A few years ago, I wrote an article and created a radio piece about the women millers at Carolina Ground, a flour mill here in Asheville. During the interviews and research, I was appalled to learn that, in the interest of shelf life, your standard, industrially produced flour has almost all of its nutrients taken out of it. I was inspired by Carolina Ground’s attempt to restore wholeness and authenticity to the art of milling.
Now that we are back in Asheville after some months of travel and are re-creating home in a new space, I have the chance to reconsider and make fresh habits for my grocery buying. I love that the French Broad Food Co-op offers Carolina Ground flours in its bulk section. These stone-ground, cold-milled flours are definitely more expensive than the standard all-purpose, steel-roller-milled varieties, but the wheat is all grown in this region and the nutrient- and flavor-filled germ remains after sifting. This has treated us to extra tasty—and wholesome—pumpkin bread, banana bread, and pancakes this winter.