In Search of The Wholly Grain: Part 1

Did you know that most of the wheat grown in California is cut and sold as hay for livestock?
And that durum wheat growing in Riverside County is exported to Italy, to make pasta products, which are then sold back to us?

On Thursday night, February 6th, host Laura Avery, from KCRW's "Good Foods" radio program, and supervisor of the Santa Monica Farmer's Market, led a panel discussion called "Growing Glorious Grains", at the Santa Monica Public Library. In this informative session,  farmers and bakers discussed the revival of wheat farming, and the importance of eating whole grains. Among the panelists was Andrea Crawford of Kenter Family Farms, located in Fillmore, California.

Laura Avery(far right), leads a panel discussion with wheat farmers and artisan bakers from Southern California

Wheat is not the first crop that comes to mind when we think of California farms. The average consumer has no idea of how much wheat is actually grown in our fields. But most of what is grown is actually cut in its green stage, and sold as hay for animals. Why? Because it's much less labor intensive and more profitable than milling the wheat to sell to bakers. But, small batch wheat farmers and millers have resurged their efforts to increase interest in eating whole grains again. Farmers, like Andrea Crawford grow varietal heritage grains, mill it, and then bake it to create true "artisan" style bread. This is an entire "Farm-to-Table" process in its most literal source, from seed, to production.

The process of turning wheat into food took up much of the discussion by the panelists. Several, intricate steps are involved in turning wheat to edible products, beginning with proper grain storage, to cleaning the wheat, to finally milling it, which in itself can take up to several grinds. This is not like what mass producers make. And that is why small batch bakers charge much higher, to produce a high-quality, naturally processed product. Most of us are used to using overly processed, all-purpose white flour for a variety of baking needs. But as one panelist described it "Nothing beats the amazing aroma that comes from freshly ground whole grain". The same can't be said about the "odorless", bleached, and overly-processed, white flour.  The over-processing of the white flour alone involves stripping the wheat of its most nutritious "endosperm". And, guess what?  It is that stripping of vital nutrients that is said to be directly related to things like gluten intolerance (and a myriad other digestive problems).

Therefore, whole grain (and not whole wheat), is what you should look for, when buying breads, or any other baking products. It is best to look for organic wheat, barley, rye, and other grains within the ingredient list. And, as always, the lesser number of ingredients (generally 3 and not more for breads), the better it is for you!

At the end of the presentation, we were invited to sample an array of baked breads made by the panelist bakers.


Samples of baked breads and crackers using single (Sonora) whole grain