25 We... Have... BREAD!

"So what exactly was the total yield, Master? Was it better than expected?"

Crima lowered herself to the ground beside me and watched as I continued husking the various heads of wheat we had harvested, setting them into a bowl and preparing to peel them open and extract the kernels inside, which I would sift to remove the worst of the chaff as I prepared them to be ground down into a flour.

"Um... Crima, I am excellent at many things, but math is not one of them, despite it seeming to be the case. However, if it is an estimate you want, then I think we managed to obtain around 15,000 kernels total, and on top of that, as you can see... they are much, much longer and thicker than normal kernels, so they weigh more too... if I had to guess, we have around nine to eleven pounds of kernels here, which will be a good amount of flour going by the rough 3~4 cups per pound that I remember."

The Wolfkin nodded and fell quiet, watching me as I started to open the various heads up and allowed the kernels to fall into the bowl, and after I did that to the third one she began to help, mimicking me perfectly.

"So does that mean that the wheat we plant with these kernels might be different?"

The pitter patter of the kernels spilling into the bowl was such a joyous sound for me, and it made me really happy as I worked with a smile on my face - a smile that grew as I answered "I certainly hope so, Crima! These are higher quality seeds than what we initially planted, so in theory they should grow a higher quality crop. Now what exactly that means is entirely up to speculation; it could be of a different taste, higher mana quality and therefore a longer shelf life, it could have more heads, it could even have multiple shoots instead of just one per seed planted! We just won't know until they grow!"

"Interesting... and if you had to give them a price? How much would you need to sell for a single gold?"

I paused for a moment as I glanced at Crima, the Wolfkin pausing too as she looked back at me and waited for her answer, only to frown as I asked "Crima... have you ever seen anyone sell wheat seeds for any amount of gold? It's rare. But I guess... usually it's like a 200:1 ratio... you get a LOT of seeds from most crops. For these though... we will need to see. Honestly though, unless it's something incredible that grows from the kernels we just harvested, I don't plan on selling off anything we harvest. It's going to be our staple food, after all."

That made her nod again, and we fell back into a comfortable silence as we got the kernels separated and sifted, and after that was done we moved into the manor and got to work on the table, taking some pestles and grinding the seeds down into the pale brown powder that would become the very best thing to ever exist ever in this entire world!

BREAD!

Whole wheat bread at that too, which is even tastier since it has all the flavor of the wheat kernel instead of just the single part that makes simple flour.

I much preferred whole wheat flour anyways since it had more nutrients and flavor anyways, and as we got to work grinding down the literal thousands of kernels we had harvested, I had to go and grab a new container to store the flour in as we just kept grinding, producing a good amount of flour that we could use for later...

Or now, and even though the sun was beginning its descent, I wanted to go ahead and start now, so I asked the Wolfkin "Can you head out and begin working on the construction of the compost bin? We have the materials, it just needs to be put together."

"Certainly Master. Am I to assume we'll have an early dinner then? Venison sandwiches with some of that potato powder..?"

"Sounds good to me~!"

She chuckled and nodded, heading outside and leaving me to begin baking the bread that I wanted so badly, and for that I would need water, yeast, flour, and a dash of salt, all of which I had on hand thankfully; I would need to start making my own yeast, but things like salt and and sugar were out of reach for the moment, so I would need to buy them.

Though sugar was something I could eventually produce for myself as well, I just needed the right kind of soil and environment for either sugar cane or sugar beets, and on that same vein I could produce the grains needed to make my own beer as well...

Or grapes for wine, which I was far more partial to anyways; additionally, I could grow what I needed for me to keep some bees to produce honey, or if I made enough gold I could buy the seeds for Honeytrees...

Instead of sap, they produce honey; fun things made possible because of magic~!

Anyways, gathering the various powders and liquids I needed, I heated the oven up and began to combine the powders and liquids together, kneading them into a combined dough that I then folded into itself a few times.

When it was ready, I used a dash of flour to ensure it wouldn't stick to the brick tray I had as I slid it into the oven, before returning to the counter and getting started on loaf number two... and then three and four.

Not five though, since it is just the two of us for right now, and also because I was already down to 25% of my flour after doing this, but as I laid out each loaf on the table, I didn't really care as a giant grin split my face.

That warm, addictive smell of freshly baked bread filled the kitchen, and the sight of four fluffy, golden brown loaves made my heart flutter in ways that were far too similar to what happened when Crima and I had sex.