I bought a mill from Aus Grain Mills, who suggested "health Food Thyme" for supply of Demeter organic wheat. There in Croydon, so perhaps a bit out of the way. But easy enough to find via Google.
I initially made a lot of phone calls to various grain suppliers, trying to find where I could buy more than a 5kg retail pack, but less than 100kg or 1mt... But so far Health Food Thyme is the only one I've found. Most mills or grain merchants don't know what to do with someone who only wants 25kg...
Next step is to get to know some commercial grain mills. When wheat is $250/mt I figure 25kg should be almost free... But turning up at the door with cash or beer may do the trick.
My concern is that we've had such a crap grain season this year. Protein is down, and protein quality is also rubbish. I'm not sure what I'll get when I next need to stock up. The advantage of buying flour is that a professional miller has blended different grain parcels to get a reasonably standardised product, targetted to the end use. However, as an enthusiast and also buying organic, it's possible the value proposition of the wheat you end up buying is that "it's wheat, not flour, and it's organic". It's certainly not marketed specifically for home bread baking. It's hard to determing the falling number and other performance info, and at the end of the day, if you're not happy wth it... What else are you going to buy?
I'm sure Demeter market a solid general purpose wheat, or even blend, to this market. However, it'd be great to get more info and have some more choice.
And... after 3 lots (75kg) the results have always been good, and my technique is improving. So I'm happy.
Lets know if you find any alternate sources? I'd like to play with some other grains.
Replies
Hey Stu Magoo,
I bought a mill from Aus Grain Mills, who suggested "health Food Thyme" for supply of Demeter organic wheat. There in Croydon, so perhaps a bit out of the way. But easy enough to find via Google.
I initially made a lot of phone calls to various grain suppliers, trying to find where I could buy more than a 5kg retail pack, but less than 100kg or 1mt... But so far Health Food Thyme is the only one I've found. Most mills or grain merchants don't know what to do with someone who only wants 25kg...
Next step is to get to know some commercial grain mills. When wheat is $250/mt I figure 25kg should be almost free... But turning up at the door with cash or beer may do the trick.
My concern is that we've had such a crap grain season this year. Protein is down, and protein quality is also rubbish. I'm not sure what I'll get when I next need to stock up. The advantage of buying flour is that a professional miller has blended different grain parcels to get a reasonably standardised product, targetted to the end use. However, as an enthusiast and also buying organic, it's possible the value proposition of the wheat you end up buying is that "it's wheat, not flour, and it's organic". It's certainly not marketed specifically for home bread baking. It's hard to determing the falling number and other performance info, and at the end of the day, if you're not happy wth it... What else are you going to buy?
I'm sure Demeter market a solid general purpose wheat, or even blend, to this market. However, it'd be great to get more info and have some more choice.
And... after 3 lots (75kg) the results have always been good, and my technique is improving. So I'm happy.
Lets know if you find any alternate sources? I'd like to play with some other grains.
Cheers,