Food writers point out that artisanal bread making and
efforts to re-establish local grain-growing are riding on the coat-tails of
specialty heirloom veggies and micro-greens, which have had considerable
success in finding niche markets. However,
a recent internet article on slate.com claims grains and flour pose different
challenges, making it unlikely that small scale grain farmers can make a
go of it financially. The writer,
Alastair Bland, argues that locally grown flour does not taste enough better than
commercial flour to merit the higher cost.
Flour is just flour, and one variety does not have greater value than another.
Ah. Let us beg to
differ. We know that locally grown and
milled grains -- heritage, modern, landrace and ancient grains -- bring us a far better taste experience. Varieties of flavors, sweetness, sourness,
nuttiness, freshness. Bread that is a complete
experience, leaving your palate satisfied, balanced, with complex lingering
flavors. This is bread that doesn’t need
apologies or a drink to get rid of a dry aftertaste. This is bread that is refreshing and
complete.
But it’s not just taste that is improved. Wheat from local sources can be – and this is
a big change – it can be nourishing,
with substantial protein, a natural range of nutritional qualities, with no
chemical additives, herbicides or pesticides.
This is bread that has a lengthy shelf life, growing better with time
and resisting mold and desiccation, particularly in its naturally fermented
iterations. Freshly milled flour has
superior baking properties, creates tastier interior crumb and exterior
crust.
But there’s more than just taste … and nutrition … and
superior baking qualities. Our small
scale grain farmers are true stewards of the land. They care for the soil, the need for crop
rotation, protection of the aquifers.
Local means a smaller carbon footprint, lower CO2 emissions, less
shipping costs, less waste of non-sustainable resources. Less need for middleman handlers. In their concern for their fields and their care to
plant the right grain for their climate and terroir, they are partnering with grain
growers around the world whose intention is to feed their local communities. They want to make their land productive and
diverse rather than give up and buy industrial flour that is of unknown provenance and
full of additives.
But wait. There’s
still another reason why small scale grain growing must prosper. It is essential to the restoration of diversity
in a crop that has fed the world for ten thousand years. Small scale grain growing will help develop
drought tolerant varieties, and grain that will endure climate change. Industrial-scale monoculture of wheat
produces inferior flour, is damaging to the land, leads to the loss of thousands
of varieties of modern, heirloom, and ancient grains. And most important, shows we have learned
little or nothing from the horrors of monocrop failures.
There’s good reason to believe that small-scale grain
growing will be a vital part of our food system.
You can taste the difference.
You can taste the difference.
Alastair Bland’s article can be found at
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