We Love Wheat
Recently, it feels like everyone’s breaking up with gluten and along the way, wheat is getting a bad rap. Here, we shine light on this ancient grain by tracing our wheat flour to its source, explaining how we use it in our restaurants and why we believe it deserves delicious praise.
Our journey begins at Ben Penner Farms, which has three unique locations in the southwest part of Minnesota: Belle Plaine, Le Seur, and Henderson. Belle Plaine is solely devoted to wheat, including Ben’s most unique wheat variety, Turkey Red Winter Wheat. He is the only person in the state that grows this heritage wheat, which has been in America since 1874 after being transported from Ukraine by Mennonites. Ben’s family grew Turkey Red until 1950, when it was displaced by a higher-yielding variety, and he’s since resurrected this special crop in response to growing curiosity from the culinary community.
The next stop is Baker’s Field Flour Mill, located in the Food Building in Northeast Minneapolis, a 45 mile drive north of Belle Plaine, MN. A flour milling company created by bakers who care deeply about the importance of fresh flour, they utilize a traditional stone-mill for grinding. All of our wheat flour is milled at Baker’s Field, including the Turkey Red Winter Wheat from Ben Penner Farms. Together, it creates a sustainable, traditional, and high-quality product we are proud to use in our pasta and bread.
Once we receive the freshly milled Turkey Red Winter Wheat from Baker’s Field at Spoon and Stable, we start ideating what pastas will highlight the flour the most. We love the flavor and texture from the flour and have found it most useful in the caramelle, gigli, and spaghetti nero noodles that are made by hand by our Chef team.
We strive always to cook with thoughtful, local ingredients in our restaurants because they give us the gift of the
www.bakersfieldflour.com www.pennerfarms.com
