This August we went for a a lovely weekend to Keremeos, BC to experience John Reischman and the Jaybirds at the Old Gristmill.
We had a wonderful time at this historic site. The Gristmill was built in 1877 by one of the first white settlers on this unceded land of the Syilx Okanagan people. The first settlers were grain farmers who brought Red Fife grains to this part of the country. Red Fife is to this date one of the most cultivated types of wheat.
The mill produced flour for the local population and soon also for export to the other early European settlements as well as to the people seeking their fortune in the gold rush.
In the morning we explored the historic site and while we admired the extensive gardens with their heirloom plants, we met Cuyler Page. He was very generous with his time and we exchanged stories of a shared passion and history of pipe-organ building. But let’s not go down that rabbit hole 🙂 .
Cuyler is the historian who restored the old gristmill that had been converted into a chicken barn and an artist studio when the local economy switched from grain production to orcharding. Cuyler was also the director of the site for many years. Now in his 80s, he likes volunteering at the site and operating the mill.
He explained the function of the water-driven mill to us in detail, which was fascinating. Unfortunately, the video of this didn’t turn out.
You may remember it from my article The Ultimate Guide to Understanding Whole Wheat and Whole Grains
Then we learned about the fact that in the milling process, the hull of the wheat berry, which we call “bran”, does not break down as fine as the rest of the grain. Today we take advantage of this fact because the oils in the bran make the flour go rancid after a while. So what we buy in the store today as whole wheat flour does not contain bran.
But, I will let Cuyler explain this himself:
Baking with the full grain
We bought a little bag of the Gristmill flour in the gift shop and I baked two loaves of bread using my basic recipe. I treated both breads the same. Same method and the same ingredients. Except that I replaced some of my regular organic whole wheat four with 100 grams of the Gristmill flour.
I gave the bread on the left away as a gift so I could not see inside. But as you can see, both loaves look the same and the Gristmill loaf tasted wonderful. I may have added a little more water during the stretch and pull but otherwise, there was no noticeable difference in the dough.
My wife Michele noted that the Gristmill flour added an extra nuttiness to the loaf and that it tasted particularly fresh. She can’t wait for me to bake with it again.
It has me thinking about getting my electric flour mill and grinding some of my own flour again.
Cuyler sent me a lovely email in response to this post and I would like to share it with you:
What a delightful video, Frithjof! It is excellent!!!!! Your writing is wonderfully clear and personable, and the screen production is so very colourful and friendly!!!
I especially enjoyed the demonstration video because I have never seen myself in that kind of video. What fun!!!
Here are a few suggestions of things you might wish to consider or change in the text for clarity. Some here are for your information, and a couple for text modifications.
Red Fife was popular in the late 1800s when white flour was first being developed. It was abandoned about 1900 in favour of a variety named Marquis. Today, because of our seed preservation work at the Grist Mill, it is experiencing a revival in commercial baking. An irony is that today it is being celebrated in whole wheat bread while in the past it was famous for making white bread!
Red Fife was susceptible to Smut, a fungus that grew on the wheat head in moist seasons or locations. Marquis was developed from Red Fife by cross breeding with Hard Red Calcutta to be Smut resistant. Marquis was then the primary wheat in Canada. But Marquis was susceptible to Rust, another disease. It was eventually replaced by Thatcher which was both Smut and Rust resistant. Over the years, wheat varieties were progressively developed to be shorter when horses were replaced by tractors as power sources for the machines. The new varieties had shorter stalks so not much straw was not produced since it was not needed as bedding in the animal stalls. Todays wheats are very short since straw is no longer needed in the farms. Today wheat is harvested with machines that cut close to the ground, and the plant stubble is simply plowed in leaving no straw at all.
Red Fife was ideal for white flour since the bran and wheat germ separate easily from the white endosperm. The endosperm contains protein and carbohydrates.
What we buy as commercial whole wheat flour does not contain Wheat Germ. It is sold separately in vacuum-packed bags to keep it fresh.
I have already enjoyed your production several times and love every aspect of it. Many thanks for sharing your creativity!!!
Cuyler