About
The goal of giving ourselves
and those we love a longer, stronger life
was the start of Good Granary.
Today's typical flour product, whether bleached, unbleached, whole wheat, pastry, or all-purpose, is bland in flavour and stripped of most essential nutrients found in a wheat kernel. This is done for flour shelf life, to aid industrial baking equipment, and to sell the most nutritious parts of wheat to pharmaceutical and animal feed companies. We get the left-over starchy part of the wheat kernel.
Most people in North America have likely never had foods made with real flour, whole grain flour that contains all three parts of the grain: the bran, germ and endosperm, in their original proportions. Good Granary wants to help change that.
Good Granary began by inviting Mockmill, the noted stone mill company who has been manufacturing mills in Germany since 1972, to bring their wonderful line of home mills to Canada. And they did!
Then we looked high and low for beautiful, certified organic grains. And we found some right here in Canada grown by dedicated, forward-thinking farmers who care about their fields and their planet.
Then we reviewed a mountain of recipes dating back to canary yellow kitchen appliances and decided it was time for a major remodelling. We tossed out outdated ingredients and some cumbersome methods, restructuring recipes to make use of the one essential ingredient missing in every one of those classic recipes: real flour!
Our modern recipes offer the promise of nutrition in every bite on the theory that protecting health is pretty much the point of eating. We reduce undesirables like sugar and saturated fats whenever possible. At the same time, we strive for good flavour and texture as enjoying food is essential too.
We looked to research on whole grains, of which there is lots, making our best effort to accurately provide facts. But a quick search of "benefits of whole grains" will produce lots of good information from reliable sources. One of my favourite sources, especially for a solid introduction, is Harvard's T. H. Chan School of Public Health "Nutrition Source". If you want a deeper dive into the science, do a search on Google Scholar with search terms important to you to find exciting new research on Precision Nutrition.
Our innovative recipes are also influenced by a lifetime of baking and of living the Mediterranean diet, beginning with the bounty of my grandfather’s vast farm in Italy. Though left behind decades ago, the old world concepts that food can foster health and that every meal is a special occasion have survived time and distance and are now part of Good Granary.
Ancient Egyptian Tomb Model of Bakery
I am not a professional baker, just an obsessed home-baker whose first baking attempts were back in junior high. As an adult, I would spend entire weekends immersed in recipes, over-analyzing every detail. Baking became a way to unwind from practicing law but my over-analytical nature lead me to study each recipe like an exam was coming and to research the how and why. This eventually led me to question our use of commercial flour.
Every recipe we will offer will have be been tested and adjusted. The nature of whole grain flour, however, includes an uncertainty factor because real flour is a natural product with natural variability. It has not been stripped of all Individual character.
We hope the recipes we eventually compile will work for you each time, but you may find it necessary to make adjustments for a particular wheat variety or for the grind you select. You will see how true, whole grain flour can behave differently from typically starchy commercial flour. But once you get the hang of it (and you will) your baking results might just amaze you. You'll also be amazed by the naturally long time that your baked goods stay fresh and the new depth of flavour.
I invite you to experience this modern style of baking founded on centuries of wisdom and healthful foods with the few simple recipes currently online. We hope our recipes will eventually cover every category from breakfast to midnight snacks.
Wishing you great food and great health,
Lydia,
Good Granary Founder
