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Grain Mill Best Buy
Jim Ruen, La Crescent, Minn.: “Janie’s Mill in eastern Illinois is a dangerous place for bakers to stop, given their diverse and ample supply of grains and flours (www.janiesmill.com; ph 815-953-1073). I previously wrote about the Wilkins family and the mill they established to process their many varieties of grain (Vol. 43, No. 2).
“As my wife Wendy and I were traveling through the area, we couldn’t resist stopping by. Once there, we bought multiple varieties of wheat berries, several flours, rye berries, oat groats, and wheat and rye flakes. We could’ve bought more, but the car was getting full.
“Wendy does most of the baking at our house. Our go-to wheat in recent years has been Red Fife from a local grower, a Canadian landrace variety. It has great taste and is hard to beat.
“That said, the new and often old wheat varieties we picked up at Janie’s Mill have their own great tastes. We’ve enjoyed bread made from Warthog (pre-1600’s European wheat) and the 1990’s Glenn wheat berries home-milled into whole wheat flour, scones made with Black Emmer flour, and cookies made with home-milled rye berries. French-style baguettes made with the Warthog tasted even richer and more complex than our standby Red Fife.
“The chocolate chip cookies made with freshly milled rye flour were a real surprise. We may never have white flour cookies again. They were sweet and light, yet full of flavor as well as fiber.
“We’re looking forward to exploring these and other grains and flours we purchased over the coming weeks and months. Luckily, it’ll be easy to stock up when these are gone. The Janie’s Mill website has a full list of grains and flour they offer. However, if passing through eastern Illinois, consider stopping by and picking up a few great grains and flours yourself.”


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2023 - Volume #47, Issue #3