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I am a novice baker trying my darnedest to learn how to make good bread. I would rather have bought a book by Michael Pollan called Baked. In his book, Cooked Michael talks about his time with guru bakers, farmers, and millers. He reminds us that to make good bread you only need a few basics: flour, water, salt, yeast, time, and heat. Here’s our take on local and regional grain and flour, and baking bread. 
In 2011 we visited more than 40 good food producers and providers in 30 cities across four states and British Columbia. We petted cows and goats in dairy barns, waded ankle deep in shellfish beds and waist deep in grain fields, trotted down rows of vegetables and fruit, and walked numerous orchards, large and small. We had to brush the flour out of our hair each time we left a grain mill. Here are some of the wonderful folks we met along the way. 
When most people are asked about the “Local Food Economy,” they talk about local farmers, food hubs and CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture). It’s not often that they think of a small manufacturer. Jack Jenkins, manufacturer and marketer of Country Living Grain Mills, is a unique member of one of Washington’s local food economies. 
Jack Jenkins, owner and founder of Country Living Grain Mills, makes whole grain sour dough pitas for lunch. The wood-fired brick oven gets up to 750 degrees and these little bread pockets puff up in no time! 
For those of us who don’t have a lovely brick oven in the backyard, we can still make wonderful bread in our own ovens. And it’s “no-knead” so it’s easy! Many thanks to Jack Jenkins for this recipe!
Jack Jenkin’s secret for wild yeast levain (pronounced le-van, like the vehicle, with the accent on the last syllable). 
We’re speaking with Jack Jenkins, Country Living Grain Mills, who manufacturers and markets grain mills that are hand-powered, bike-powered, horse-powered, wind-powered, water-powered, and even machine-powered! And he sells them around the world. Jack tells us how to tame wild yeast so we can use it to make bread. Listen to how he does it. |
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