Hi,

Just moved to the Boston area and am looking for good local sources for flour and grains.  I've searched the forum archives and haven't found any local sources other than the typical mail order sources.

In particular, I'm looking for good sources of stone-ground flour (wheat, rye), along with whole or cracked grains (again, wheat and rye particularly).  Strongly prefer organic products.  I expected there to be a "health food store" that offers these kinds of things, as it did in Cape Town where I've just moved from.  However, I've not been very successful at finding these.

At present, I use Arrowhead Mills from my local Whole Foods, but only the WW comes in a larger packet and they don't offer any rye flour or cracked/whole grains. 

Thanks in advance for any pointers you can offer. 

Cheers,

 MammaT

Hi: Given the 3-5 loaves per week that get inhaled around here, I need to find a bulk flour source.  KA has officially hit $1/lb at my local supermarket.

I'm open to ordering online and having it shipped, (and have searched the archives for all your suggestions--Thanks!)

but would prefer to buy locally.  The best KA could offer me was a distributor in Lancaster PA...about 2 hr drive away.  But I live near a city of over 2 million people...with a healthy bunch of local bakeries.  Tell me there isn't a distributor for high quality flour closer!

I have googled "bakery supply" and "flour mills" for this area and have been frustrated.  I can easily get a conveyor oven to fill my living room, but flour in bulk...no good hits.

 Any sugestions?

 Gotta go check on Aunt Carmine's light rye currently in the oven!

thanks

Check out this article:

Bakers Feeling Pinch of Short Supplies

By Ayesha Rascoe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Already feeling the pinch from soaring wheat and flour prices, U.S. bakers are now beginning to experience some supply shortages.

Rye flour stocks have been depleted in the United States, and by June or July there will be no more U.S. rye flour to purchase, said Lee Sanders, senior vice president for government relations and public affairs at the American Bakers Association.

Read the full story here.

Any professionals out there actually experiencing this? Is this story for real, or just press hype?

Help Please!
I'm making round loaf, rustic breads and I'm not sure how to know when to "improve" the flour/dough with something to optimize the bread. I know its done ahead of time in Europe for bakers which is apart of why the bread is so fabulous...please assist
Thanks

Just found a gem of a tip:

"The more protein a flour contains, the more water it absorbs.  Flours can vary more than 20% in their ability to absorb moisture." 

Meaning.... when substituting flours in a recipe, you will need more or less water (moisture) if you use a flour with a different protein content!  

Mini O 

I ordered Golden Buffalo flour from Heartland Mill after reading several very positive comments about it from other bakers on TFL. I have my first bread using Golden Buffalo fermenting. It is Hamelman's Miche, ponte-a-calliere, which I have made several times before, using King Arthur First Clear flour.

I'm frugal. I've watched the cost of flour go up 50% in less than a year. I'm now paying 30¢ a pound (50 lb bag of enriched bleached bread flour from Costco $14.99)

Hello...I'm looking for an organic farmer & miller in Michigan, I'd like to buy fresh-ground unbleached bread flour, locally.  I live in Bay City.  Tomorrow I'm headed south (Linden, Michigan) to Westwind Milling Company to try their products.  Does anyone know of another place?  Thanks!

White Whole Wheat -- What is it?

I understand that whole wheat contains the bran, rich in fiber, endosperm, the largest part of a wheat kernel, consisting of protein and water, and the germ, the embryo of the wheat, surrounded by highly nutritious vitamins, minerals and oils. What parts of the wheat kernel consist the white whole wheat flours we see today?  

Score!  I was shopping at Trader Joe's, and since I'm almost finished with my 50 pounds of flour I bought a while ago on an adventure with (Pyrex) Susan, I grabbed a bag of KA all-purpose flour to tide me over till I can make another mondo purchase.  At the register, the checker saw that the bag wasn't sealed (glue failure), so she had a guy fetch me another bag.  When he returned, he said he saw two other bags with bad seals on the shelf.  I offered to buy them at half-price, but the guy thought maybe that wouldn't fit with the store's POLICY, so I blew it off.  Th