valuable elements such as Ca, Mg, K, Ca, Na, Si, etc., which the body can absorb in traces. For example, in contrast to rainwater, spring water has numerous minerals because it flows through the rock.
