The pursuit of a good chew
In all of our baked goods at The Table Catering we proudly feature Capay Mills organic whole wheat flour. Capay Mills is a local Northern California grower of heirloom grains, and they stone mill their own flour. Be it for our weekday meal delivery service, or for our catered events, we find their flour makes for baked goods with a deep flavor. The following article is from Chef Peter sharing his story of discovering the many benefits of using Capay Mills flour.
Chef Peter making Chocolate Cherry Scones
The Pursuit of a Good Chew
by Chef Peter Callis
Growing up, I was never given choices. As with any kid of a young age, I relied on my parents to provide for me, and that is how my knowledge of the world was shaped. My understanding of food was that all edible things came from grocery stores or were cooked in kitchens. So, when I wanted a sandwich, the bread was always pre-sliced and sold in a bag. I would grab jars of PB and J, and I was good for the week. Sometimes I would see an occasional unsliced loaf of bread and wonder why anyone would go to the trouble of slicing it themselves.
I did not start baking until my late 20s, and, once in the Bay, it felt weird to bake a loaf of bread that either tasted less than or possibly as good as something you could easily buy at ACME or Semifreddi’s. I mean, why go through all the hoops of baking at home when the same thing went on in a bakery with the same ingredients? The shelf life seemed to be the same, too. Left out for a day and nice, home baked bread was hard. There is a sense of achievement in the pursuit of skill and craft, but there came a point when I looked at what I was baking and wondered, “Hey, who was put in charge to say that this is how things are supposed to be for the consumer? And, why am I following this without knowing how the choices were made and the reasons behind them?”
That is when I knew my real pursuit had begun! Bread was an easy place to start because it only has a few ingredients to follow. Flour is the star of the bread world, and wheat is at the core. I had some historical knowledge from college about why our cupboards are full of the flour we use today, but it had not clicked as to why we, as a culture, decided it was acceptable. Only when I started to work with whole wheat flour did I realize the advantages, for the producer, of bleaching and removing the germ and bran. This process helped them to create a product so refined that it kept from spoiling on a shelf for a long time. Thus, companies could transport and keep flour stored in warehouses until sold and not have to worry about their product spoiling. This came at a cost, though. One was our health, which is why labels include the mention of flour being fortified, and the other is less detrimental to society but it does impact our palates. The taste of flour became bland and lacked flavor or uniqueness. Its purpose was as a textural glue in its capacity to form gluten, and advertisers focused on that.
Notice the rise on the bread.
Experience the chew.
See the crumb.
Feel how effortlessly the bread dissolves in the mouth into small globules that are easily digested, and its texture is substrate to the flavors added by the chef or factory. Thus, flour became a sort of modeling clay for the food industry and keeps our community alive. However, in doing so, we have removed so much culture out of our flour that we no longer taste what breads, pastries, or other desserts could be. There is an essential terroir in flour grown locally and that whole wheat from single heirloom grains brings to foods that cohere well with other ingredients. The other fact I found is that bran and germ in flour promote longer satiety in a meal that seems so filling.
There is a sacrifice to be made to step away from the pursuit of long gluten chains. The bran and germ do get in the way of longer gluten protein chains, but they do not remove them completely. But, I find the amount of flavor developed and how filling it is feels like a good trade off. I have been using Capay Mills Organic Flours in various ways from breads, waffles and even scones and enjoy switching over to something milled locally and unsifted. The grain is also milled to order, so I know it has not been sitting in some warehouse. It is also not a mix of multiple grains, nor is it blended to try to keep some consistent product year round. I get to experience what grains are like with the seasons and real local culture. Working with Capay has really opened up avenues for me to experience what food tastes like outside of an industrial system and how satisfying it can be in a local setting.
Finished product - Chocolate Cherry Scone
A couple more whole wheat favorites
Garlic Roll
Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Whole Wheat Bread