Good article!
I have beef covered (we grow our own. ‘Chuck’ will be on the hoof until this coming March.) Our neighbor does pork, so we’re getting 1/2 a hog this month. I’ll have chickens again by Spring (hopefully!) and I just started growing drying beans this year - not sure why I didn’t before!
I would LOVE to find a local outlet for flour, but I’m still looking. I don’t bake as much as I used to (carbs!) but I still throw a loaf from time to time. This is the best bread recipe that I make:
https://pinchofyum.com/no-knead-bread#tasty-recipes-42994-jump-target
And these drop biscuits are always a hit:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/229366/quick-cheddar-garlic-biscuits/
Also, Popovers are a yummy treat, though you need a Popover Pan. HALF the carbs of the Biscuits!
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/228641/chef-johns-popovers/
I've found that buying flour directly from the flour mill is best, but the shipping fees are horrendous - often as nearly much as the flour. I have Prime on Amazon and can get some flours shipped "free" (after buying Prime).
I just bought some flour at "Azure Market Organics Unbleached Bread Flour, Ultra-Unifine, Organic." The cool thing is their wheat comes from an Idaho farm not far down the road!
Azure Market Organics Unbleached Bread Flour Ultra-Unifine is made from heritage varieties of hard red wheat from our close friends at Jenkins Creek Ranch in Idaho. This heritage wheat has the highest concentration of protein of any flour you can find in the US. At 16 percent, it’s got plenty of gluten to make a light, deliciously crusty loaf every time. It is milled using our Unifine process, and then sifted to remove some of the bran, resulting in a light, white flour. This results in a finished product that has softer flavor notes, rises better and adds a little lightness to your artisan breads.They use a "Drop" shipment method where they load up a semi truck with orders all over the Northwest (maybe farther, too) and make a circuit. You pick a drop location (I have three within a couple miles) and then show up to pick up your order. I'm trying the Drop Ship for the first time and pick up my order next Sunday at a local church. I'm using "Judy's Drop" -- apparently anybody can sign up to be a drop "agent."
I first heard about "Azure Standard" from FRiend "Disambiguator." Then, independently, I learned bout the "Unifine" milling process which led me to find the Azure Standard flour.
Here's a good article on "Unifine" milling.
Why Azure Mill's Unifine Flours are Better for You
Here's another good article from Washington State University on the "Unifine" milling process and how it got from England to WSU:
The lost and found flourmill
Lastly, here's a good article about flour mills in Washington's Skagit Valley north of Seattle.
How Two Mills in the Pacific Northwest Are Revolutionizing the Business of Flour
You might be able to get the grain locally at a Coop, but if not here are a couple of sources. There are more.
Drive by English lesson! The word "Lady" has its source in the Anglo-Saxon hlaf+dieg, 'loaf-kneader' or 'loaf-deliverer' An Anglo-Saxon wife of a warlord. The term eventually becomes modern English lady. In Beowulf, Weoltheow is the hlafdig at Heorot. Also called a hlaefdieg, hladig, or cwen. (Queen!)
Maruizio Leo runs a great blog called "The Perfect Loaf." His Beginners Sourdough Bread is fantastic. It doesn't require traditional kneading, just gentle "Stretch and Folds" over a period of time. You first mix just the flour and water and let it sit for an hour or so (an "autolyze"). Then you do the Stretch and Folds every 30 minutes for the first couple hours. After that, you let it proof at room temp for a while before moving it to the fridge for slower overnight proofing. You bake it the next morning. It's really good.
His blog is excellent. He's a smart guy and a good writer, plus whoever does his web presentations and videos is doing great production work.