The Mill
What we do:At Elmendorf we mill more than 20 varieties of grain in small batches to make the freshest, most flavorful flour you can possibly imagine! Our grain comes to us directly from small family farms, locally whenever possible, which allows us offer a wide really special options, including a large selection of heirloom and organic grain.  The MillOur gorgeous Vermont-built stone mill is the heart of our shop, grinding the incredibly fresh and flavorful flour that goes into our retail packages and gets baked into many of our pastries. Our goal is to bring the extraordinary work of local famers to you with as little processing as possible so you can taste the splendors of grain in all it's unedited glory. Out main mill at the shop is a New American Stone Mill built in Vermont by Andrew Heyn. What we do at the shop is pretty much what millers have been doing for thousands of years: grinding grind in a single pass through two granite stones quarried in Vermont. It's pretty simple. And that's the point: grain is pretty awesome if you stay out of the way. The growers:Working with small family farmers is incredibly important to us, strengthening the connection between farmer, miller, and baker. that we think is integral to a properly functioning food system. Small farmers care deeply and personally about their crops, and we think that love translates to the flour we mill. Whenever we can we work with local farmers to support a regional economy. If it can grow well in our area we're committed to sourcing it locally. We do bring in a smaller selection of grain from other parts of the country when it doesn't grow well in our region. Farmer profile: Whitesfield farm We happened across Stan and Abbie's wonderful Redeemer wheat at a local farmers market and we're immediately hooked. Their wheat is extremely flavorful, perfectly cleaned, and grown under two hours away in Hardwick MA.
In addition to grain the Whites raise sheep and alpacas and maintain a beautiful garden full of rare fruit trees. Their operation is truly a family affair with their sons Simon and Evan pitching in to maintain the farm. Recently the renowned restaurant Blue Hill Stone Barns began baking with their wheat after it won a blind taste test!
Grain list and ordering informationBelow is a list of our current grain offerings and where they're grown. Not all of our grain is available for purchase online. That's because sometime the farms we work with don't produce enough grain for us to offer it outside our shop. We believe first and foremost that we are local business and as such work hard to provide the widest selection to customers who are able to visit our shop. Come visit if you get a chance!
Online orders are milled and shipped out weekly to make sure you're receiving the freshest possible grain. While we can customize grind size for in person orders at our shop we are currently unable to do this for online orders.
The list: (changes frequently, call for availability)Bread wheat: Red Fife, Gianfotre Farm, NY, heritage/organic Glenn, Buck Farm ME Redeemer, Hardwick MA, organic Øland, Buck Farm ME, heritage Pastry wheat Frederick white, Peter and Hanna Martens' Farm, NY, organic Sonora, BKW Farms, AZ, heritage/organic Rye Danko Rye, Oeschner Farm, NY, organic Ancient grains Durum, BKW Farms, AZ Khorasan, BKW Farms, AZ Einkorn, Peter and Hanna Martens' Farm, NY, organic Spelt, Peter and Hanna Martens' Farm, NY, organic Corn Ruby Red popcorn, Hurricane Flats Farm, VT Shaman's Blue popcorn, Hurricane Flats Farm, VT Wapsie Valley dent, Peter and Hanna Martens' Farm, NY, heritage
Narraganset White Cap flint, Harry Here Farm, RI, heritage/organic
Longfellow Yellow flint, Harry Here Farm, RI, heritage/organic Other grain Rolled Oats, Aurora Farm, ME, organic Steel Cut Oats, Aurora Farm, ME, organic
Oat Groats, Aurora Farm, ME, organic
Emmer/Farro, Peter and Hanna Martens' Farm, NY, organic Storage:We recommend storing all of our flour and grain in the freezer if possible to maintain maximum freshness and quality. Fresh-milled grain is more perishable then the stuff you buy at the supermarket. While our flour should stay fresh and delicious for several months at room temperature it's more susceptible to spoilage, humidity and temperature variations, and pests (most of our grain is organic!). The best way to ensure fresh, delicious flour is to order in small quantities and use it relatively quickly! Baking/cooking infoWe could go on all day about what makes our grain special and different than the stuff you're used to buying. We won't. Instead we'll highlight a few general things that make our flour different to help you use it successfully and enjoy it as much as we do. Because our flour is so fresh, and comes from a variety of farms with different climates, harvest, and storage conditions, it tends to be more variable than the flour your used to. If you've ever bought a farmer's market tomato you understand that even the same varieties change from from to farm and year to year. We think this is part of the fun of working with fresh-milled flour. But it can also make it more challenging. Sometimes it will require more or less liquid in your recipes. We always recommend following your recipe the first time you use a flour, and then adjusting it the next time. We also find that allowing our flour to sit a bit longer in doughs and batters to hydrate before baking tends to help as well. That's because it's not ground as finely as industrial flour (which use a different type of milling). Our best advice is to trust your instincts and have fun. Industrial flour is designed to be super-consistent but at the expense of flavor (and with the addition of loads of processing). Our flour is all about flavor. Getting back to the basics. The difference between a good muffin and a great one. Play with it and enjoy the results. |