A little while ago, I noticed an error in one of my posts regarding wheat-to-flour conversions that needed correcting. I went ahead and corrected it in the original post, but figured many might not revisit that post any time soon. So I want to go ahead and make note of it again in a new post. So to set the record straight, lets talk again about converting wheat berries to flour and all those fun measurements.

Wheat-To-Flour Conversion

For the record, 1 cup of wheat berries will grind into just a little over 1½ cups of whole wheat flour. I’ve actually gotten close to 2 cups of flour on occasion, but for the sake of consistency and erring on the side of caution, I will use 1½ cups as my standard measurement.

Each 45-lb bucket of wheat has about 95 cups of wheat in it (yes, I sat and actually measured it out with Hubby double checking me to make sure this was accurate). So a 45-lb bucket of wheat will grind into about 150 cups of flour. Each 45-lb bucket is also equivalent to approximately 8 (#10) cans. So if you prefer to store #10 cans, simply multiply the recommended number of buckets listed below by 8 to get the total amount of #10 cans you should have.

How Much Wheat Should You Have?

Using a Food Storage Calculator (and please remember these are bare minimum suggestions):

• A family of 2 adults (no children) should have 300 lbs of wheat (this is 7 (45 lb) buckets)
• A family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children under age 7)= 450 lbs (this is 10 (45 lb) buckets)
• A family of 4 (all over age 7)= 600 lbs (this is 13.5 (45 lb) buckets)
• A family of 6 (4 adults, 2 under age 7)= 750 lbs (this is 17 (45 lb) buckets)
• A family of 6 (all over age 7)= 900 lbs (this is 20 (45 lb) buckets)
• A family of 8 (all over age 7)= 1200 lbs (this is 27 (45 lb) buckets)

Looking at it in terms of baking:

• To make one loaf of bread everyday for a year (based on THIS recipe) you would need 1300 cups of wheat flour (this is 9 (45 lb) buckets of wheat)
• To make one loaf of bread every other day for a year (based on THIS recipe) you would need 650 cups of wheat flour (this is 4.5 (45 lb) buckets of wheat)
• To make waffles (based on THIS recipe that feeds 4) two times a week for a year you would need 104 cups of wheat flour (this is .75 (45 lb) buckets of wheat)
• To make pancakes (based on THIS recipe that feeds 4-6) two times a week for a year you would need 156 cups of wheat flour (this is 1 (45 lb) bucket of wheat)
• And just for good measure, to make a batch of cookies (using THIS recipe) twice a month you would need 108 cups of wheat flour (this is .75 (45 lb) buckets of wheat)

Does that help to visualize things a little better? And there’s also a helpful post HERE to get the low down on the amounts it would take to be able to make bread for the year (a comprehensive list of ALL the ingredients in their total amounts).

And finally, if you’re not sure where to get wheat, Emergency Essentials® is my favorite place to get it. The price is awesome (and there’s even a discounted price if you order more than 4), it already comes in the bucket sealed and ready to store (versus other companies where it comes in a bag and you have to purchase the bucket separately or take it to a cannery and purchase cans to can it yourself), and you can buy as much as you want and not pay any more than $12 in shipping! So what I recommend doing is finding some friends and ordering a bunch together so you can split the shipping costs and also get the discounted rate on the buckets. Not to mention, you’re helping other people to get going on their food storage supply as well. Think of it as providing service.

Well, as always, have fun and good luck!