by Hahna Curtin, Production Kitchen Buyer/Supervisor
As of September, the Willy Street Co-op Production Kitchen achieved our long-term goal of using all local wheat flour, cornmeal, and polenta in our prepared Deli foods and baked goods! We are very proud to announce we are now sourcing these ingredients from Meadowlark Community Mill in Ridgeway, Wisconsin. This means that wheat flour, cornmeal, and polenta now join the growing list of ingredients that the Co-op’s Production Kitchen exclusively sources locally. This list of ingredients includes all of our eggs, milk, buttermilk, heavy whipping cream, butter, fresh pasta, and as much produce as is seasonally possible.
When making purchasing decisions at the Co-op, there are many aspects we consider and prioritize: Is it local? Is it ethically and sustainably produced? Does the price point make sense for us as a business and in terms of accessibility for our customers? We work hard to select products and ingredients that align with our mission statement. Oftentimes it’s a choice of which available ingredient has most of these qualities and is the best fit. It’s not every day that we find a product that checks every box. The switch to Meadowlark Community Mill is one of those very special and exciting opportunities to work with a vendor who fits all of our criteria.
The Start
Farmers Halee and John Wepking, along with miller Rink DaVee, launched Meadowlark Community Mill in March of this year, after moving the stone mill that once belonged to Lonesome Stone Milling in Lone Rock, Wisconsin to their farm in Ridgeway, Wisconsin. Meadowlark’s operation is a winsome mix of traditional farming and milling practices and modern marketing and connectivity with their active social media presence. Their labels are beautifully designed—Charley Harper-esque images by Chicago designer Emily Anderson.
A Robust Local Economy
Meadowlark stone mills their organic grain, most of which they grow on-site. Meadowlark strives to build a robust local grain economy that will serve their surrounding communities' individual needs and bolster regional food security. This local focus and the short journey from grain to milling to kitchen means our customers are getting products made with the freshest flour possible. The flour is usually milled only one to two days before we receive it.
Changes
Shoppers who regularly buy from our Grab & Go sections may have noticed a change in appearance in our perennially popular pizza dough. This is one of the more immediately noticeable changes caused by our transition to Meadowlark flour. Our pizza dough was previously made using an organic white bread flour processed in California. The dough, which used to be quite light in color, is now a slightly darker cream color, lightly flecked with bran. The dough is made with Meadowlark’s Bolted All-Purpose Flour, which has a 10.5% protein content and is described as a mid-point between a whole wheat and white flour. White flour is made from only one of the three parts of the grain, the endosperm, with the bran and germ being removed. Bolted flour is ground whole and then sifted to remove some, but not all, of the bran. Meadowlark estimates that they retain about 35% of the bran and 90% of the endosperm and germ. The bran and germ are the nutrient and flavor dense parts of the grain, making for baked goods with richer color, texture, and taste.
In making this change with our pizza dough, we are joining the ranks of Pizza Man, a Milwaukee pizzeria established in 1970, who have also started making their all-important dough (their motto is “in crust we trust”) with Meadowlark’s bolted flour. While Pizza Man has been able to have their wait staff and front of house employees tell customers about the change in appearance and explain why this flour is so special, we don’t have as many opportunities to directly share our enthusiasm with customers while they are shopping our Grab & Go sections, which is why we wanted to make sure we took the time to share this development here in the Reader.
The Freshest Flour Available
Next time you’re enjoying the delicious crispy breading on our Southern Fried Tofu, you can know that it was made with organic local flour and cornmeal. Or next time you’re making a pizza at home with our pizza dough, you can feel confident that it was made with the freshest flour available, using milling practices that date back centuries. When I help John Wepking unload the bags of flour from the back of the Meadowlark truck every week before he heads to State Line Distillery, Willy East, Madison Sourdough Co., and Bloom Bake Shop, I always feel so happy to be a part of such a regional, sustainable, and nourishing grain economy.