Wheat Information Sheet
Reasons to know your wheat:
- Individual whole wheat varieties bring distinctive flavours to flours, just as individual grape varieties bring distinctive flavours to wines.
- Some wheat varieties are high in protein and gluten and can expand into hearty breads packed with flavour, while others are mild and lower in protein, great for delicate pastry.
- Flour can become your new secret ingredient that you choose with the same care that you give to other ingredients.
- It’s time to mill fresh, real, whole grain flour.
Meet Our Organic Wheats:
Kamut® Khorasan
In more than 6000 years, his amber ancient wheat has never changed. It contains gluten but many find it easier to digest than other wheat varieties. Just 45 grams (about a quarter cup) provides about 7 grams protein, 5 grams fibre, Vitamins B-1 and B-3, potassium, iron, antioxidants, and minerals such as selenium and magnesium.
Kamut® Khorasan has a mild nutty flavour and natural sweetness that helps you reduce added sugar in your recipes. Cook as a grain for salads or side dishes, or mill for breads, pasta, gravy, pancakes, or for the crust and filling of our Ricotta Cheesecake!
Spelt
Spelt is an ancient wheat that has been prized for centuries, possibly even used for wedding cakes in ancient Roman. And no wonder. It’s slightly nutty, sweet flavour and its delicate colour make it a great choice for treats such as cakes, pie, cookies, and crusts as well as for breads. Get a softer texture by milling very finely or milling your fresh flour a second time. A recipe that includes yogurt or buttermilk helps even more.
Spelt is more easily digestible than some other wheats due to its unique type of gluten. And it delivers on nutrition with iron, potassium, fibre, magnesium, Vitamin B6, and more.
Red Fife
Red Fife, a heritage hard red spring wheat, has been grown in Canada since 1842 when David Fife planted the first kernels on his Ontario farm.
By 1860, Red Fife was the dominant wheat variety in Canada and remained so into the early 1900’s. It’s popularity was due to its wonderful bread aroma while it bakes and to its robust flavour. If you want hearty bread with a tender crumb and the truest bread flavour that you can imagine, try Red Fife.
But don’t stop with yeast breads. Red Fife is excellent in sourdough, quick breads like banana, or in traditional Irish soda bread. Try it in cookies too.
Rouge de Bordeaux
This heritage hard red spring wheat began in the fields of France in the 1800’s and was the primary wheat used in French boulangeries for decades. It is a strong bread wheat (about 15% protein) with beautiful aroma and taupe coloured crumb and is great for sourdough.
Rouge de Bordeaux likes hydration of about 80% and is a great flour to blend with other varieties for interesting flavour profiles.
Good Spirit
This modern hard red spring wheat is a small batch sourced from a single family farm in Saskatchewan so a truly unique, limited offering.
Good Spirit is red in colour with a protein range of about 13.5% to 14% so well suited to breads. It’s milder flavour makes it a nice candidate for sandwich bread that won’t overwhelm your tasty sandwich ingredients or for toning down more assertive flavour profiles.
Snowbird
Snowbird is a modern soft white winter wheat made for pastry and other delicate bakes. Its natural light colour and low protein level of only about 10% per 100 grams make it perfect for any tender pastry, cake, or cookie while still delivering the benefits of whole grain.
Combine Snowbird with another mild wheat, like Spelt, to raise the protein level closer to 11%-12% for your own blend of all purpose whole grain flour.
Did you know…
that large commercial bread bakers can use refined white wheat flour, add in molasses for brown colour, and then call it “100% wheat” bread? It may be technically correct but it’s certainly misleading. However, it’s perfectly legal.
Did you know…
that the fragrance of freshly baking bread can make people nicer? In a study in France (where else?) participants dropped a glove in front of a bakery and in front of a clothing store. Strangers by the bakery returned the glove 77% of the time but only 52% in front of the clothing store.
Did you know…
that whole grains are included in Harvard’s Kid’s Healthy Eating Plate? Their advice: “Go for whole grains or foods made with minimally processed whole grains. The less processed the grains, the better.”
Did you know…
that it’s almost certain that any bread, pie, cookie, or other treat that you bake at home with freshly milled whole grain flour is nutritionally superior to what you’ll find in any store anywhere? And your baking comes with lots more love!
