Frequently Asked Questions

The oldest varieties we carry that are considered “ancient wheats” which includes:  Einkorn, Emmer, and Spelt.  Their tight husk defines their ancient primitive origins.

Our heritage wheats and rye date back 80 to 300 years.  Our Heritage Rye and Sonora White Wheat are considered  landrace varieties – their natural genetics remain and they has been cultivated in the same region for over 100 years.    Our hard red wheat and hard white wheat are older public varieties that date back to the 1950’s.  None of our grains are considered “modern hybridized” varieties.  All of our grains are open-source, open- pollinated, non patented varieties.

Farro Piccolo, referred to as small farro in Italian, corresponds to einkorn and is known for its faster cooking time compared to emmer farro. Meanwhile, farro semi-perlato, or pearled farro, undergoes a process where some bran is removed to expedite cooking, albeit at the expense of reduced fiber and nutrient content. It’s important to note that semi-pearled grains can encompass both Emmer and Spelt varieties. Emmer, with its culinary origins rooted in Italy, is the predominant variety associated with the term “farro.” Our emmer farro and einkorn farro remain true whole grains, never undergoing the pearling process.

We have lots of loyal customers who bake whole grain breads and crackers with our products. Please go to our recipe page and filter “crackers” and you should find a few recipes there.

All of our flour is 100% whole grain because we believe in keeping the nutrients in! Keep in mind that whole grain flour is much denser than processed flour. You will find that it absorbs moisture and generally you will have to add 1/4 to 1/2  more moisture than what your recipe calls for.  Also, when baking quick breads (biscuits, pancakes, etc.) make sure to use an acid such as buttermilk, yogurt, or lemon juice. This helps give whole grain breads a lift.

Emmer Flour performs differently than Caputo 00 Flour. Caputo 00 is a highly processed, refined flour, generally made from high protein wheat such as  hard white. The “00” refers to the size of the screen on the mill. The germ and the bran is extracted from 00 flour and it is milled into a fine grind. Our Emmer Flour is whole grain flour; it contains both the germ and the bran.  Generally when baking with Emmer Flour more moisture is needed, for every 1 cup of water recommended I usually add 1/4 cup more. Emmer Flour yields a flatbread pizza crust that reveals a rich nutty flavor. If you want your dough to have some rise to it you can combine Emmer Flour with the “00” flour. Our favorite combination for pizza dough is 2 cups of our Pasayten Hard White Flour and 1 Cup Emmer Flour.

I would recommend starting with our Emmer or Einkorn flour. It is very nutritious. Emmer flour is dense. You may need to add a little more moisture to your recipe. The Emmer flour is wonderful in  baked goods such as coffee cakes, brownies, or as an additive to breads for flavor and nutrition. Einkorn flour performs like a whole wheat pastry flour. It is a soft flour, low in gluten with a very mild flavor. We love it in crepes, cakes, cookies, and muffins. For a classic “whole wheat loaf,” we would recommend starting with our Hard Red Wheat. Our Hard White Wheat is great for cookies and cakes. All of our flour is whole grain flour, which means the germ and bran are in the flour (the nutrition). All of our flours can be used for breads.

All of our flours can be used in a bread machine. Our Methow Hard Red Wheat and Pasayten Hard White Wheat flour both have the highest gluten content and are used most commonly for yeasted breads.   Our Hard Red is most often used for breads but our Hard White is also just as useful with a milder flavor. The Hard White is in a fine grind so it’s a little more versatile than our Hard Red, which is in a medium grind.  Our ancient grain Spelt Flour also yields a beautiful whole wheat loaf with a rich malty flavor. All of our flour is 100% whole grain flour – meaning the germ and bran are in the flour and it is minimally processed to garner the nutrition.

Hydration ratios are much different with whole grain flours. When using whole wheat flour, you can increase the hydration level by 5–10% because whole grain flours absorb more liquid than other flours. For example, if you’re using a 50-50 mix of bread flour and whole wheat flour, you can calculate the ideal hydration by multiplying the percentage of each flour by its ideal hydration and adding the percentages together. For example, if bread flour has an ideal hydration of 73% and whole wheat flour has an ideal hydration of 90%, then the ideal hydration for a 50-50 mix would be 81.5%.   You can find more information in this book,

• “Whole Grain Breads” by Peter Reinhart: This book provides an in-depth understanding of whole grain baking, including hydration ratios, and how they differ from white flour baking.

Each week, we clean our grains on Monday and mill in small batches on Tuesday and Wednesday. When shipped, your flour/grains have been cleaned and processed within 3 to 4 days of the ship date. It is ideal to use within 30-40 days because it is FRESH. After 30-40 days it begins to lose the fresh milled flavor due to oxidation. As long as it is stored in a dry cool place, however, it will not lose nutrition or go rancid for up to 6 months, but it does lose its fresh milled flavor. Some bakers claim that after 14 days of oxidizing the performance is better, but again you lose the fresh milled flavor.

If we don’t have your product available from that week’s milling, it will be shipped/processed on the following week/milling schedule. This generally only happens with larger flour orders of 25 lb. or more.

Whole grain emmer (and all whole grains for that matter) should be stored in a cool, dry, air tight container. If you live in a humid environment we recommend that you store whole grains (that are not going to be consumed within a few months) in the refrigerator or freezer. Whole grains have their own natural storage capsule; as long as they are not cracked open and exposed to air (oxidation) they will remain viable whole grains (seeds) for years and be perfectly edible!

It is ideal to use our flour within 30-40 days because it is FRESH. After 30-40 days it begins to lose the fresh milled flavor due to oxidation. However, as long as it is stored in a dry cool place it will not lose nutrition or go “bad” for up to 6 months. We do not recommend that you store fresh milled flour in the freezer. We go to great effort to clean and mill grains each week so that you can enjoy the fresh milled flavor. If you store fresh milled flour in the freezer, it sucks out the moisture, leaving an off flavor.

Our cracked grains have the best flavor if eaten within 3 months, but can be safely stored for six to nine months if kept in a cool, dry location in a sealed container.