We’ve all heard the saying: buy local. But this concept doesn’t just apply to harvests and vegetables. Grains like wheat and corn grow in the state, and their flours deserve to be a staple on any locavore’s shopping list. The benefits of adding them to your nutrition go beyond simply making it richer. delicious.
“Having access to local food sources is vital when we are experiencing disruption,” says Audrey Paugh, marketing and networking specialist at Colorado Grain Chain. “Climate change, COVID-19 and even the problems that are happening lately in Ukraine. . . All of these highlight the continuing trajectory of lower predictability [in the global food system]. “
That’s why Colorado Grain Chain, a nonprofit made up of bakers, brewers, maltsters, millers, distillers, farmers, and consumers, advocates for strengthening Colorado’s grain economy. “Our goal is to raise awareness, educate and facilitate business. connections focused on the nutrition of total grains, as well as the environment of local development of a variety of cereals,” says Paugh.
Colorado’s unique developmental conditions, coupled with limited access to water, a short development season, and relatively poor soil health, make farming challenging, to say the least. But developing grains adapted to Colorado’s climate and supporting the efforts of wholesalers and customers is helping to protect the livelihoods of those farmers and their land.
Fresh, local flours also add a lot of flavor. To help you get the most out of them in your own kitchen, we spoke to a few bakers, millers, and farmers to find out their recommendations. If you were to let someone else do the While Baking, check out the Colorado Grain Chain club map to locate bakeries and restaurants that are part of the movement.
Located on tribal lands in southwestern Colorado, the Bow brand
Using qualified non-GMO seeds, yellow, blue, and white corn is planted on a sufficient acreage to protect against cross-pollination. Water, or lack thereof, is a big fear for Martinez and his team. “We farm in the desert,” he explains. Ninety percent of it goes through the Dolores River. ” To alleviate drought-related problems, the farm and ranch are looking to keep their water consumption to a minimum. ” We want to be more aware of what the weather allows us to do right now. “Martinez says, “We’re at the mercy of the water. “
In addition to selling wholesale to regional brands, Denver-based Raquelitas Tortilas and Arizona-based Hayden Flour Mills, the mill at the Bow site
Ordering Arch Cornmeal
In the small town of Hugo, in the eastern plains of Colorado, Kevin and Laura Poss run Grains From the Plains, a farm with 1,000 acres of land, of which about 330 acres are dedicated to growing wheat in arid (unirrigated) areas.
“We are traditional farmers; We don’t use chemicals. We till the land to kill the weeds and we started that procedure around May 1,” says Kevin, a fourth-generation Lincoln County farmer. “I plant wheat in September. It grows just a little and then takes a nap for the winter. It begins to develop in February and harvesting begins in mid-July.
The Poss grow other types of wheat year after year. The varieties that are available now, which can be purchased in the form of grains or flours, come with Turkey Red, a relic of the 19th century; Scout 66, a traditional variety also grown by Kevin’s grandfather; and Hatcher, a trendy strain from Colorado State University, which Laura dubbed Rustic Red for marketing purposes.
Laura recommends Scout 66 and Rustic Red for bread, and Turkey Red as all-purpose flour. “If I could only have one type of wheat, I would choose Turkey Red,” he says. Flour is milled to order and shipped in 24 hours or less. “The postman arrives at 10:40 a. m. ; we shred him at 9 a. m. The visitor will receive it at the Denver domain the next day,” says Laura. “I think we have the most up-to-date flour information in the state. “
Place your order through the Grains From the Plains website.
In 2010, Chris Sullivan founded Mountain Oven in Crested Butte, then partnered with Dana Whitcomb and moved to Paonia to open his organic bakery and mill in 2018. “We verify the origin as much as possible,” Sullivan says. Our project and purpose is to help develop a revitalized grain economy in the North Fork Valley and on the West Slope. “
Around 60% of the flour used in the bakery is milled in-house, with the aim of reaching 100%. ” The main flour in our bread program is a sifted flour that we make from a mixture of red spring durum wheat and durum wheat. Sullivan’s team adds water to the grains to better separate the bran (the outer skin) from the endosperm (most of the inside of the grain, which contains starch and carbohydrates). This has an effect of 80 to 85% extraction flour, which means that unlike a cheap and very subtle all-purpose flour sold in the supermarket, it contains some of the bran and germ found in a typical total wheat mixture.
Mountain Oven’s diversity of bagged flours includes this sifted bread flour and 4 others: monograin flours made from Blanco Sonora and Rouge de Bordeaux wheat, a total blend of wheat, and a total rye flour. ” We just wrote more Western Slope in the bakery, “So we’re starting to formulate with that right now,” Sullivan adds. “We also hope to have spelt flour available. “
Sifted bread flour is strong and flavorful, and is great for bread, pizza, and pasta. Low-protein White Sonora is ideal for desserts, such as cookies, muffins, scones, pie crusts, pancakes, and waffles. Rouge de Bordeaux and whole wheat flours are flexible and work well in almost any whole wheat recipe. And rye imparts a nutty, malty flavor. “We incorporate it in lower percentages,” Sullivan says. Even 10 percent rye in a loaf or pie provides a pretty broad flavor complexity. “
Shop at the Paonia bakery or a spouse’s shop in the region.
In 2015, delinquent Andy Clark founded the first bakery, Moxie Bread Co. in Louisville, which expanded to places north of Boulder and Lyon, as well as a wholesale stone mill.
Moxie sources grains from farms in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. “We ourselves are revolutionaries because we don’t sift our flour,” says Kalyn Pembridge, the miller’s boss. “[Clark believed] that you can heal your gut by keeping all the nutrients in it. “
Moxie offers more than 10 other flours, some wheat-based and some not. Pembridge recommends Moxie’s red wheat flour as a popular product, especially for amateur bakers, and its white wheat flours for making cookies. Special flours, such as einkorn, emmer, spelt and kamut, are denser and deserve to be used basically to flavour with more traditional wheat flours.
“The only explanation I’m here and doing this is because I’m in regenerative agriculture, sustainability, and reducing our carbon footprint,” Pembridge adds. “You create a genuine network by buying from local farmers and producers. “
Moxie sells flour at its Louisville, North Boulder and Lyon locations, as well as at Lucky’s Market in Boulder and Fort Collins and Leeevers Locavore in Denver.
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