PROCESS
We make it by hand one small step at a time.
GROW IT
It starts with organic, local grains.
Thor Oechsner, Dan Gladstone, and the crew at Oechsner Farms grow a wide range of grains—winter and spring wheats, einkorn, spelt, rye, emmer, and corn—and they are always trying new varieties and methods. At the end of the season, Thor and Dan harvest the grains, clean them and dry them, and send them to the mill.
MILL IT
Farmer Ground Flour mills the grain, right down the road.
The millers at Farmer Ground Flour—Greg Russo and Neal Johnston—make our flour. They grind the flour on stone mills, retaining the flavor and nutrition of the whole grain.
They mill in small batches, and that means our flour is always freshly milled. That makes a difference.
BAKE IT
Baking with freshly ground local flour matters.
We give all our bread a long, slow fermentation.
We develop the dough with extremely gentle, short mixes, and extensive rest periods. From there, everything is done by hand. Each loaf is gently shaped before we put it to bed for a long fermentation.
By the time we put the bread in the oven, it has been fermenting for 24 to 36 hours, and, assuming we catch it at just the right moment, it has developed subtle flavor and a delicate crumb. We bake in our huge wood-fired oven, and usually, within an hour or two of being baked, the bread is on the distribution table or in your hands.
