FIND A LOCAL MILLER

Whilst we encourage farmer-to-chef connection, with grains, the mismatched scale of how much one farmer produces in a year (often 100s of tons) compared to how much one restaurant or bakery uses in a year (very rarely more than 10 tons) makes it more appropriate for restaurants to have an economic relationship with a miller than with a farmer.


What’s more, finding a great local miller and talking to them will give you access to a whole wealth of knowledge on wheat varieties, flour taste and characteristics, and local grain growing. See Brockwell Bake’s map of working stoneground mills here to find your local miller! Let them tell you all there is to know about local grains! Also check out our interview with Emma Shires, a first generation miller from Nottingham who prioritises local flour for local chefs, to learn more about a miller’s perspective.

Whilst local millers will always be best, if you really can’t find one, some key questions to ask your supplier, and the answers you’re looking for, are:

  • If they can’t tell you the answers to these questions, then look elsewhere. If they do know the variety, ask them if it’s a longer or a shorter strawed variety - in general, the longer the straw, the greater the nutritional density and flavour of the grain. You want grains that were grown as locally as possible.

  • If the answer to this is no, it’s definitely best to look elsewhere. Although some growers choose not to get organic certification because of the cost and red tape, it’s important that they are growing without fungicides, herbicides, and chemical fertilisers.

  • Flour needs to be fresh to be tastiest - if it was milled more than 6 months ago, it’s best to look elsewhere, or ask your supplier why it’s being stored so long and if they can get fresher flour. 

  • This definitely isn’t a foolproof test, but stone grinding generally preserves the nutritional components of flour in a way that roller milling doesn’t. It is possible to produce nutritious flour with a roller mill (Mungoswells in Scotland are a great example!), and equally some very large industrial mills have stone mills alongside their rollers, so it’s important not to rely on this filter alone. But as a general rule, seeking stoneground flour is a good place to start.

  • Again this isn’t foolproof, but if a mill is supplying other grains (see our Diversify Your Grains page) then they’re probably supporting good grain agriculture!

It’s crucial that chefs put pressure on their suppliers to know the answer to these questions, and to source flour that is fresh, tasty, agroecologically grown, and supporting a localised
grain economy.

Keep scrolling to read Emma Shires interview on the importance of local millers

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Emma Shires - Make wholegrain the standard

First-generation miller Emma Shires has been a member of the Nottingham Mill Coop since 2018. Renting time on their small industrial stonemill, she supplies 5 local bakers and micro-bakeries. Here, she shares some thoughts from the front lines of a localised grain economy.

Why do you feel it’s important to encourage lots of small scale local millers?

Well it’s really about trying to encourage a diverse grain economy in the UK. Around 65% of flour produced in the UK is processed by just 4 big companies; most arable farmers will send off tons of grain on a lorry and never see it again. That’s a commodity system, where grain is grown, processed, and blended in an anonymous, industrialised way – and it means most bakers engage with flour that has no story and no traceability. 

Growing within this commodity system, where prices are set globally and processing is centralised, also means farmers have to prioritise yield and grow for industrial “quality” metrics like protein content and Hagberg Number, usually with all sorts of agrochemical inputs. All of that means farmers don’t get to focus on improving the soil or growing interesting grains that are integrated into the local economy. That’s a real loss both for them and for local millers and bakers.

And why are millers so critical in this process?

The trouble is, the commodity system is a really hard model to step away from if it forms the financial backbone of your livelihood. That’s where local millers can make a difference – by providing an alternative market and showing arable farmers there’s a demand for interesting, diverse local grains. That’s how we can start to move towards a human-scale grain economy, which better supports local economies, farmers’ livelihoods, human health, soil health, and local food culture. 

Whereas an arable farmer might be growing 100s of tons of grain, one small bakery might use 5 –20 tons of flour in a year. That means it’s a more appropriate economic relationship for a farmer to deal with a handful of small millers, rather than a hundred bakers. Milling is a crucial, skilled part of the process.Millers also act as a bridge between farmers and bakers; as well as supplying flour, millers share information, stories and strategies both up and down the supply chain

So what can chefs do to help?

If you want to know where your wheat is grown, go to a small miller who can tell you. It’s really a great, mutually beneficial relationship: by supporting local mills, chefs get access to delicious flour with real character, rather than the lifeless, faceless white powder you can get off the shelf. Ask your local miller what they’re milling and what they might be able to supply you with. They’ll be a wealth of knowledge!

When most chefs think of flour, they think of strong white bread flour. A small miller will be able to sell you a specific grain variety; they’ll know which farm—and possibly even which field—it came from. That’s really exciting because it allows chefs to develop a relationship with a specific flour and the flavour profile that it has. It might never behave exactly like a strong white bread flour from your wholsesaler, but it has all the characteristics necessary to make a delicious bread – by recalibrating your expectations of what flour is and what you’re buying, you open a whole new world of exciting culinary possibilities. 

A big part of that is about shifting away from white flour. Another part of that is thinking about flour as a live ingredient – it has a shelf life, and it’s best when it’s fresh. Fresh, local flour isn’t just a vehicle for flavour – it’s full of its own flavour that we should be celebrating. It’s really an easy win for chefs, having this delicious ingredient right at their fingertips – it just takes a mindset shift. 

You mention shifting away from white flour – would you encourage chefs to be using more wholemeal?

Absolutely! When you buy industrial roller-milled white flour, up to 35% of the wheat harvest (and most of the nutrition with it!) has been sifted out. A lot of that bran goes to animal feed or is composted, which is a tragedy really from an environmental and human nutritional perspective – we put so much into growing these grains and then don’t eat the bit that’s most full of flavour and nutrition!

Part of the mindset shift needs to be making wholegrain the standard – white flour should be a treat. I sell wholegrain cheaper, because I don’t need to sieve it, and anyone buying white flour from me can take the bran for free. I’d really encourage chefs to try and think, every time they reach for a bag of white flour: could I do this with wholegrain? 

Usually, the answer is yes, and in doing so you reduce waste, and increase complexity of flavour and nutrition – it’s a no-brainer really. Wholegrain pastry, in particular, is so delicious! If you’re really set on using white flour, think about how you can use the bran in other ways – biscuits and muffins, for instance, can take a bit of extra bran. 

Part of the mindset shift needs to be making wholegrain the standard – white flour should be a treat.

Moving beyond wheat, what are some of the most promising alternative grains you’d recommend to chefs?

Well really we need to eat the whole arable rotation, which means more barley, oats, rye, spelt, and also beans and peas. Things like emmer and einkorn are great too. It’s about promoting diversity in the field and in our diets as much as possible. Wherever you can branch out from white wheat flour, do so – it’s a win-win, because all of these things bring interesting flavours and are often better for us and the planet.

Rye makes a lovely tin loaf, and adds an interesting flavour to brownies, for instance. Einkorn pastry is delicious, and spelt makes fantastic pasta. Those are just some easy substitutes – a lot of it’s about adjusting the expectations we’ve developed from years of working with high-protein white flour. But, like I keep saying, that re-adjustment is also an invitation and an opportunity – by reconnecting with where your food comes from, you also have the chance to experience and experiment with amazing and unique flavours, and that brings a joy back into the process that just isn’t present in the industrial commodity system.