“Flour is one of the most important ingredients, but half of the time it’s so torn apart – it’s bleached and bromated and made into a product where you don’t get any of the nuance, flavors, textures and nutrition. That’s what attracted me to ancient grains.”
Rich in fiber, iron and B vitamins, rye flour varies widely in flavor based on how much of the rye kernel is present. The more rye kernel there is, the darker the flour will be, leading to a more intense rye flavor and often a denser texture in the final product. “Rye is phenomenal,” says baker Bryan Russo, who uses dark rye flour from
rye
Janie’s Mill in the biscuits at Songbird in St. Louis. “I don’t even know where to start because when I think of rye I think of one thing, but when I think of the dark rye that we use from Janie’s, it’s a whole different category and a new smell. That’s the only way to put it:
–Bryan Russo, Songbird in St. Louis
When you smell it, you won’t forget it.” And it’s good for much more than savory applications: Neighbor’s Mill, for instance, uses rye flour in its
Where to Buy
decadent salted chocolate rye cookies. “Rye has a wonderful floral quality, even just smelling it on its own,” says Clif Brown. “It pairs well with more
Locally Milled Flour
unusual applications like in a cookie or a sweet
Heartland Mill
bread. That beautiful floral quality to rye flour really comes through with the chocolate.” PHOTO by paige mcdonald
< Songbird Rye Biscuits
Millet
Based in Marienthal, Kansas, Heartland Mill specializes in Kansas wheat, including heirloom Turkey Red and Golden Buffalo, along with barley, millet, spelt and light and dark rye flours. heartlandmill.com Knead Bakehouse and Provisions
Once dismissed as simply bird feed, millet has seen a surge in popularity due to both its health benefits – it’s naturally gluten-free and full of protein, fiber and antioxidants – and mildly sweet flavor. A cereal grain, millet is cultivated from
In addition to its beloved sourdough and pastries, Knead Bakehouse and Provisions in St. Louis offers a variety of pantry staples for curbside pickup, including 1½-pound bags of stone-ground, lightly sifted flour from Janie’s Mill (as well as its 8-year-old sourdough starter). kneadbakehouse.com
approximately 50 different species of small-seeded grasses and is a staple
Neighbor’s Mill Bakery & Café
crop throughout parts of Africa and
At its two Springfield, Missouri, locations, Neighbor’s Mill Bakery & Café sells 2- and 5-pound bags of spelt and whole-wheat flour milled in house, in addition to sourdough starter. neighborsmill.com
Asia (millet flour is a key ingredient in roti, an Indian flatbread, and bánh đa kê, a Vietnamese sweet snack). Because it has a light, mild flavor, it’s easy to sub into both sweet and savory recipes, from cookies and cakes to biscuits and breads. “Millet is a softer one with some sweeter notes,” says AJ Brown. “It tends to have more of that ricey corn flavor. It’s more similar to quinoa in the way that it tastes.” PHOTO by paige mcdonald
. Knead Bakehouse and Provisions Rustic Millet Loaf 36
feastmagazine.com / m ay 2 0 2 1
Janie’s Mill
A favorite of bakeries across the Midwest, Janie’s Mill in Ashkum, Illinois, grows and mills heirloom and hybrid grain varieties, including buckwheat, einkorn, light and dark rye and spelt. janiesmill.com
To learn more about the organic grain grown at Janie’s Mill, visit feastmagazine.com.
