that simple loaf of bread?

Wheat harvest is upon us and in this moment-- pre harvest-- if feels as if the dice are suspended in the air and we-- the farmer, miller, and baker-- are simply waiting for them to land. 

What do we millers and bakers hope for? Quality wheat with good baking performance! 

But what quality characteristics equate to good baking performance and how is the miller to determine if a lot of wheat deems worthy of purchasing from a farmer?

To begin with, on the farmer’s end-- beyond yield-- the first measure of his/or her grain is test weight. Test weight is a good overall indicator to both farmer and miller as to the quality of the wheat, as it measures the density-- or how filled out the grain kernel is. It also may indicate-- if low test weight is detected-- the presence of diseased kernels. Grain is accounted for in bushels, which is a volume measurement, and a bushel of wheat is about 60 lbs (though this may vary a bit with the variety). In general, 56 lb. test weight of unclean grain is the minimum acceptable test weight for a miller. Low test weight can be caused by poor growing conditions, disease, or sprout damage. Cleaning grain, especially running it over a gravity table, can increase test weight by vetting damaged and diseased kernels.

The next test a farmer’s grain must undergo is testing for mycotoxin deoxinivalenol (DON), also known as vomitoxin. DON (or vomitoxin) is caused by the Fusarium fungus commonly known as head blight. Cool wet weather around flowering time can threaten even an extraordinary stand of wheat. High levels of vomitoxin can be visibly detected in a field by a pink hue over the crop. When ingested, high levels can cause vomiting and diarrhea in humans and livestock. The FDA has set a maximum DON guideline of 1ppm for human consumption, but to many a miller the acceptable threshold for organic human food grains is essentially zero. On the farm end, if Fusarium is identified, the grower can reduce levels in a crop by turning the air up on his or/her combine at harvest to blow out the lighter, diseased kernels. Post harvest, the grain should be cleaned well, especially run over a gravity table. Good crop rotations and seeking resistant varieties of wheat can also help alleviate future disease pressure. And of course, hopes and prayers for good weather never hurt.

Yet another test wheat is subjected to if said crop hopes to land with a miller (and into a loaf of bread) is falling numbers. A falling numbers test determines the level of enzymatic activity in a lot of grain, and in doing so indicates whether there has been (pre harvest) sprout damage to the crop. Heavy sprout damage can be extremely problematic to the baker, as flour made with this grain will have reduced mixing strength, produce sticky dough, and affect a loaf’s volume and shelf life. A small amount of heavily sprouted grain-- as low as 5%-- mixed with a lot of sound grain may deem the whole lot unacceptable for a baker. 

On the farm end, sprout damage becomes a threat with the onset of wet weather around harvest. Certain varieties of wheat are more susceptible than others, with white wheats being more susceptible than red wheats. 

The falling numbers test measures the number of seconds a plunger takes to fall through a slurry of flour. The less viscous the slurry, the greater the enzymatic activity (the enzyme-- alpha-amylase-- is starch degrading) and the quicker the plunger will fall. (High enzymatic activity is the indicator of the sprouting process, btw.) The falling number is the number of seconds the plunger takes to fall. Falling numbers of 300 and above are deemed sound wheat. 200 and below are unacceptable for a mill.  Somewhere in the range of 250 to 300 are usually the minimums set by flour mills. 

And still more tests! The baker needs quality protein. Gliadins and glutenins are the gluten-forming proteins in wheat that enable the baker to make a leavened, lofty, loaf of bread. These proteins provide the extensibility and elasticity to dough. While testing for protein in wheat does provide a measurement of wheat’s quality, it is still quite possible to have a high protein number and yet poor quality wheat or the other way around-- a low pro number with high quality performance. The protein number is somewhat one dimensional and so without a bake test and/or the use of a farinograph (lab equipment which measures extensibility, elasticity, and water absorption of dough) it is difficult to fully determine the quality of wheat. Although diverse crop rotations aimed at building soil fertility, well timed field application of nutrients, seed variety choice, and good weather all factor in when it comes to producing a quality crop of wheat.

And lest we forget the quality of the baker. From the miller's end, we can convey part of the story--what we received from the grower (the falling numbers, protein, test weight, hardness), the variety that was planted, who grew it and where-- and how and when it was milled. But we leave it to the baker to engage with their flour. Each baker will approach his or her dough differently-- fermentation times vary as do mix times, leavenings, and ovens. The baker too will interact with the weather-- ambient humidity, heat, cold -- and with each season, a new crop. 

And so that simple loaf of bread-- of wheat, water, and sea salt; sun, soil, and rain-- is not so simple after all. 

from the ground up,

jennifer lapidus 

Has it really been this long since my last post....

Has it really been close to 6 months since my last post?? Ugh. Well, it's been fairly busy on this end-- making flour, expanding our markets, building our website (check us out at carolinaground.com), continuing our work to rebuild the local food system for grains and other crops in rotation...  Okay, after that last statement I  feel a little justified for this lapse in time, although I am determined to post more often....

We just received another truckload of wheat from grower Billy Carter of Eagle Springs, NC. Billy’s grain bin is now empty, with a nice window of time to get thoroughly cleaned out, and remain grain free until harvest, which is a little more than a month away. This is good for Billy and his grain, as it is one part of a larger strategy the organic grower hopes to employ in addressing the ever present threat of granary weevils. Because the organic grower cannot simply spray down his (or her) grain and bin with Storicide or similar insecticide, the approach must be to avoid infestation through vigilance in harvest, cleaning, and handling of grain, as well as a nice dose of food-grade diatomaceous earth mixed in with the grain (one pound per ton of grain).

In an ideal world, all our Carolina organic grain growers will have sold all of their grain by March or early April and all the bins would sit empty. In this ideal world, we would be importing very little if not zero grain from the midwest. All of our breads, pastries, miso, beer and spirits would be made from our growers’ grain. The threat of weevils would be reduced because grain would be in constant flow (not still sitting in the bin until right before the next harvest.)

Although we have not yet achieved that ideal scenario, we’re thrilled to have received another truckload of wheat from Billy, and to be the reason his bin is empty. Our bakers love the flour made from the grain grown on his fields.  And we love our bakers and our growers.

Here’s to kneading local!


from the ground up,
Jennifer Lapidus

Holiday Bazaar-- Noon to 4pm tomorrow on UNCA campus

Come look for our flour tomorrow at the Holiday Bazaar (hosted by the North Asheville Tailgate market) on the UNCA campus from noon-4pm.
Also, we are taking orders at the bazaar for larger-- 5#, 10#, and 25# -- sizes to be delivered at the following week's bazaar. Come get your local flour for holiday baking!

Carolina Ground flour available for sale to the public!

Carolina Ground flour will be available for sale to the public at the 10th annual Holiday Bazaar, Saturday Dec 1, 8, 15, & 22, on the UNCA campus from Noon-4

If your following this blog, you likely realize that closing the distance between the farmer and baker is a key piece to the re-localization of a sustainable foods system. It took us over three years of work, but we finally launched Carolina Ground, our micro milling facility linking Carolina grain growers with Carolina bakers. And here at Carolina Ground, we are not only closing the gap between farmer and baker (since most bread grain/flour is shipped in from a good 1000 miles away), but we're doing so in the spirit of artisan food craft. Carolina Ground employs a process known as ‘cold milling’ to produce intact flours-- bread, pastry and rye flour, whole grain and sifted-- that are both nutrient rich and flavor forward. 

We've been selling our flour to Carolina bakeries since April, but getting our product out to you, the general public, has not really been happening until now...or at least right now, this month, for the holiday season. [Drum roll please....] 

Carolina Ground flours will be available for sale to the public at the 10th annual Holiday Bazaar, (hosted by the North Asheville Market) on the UNCA campus, starting this Saturday, December 1, from noon-4, and continuing every Saturday throughout the month of December heading up to Xmas: Dec 1, 8, 15, & 22, from noon-4.

Manning the table at the Bazaar is our very own Tara Jensen (our newest hire!), who also owns and operates Smoke Signals Bakery  producing beautiful laminate dough pastries and naturally leavened breads made with Carolina Ground flour! She will be selling her lovely baked goods alongside our flour. (And I've heard rumors that in another week or two the Riverbend Malt House may be joining us at our table with some home brew kits for sale.)

from the ground up,

jennifer

Of Carolina ground

A month since my last post...  I was readying myself for a trip to the Triangle to promote our flour, was reflecting deeply on the challenges we face with this mill, and that very process of blogging convinced me to head into the bakery (before heading to the Triangle). I exchanged coveralls and respirator (miller's garb) for apron and headscarf (the baker!), fed cultures, fired oven, and mixed dough. Working with new crop TAM 303, a hard red winter wheat grown in Moore county by Billy Carter, blended with Appalachian White, a hard white winter wheat grown in Mt Ulla by Buddy Hofner, I tested two flours: whole wheat and Type 80 (20 parts sifted out)-- so this was a blend of two different wheats-- a red wheat and a white wheat-- milled whole grain (whole wheat), and sifted. With the whole wheat I made pita, hearth loaves, and pan loaves. With our Type 80, I made focaccia, hearth loaves, and pan loaves. I had not had my hands in dough for a couple years, so I was a bit nervous as to how this would play out, but the doughs came together well, felt pliant and easy to work with. I realize that in my bakery I have the benefit of working with long slow ferments, mixing by hand, and being the sole baker. These flours responded well to my techniques. But I am reminded of the Rumi quote which I have always associated with baking: There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth. No two bakeries are alike.  Their techniques vary from straight doughs (yeasted), to sponge with a pinch of yeast, to solely natural leavenings. And within each technique, there are a variety of ways to get there. And most of the bakeries have production teams, not sole bakers. What I have heard from the bakers is that in their production cycle, the NC flours display certain characteristics unique to these flours. [I intend to interview a couple bakers in future posts to get their words, verbatim.] But when tended to properly, the results have been wonderful. The rye flour seems to be an easy win for all the bakeries, although the color is darker than many are used to, the flavor is extraordinary. And really, this uniqueness that we are discovering, is this not the very definition of the term terrior?  That unique quality conveying the flavor and texture of place, of Carolina ground.

So one of the exciting developments that resulted from my trip to the Triangle was an order for 2000lb of flour (whole wheat and rye) that went out to La Farm Bakery in Cary. If you reside in the Triangle and would like to taste the terrior of NC in a well crafted loaf of bread, head to the NC State Fair where La Farm is set up within the North Carolina Education Building through Sunday.

from the ground up,
jennifer

We just received our first truckload of 2012 Wrens Abruzzi Rye (from grower Billy Carter/ Moore Co) and Turkey Red and NuEast wheat  (from growers father/son duo, Kenny and Ben Haines/ Chowan Co). We’ve almost emptied our last totes of 2011 rye and hard red winter wheat, so watching our mill room fill back up feels like the natural ebb and flow of this mill, reflective of the seasons. Planting is just a couple months away. We  must assess our acreage and variety needs for 2013. 

One of the many challenges we face with this project is that as a pioneering effort, we have no wave to ride or example to follow. Back when I was a baker, it seemed all I had to do was bake the best bread out there, and the business would succeed. Everyone eats bread. Bread sells. Selling flour is not quite that simple. Comparing our flour to that of the milling industry is like comparing apples to peaches, in that both are fruit, both are round, but they are different species all together. Our wholegrain flours are extraordinary. The 48 inches that span our stones create a fine flour with a uniform consistency. And yet, the brunt of what most bakeries use is not whole grain flour. I tell the bakers, when offering samples of our sifted flour-- a stone ground flour whose germ is crushed into the endosperm, spreading its oils, nutrients, and flavor, with just the larger bran sifted out-- that this beige flour is the flour that those recipes that call for both whole wheat and white flour are trying to recreate. We chose stone because we saw no better way to showcase these regionally produced grains than cold milling between stone-- preserving both nutrients and flavor, and conveying a taste of our region. We are a  tradition of a different time and a different place, so finding our place here and now is part of the work necessary in rebuilding a unique sustainable local food system. 

The other day, a lead baker at one of the larger bakeries we are working with pulled me and Stewart (our new hire/miller-in-training) aside to show us the hamburger buns he’d made with our Type 55 bread flour (45 parts sifted out). Said baker was elated. The quality of this flour had him. He was able to use a half ounce less dough in each bun and achieve the same size through loft. The flavor was pronounced. His eyes sparkled as he described working with the dough made from this flour. He said, now this is quality. And yet this flour-- the more refined flour we are producing-- is a hard stretch in terms of price point for a larger bakery. And so sadly he only gets to play with the samples I offer up to him for experimentation. We, as a craft mill, are hard pressed to compete with the speed and efficiency of the milling industry’s roller milling technology. But we are not trying to be that ‘white flour.’  We are something all together different. We have opted for quality above quantity, and still, we face the challenge of defining ourselves, finding our niche, and simply moving product. 

Next week I travel to the triangle region to meet with various bakeries that have shown interest in supporting NC grain growers.You readers out there from the triangle region, look out of our ‘made with Carolina Ground Flour’ signage we hope to be placing in various bakeries (and restaurants) in the triangle region. And if you don’t see our brand, ask your baker to support this effort. 

From the ground up,

jennifer lapidus

Our first hire!

It's been an entire month (plus) since my last post. A few posts ago I vowed to post more often, since I'm finally milling and regular updates seemed the stand up thing to do-- more pictures of bread, reports from the bakers, a bird-eye view of grain to flour-- but carving out the time to tell the story has not been so easy, and the story has not been that simple.
A lot has happened over the last month. At the top of the list is the exciting news that Carolina Ground pulled off its first hire-- Stewart Wedthoff. A journeyman electrician and former employee of the  Square D plant (we are located in the former Square D plant), Stewart offers mechanical insights as well as a desire to learn the craft of milling.
Up to this point it has just been me (other than the council I continue to seek from bakers, farmers, board members, investors, and CFSA staff) running this dog and pony show-- grain to flour, bookkeeping, marketing, outreach, and a goodly amount more. Hiring Stewart has meant Carolina Ground can grow, and not simply in sales, but in substance. Right now we are building our foundation-- we are the bones-- and with our weekly friday sit down meetings we bring to the table not just maintenance schedules, procedural policy, and efficiency in production-- since at this point we are heavily relying on manpower-- but we also recognize that this level of production has enabled us to remain quite intimate with our product. We acknowledge the value of this (or looked at from the other direction-- what do we lose when we become more mechanized?) And of course this begs the bigger question of defining ourselves-- as industry, manufacturing of a wholly different sort, this new wave a manufacturing where quality pulls us forward. The numbers, spreadsheets, actuals and projections make a very clear case for quantity over quality, and as a responsible business person, I cannot discount the value of a viable business. And so, what does this new model look like? Efficiency is key. No argument there.  The larger mills bring in 6 or 9 or lord knows how many truckloads of grain a day to be industrially processed into flour-- highly mechanized, highly efficient, albeit lacking soul or substance. As a burgeoning movement in regional grain production and processing, there are not too many of us out there to compare to. Of the few, I have observed the range from close to a million dollar investment in infrastructure to a few thousand dollars and a case of duct tape. We see ourselves as somewhere in the middle. And so this part of our story is just beginning-- with a focused effort, a thin budget, and Stewart's mechanical intelligence-- we seek to attain a respectable level of efficiency while continuing to preserve the quality that must be the signature of this mill.
There's a lot more to say about the last month of Carolina Ground, but I am told to keep blog posts short-- that people don't like to read. Though I am not sure I believe that or want to contribute to this trend, I do need to get off this computer and call our farmer. We are waiting on lab test results, crossing out fingers that though the yields were low (more on that in a later post), the quality will be good.
But one last a very, very important piece I need to report. Going back to how we pulled off this first hire-- we are excited to report that the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC) has award CFSA $25,855 grant for staff support for Carolina Ground. This investment is meant to provide us with the bridge of support as the mill becomes self-sustaining. This funding comes from the foundation's Food and Farming Initiative. Carolina Ground meets several of the goals of CFWNC's Food and Farming Initiative, including revitalizing a NC-based grain economy, supporting the profitability of bakeries and artisan bakers, encouraging the development of a food system that values local food and offers employment opportunities, and promoting and supporting an emerging community-based project.
We are so pleased to be partnering with the Community Foundation of WNC on this project and look forward to achieving our mutual goals.

From the ground up,
Jennifer Lapidus