Geeking out with the millers

One of the aspects of this venture so far that's been the most fun for us foodie geeks has been finding our ingredients. This may seem like a mundane task, but it's opened up worlds of knowledge and community by way of making connections with the local producers of our food.


This week I was privileged to have the opportunity to get in on a three-day baking intensive at the SF Baking Institute, given by Keith and Nicky Giusto of Central Milling. We baked piles and piles of gorgeous crusty loaves in their beautiful deck ovens. Keith Giusto---a down-home character under whose country twang and off-color jokes lives the methodical soul of a true baker---is also a savvy businessman and master miller. While we waited for our breads to rise he proudly showed slideshows of heirloom wheat varietals, farmers in their wheat fields, the Yorkshire Terrier that he named one of their custom flour mixes after ("Herbie"), and machinery like the "farinograph" which analyzes properties of flours. For a bread nerd like me, it was hog heaven. Of course, now I have to bust my flatbread formula open again to test the five or six flours I came home with. I'm kind of rooting for Herbie.     ----Jenya