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Great article on bread in France
- Thread starter Jeff Grossman
- Start date
I have come to really appreciate the importance of wheat. The northeast corner of the Olympic peninsula is in the Olympic's rain shadow - believe it or not, rainfall as low as 13 inches annually. But they have tons of irrigation potential - clear mountain rivers - close at hand.
There are some terrific organic farms in the rainshadow. The biggie is Nash's. They grow wheat! And OMG, what wheat it is. Incredibly tasty. I use it for pancakes all the time.
Then there is Barn Owl Bread, which is able to source at least some of its wheat on Lopez Island where they are located. They are dry farmed.
Has anyone tried Einkorn wheat? Very ancient, non hybridized wheat, they claim like 12k years old?
All these wheats are so good, and also just make me feel good - great staying power, unlike all the crap processed stuff.
Brian C would certainly have something to say about all this.
There are some terrific organic farms in the rainshadow. The biggie is Nash's. They grow wheat! And OMG, what wheat it is. Incredibly tasty. I use it for pancakes all the time.
Then there is Barn Owl Bread, which is able to source at least some of its wheat on Lopez Island where they are located. They are dry farmed.
Has anyone tried Einkorn wheat? Very ancient, non hybridized wheat, they claim like 12k years old?
All these wheats are so good, and also just make me feel good - great staying power, unlike all the crap processed stuff.
Brian C would certainly have something to say about all this.
Yes, great article. I can't get into the local terroir debates. But since I started buying flour from local guys who grow their own organic wheats (and other grains), and then mill shortly before coming to the market, I can't go back to supermarket flour. As always, the shorter production chain and more natural growing process gives flours that are so much more alive and delicious.
originally posted by Rahsaan:
Yes, great article. I can't get into the local terroir debates. But since I started buying flour from local guys who grow their own organic wheats (and other grains), and then mill shortly before coming to the market, I can't go back to supermarket flour. As always, the shorter production chain and more natural growing process gives flours that are so much more alive and delicious.
Enjoyed the article as well and had completely missed it when it came out. I liked the local NC wheat, but it is soft wheat so the resulting bread just does not have the gluten structure of the northern flours, such as Canadian red fife. You should ask Rob at Chicken Bridge about them; I believe he used to bake a local wheat loaf.
Barn Owl, for me, is the most inspiring bakery in our area (and my favorite local bread by a long shot).originally posted by BJ:
Let's talk wheatI have come to really appreciate the importance of wheat. The northeast corner of the Olympic peninsula is in the Olympic's rain shadow - believe it or not, rainfall as low as 13 inches annually. But they have tons of irrigation potential - clear mountain rivers - close at hand.
There are some terrific organic farms in the rainshadow. The biggie is Nash's. They grow wheat! And OMG, what wheat it is. Incredibly tasty. I use it for pancakes all the time.
Then there is Barn Owl Bread, which is able to source at least some of its wheat on Lopez Island where they are located. They are dry farmed.
Has anyone tried Einkorn wheat? Very ancient, non hybridized wheat, they claim like 12k years old?
All these wheats are so good, and also just make me feel good - great staying power, unlike all the crap processed stuff.
Brian C would certainly have something to say about all this.
And the bread lab in Mount Vernon is a really special and unique mashup of artisan baking, academic breeding and research, and culinary collaboration. Its some of the most innovative work in the region around food and agriculture. Really world class and worth perusing what they are up to on their site. click
originally posted by mark e:
You should ask Rob at Chicken Bridge about them; I believe he used to bake a local wheat loaf.
Isn't all of his flour from local wheat? I know these guys are one of his sources, and now that they come to market, they've become my source as well. (But I don't bake bread, the core uses are pancakes, pizza, quiche, polenta). This is another of his sources, also local.
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by mark e:
You should ask Rob at Chicken Bridge about them; I believe he used to bake a local wheat loaf.
Isn't all of his flour from local wheat? I know these guys are one of his sources, and now that they come to market, they've become my source as well. (But I don't bake bread, the core uses are pancakes, pizza, quiche, polenta). This is another of his sources, also local.
Right. I think most of his stuff comes from Lindley, which is local. Not sure everything they mill at Lindley is grown locally, though. If you are not making bread I think a bit lower protein content is fine; for bagels definitely not. (This phrase on Red Tail's site is a bit ambiguous though: "We are striving towards reducing the amount of mechanical tillage we now rely upon in order to build soil organic matter, but it is quite difficult without the use of herbicides.") So, perhaps not organically grown.
originally posted by Rahsaan:
But I still feel better about what they're doing than anything 'organic' I might buy in the supermarket.
Your choice, 'course. The reason I don't share the view of many who say better local than organic, is that those farms that are using agricultural chemicals are polluting the soil and waterways close to where I live.
Fair enough, although I wouldn't go as far as juxtaposing local over organic. Everything is local for someone and there's clearly plenty of crap being produced!
In this case, the guys are clearly working hard and producing a quality product and certainly not indiscriminately spraying Roundup. So there is a spectrum. But you point about the details is well taken. Will talk with them.
In this case, the guys are clearly working hard and producing a quality product and certainly not indiscriminately spraying Roundup. So there is a spectrum. But you point about the details is well taken. Will talk with them.
originally posted by Brian C:
Barn Owl, for me, is the most inspiring bakery in our area (and my favorite local bread by a long shot).originally posted by BJ:
Let's talk wheatI have come to really appreciate the importance of wheat. The northeast corner of the Olympic peninsula is in the Olympic's rain shadow - believe it or not, rainfall as low as 13 inches annually. But they have tons of irrigation potential - clear mountain rivers - close at hand.
There are some terrific organic farms in the rainshadow. The biggie is Nash's. They grow wheat! And OMG, what wheat it is. Incredibly tasty. I use it for pancakes all the time.
Then there is Barn Owl Bread, which is able to source at least some of its wheat on Lopez Island where they are located. They are dry farmed.
Has anyone tried Einkorn wheat? Very ancient, non hybridized wheat, they claim like 12k years old?
All these wheats are so good, and also just make me feel good - great staying power, unlike all the crap processed stuff.
Brian C would certainly have something to say about all this.
And the bread lab in Mount Vernon is a really special and unique mashup of artisan baking, academic breeding and research, and culinary collaboration. Its some of the most innovative work in the region around food and agriculture. Really world class and worth perusing what they are up to on their site. click
We had a loaf of that Bread Lab bread from somewhere - Met Market? It was great.
Hope you are well Brian. I have been enjoying the beauty of the speckled Austrian lettuce grown from seed in my planter boxes!
Jim Hanlon
Jim Hanlon
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Great article on bread in FranceYou may encounter a paywall but, anyway, a great article in The New Yorker last month concerning bread and terroir and life generally: click
If you enjoyed the article, then I recommend Buford's new book Dirt. The article is taken from it.