POLENTA is a gorgeous, red flint corn variety called Floriani, originating in the Italian Alps, grown specifically to be coarsely-milled and slow-cooked into perfect porridge. In the field, the ears are a stunning red, and Floriani reveals its inner yellows and pinks when ground into polenta. This bread is very gently sweetened with Blackstrap Molasses, and softened with extra virgin olive oil, making for a pillowy, yet substantial staff of life.

EMMER is an ancient wheat variety, and one of the oldest domesticated crops, being grown right here in Oregon. Emmer became the main cultivated wheat, replacing einkorn, around 4,000 BC. It was eaten as a porridge or dense bread from the first settler states through many long-lasting civilizations. It’s had a resurgence in the last 50 years due to its nutrition, amazing flavor, and ability to tolerate poor soil.

DURUM is a variety of wheat with a golden hue and chewy texture that is usually refined for pasta flour. The durum flour we use is whole grain, all of the good parts preserved. We also mix in whole durum berries that we’ve toasted dark, cracked coarsely, and soaked overnight into a delicious porridge. This process diffuses a toasty flavor (normally reserved for just the dark-ish crust) to the crumb inside your loaf.

BARLEY is known to be a resilient cool-weather crop with a short growing season, but doesn’t contain much gluten and would make a very dense bread on its own. Oregon-grown barley is rolled (like oats), before being toasted and fermented overnight in a porridge. This is added to a sourdough red wheat loaf, tricking an otherwise dense grain into a spongy, succulent bread.

RYE is growing on people in this country. In early European agriculture, it’s public image evolved from a nuisance weed (that would sneak its way into wheat fields) to a treasured staple food that was even more reliable in poor soil and cold weather than wheat. Sometimes we use brotgewürz, a German bread spice that blends toasted coriander, caraway, anise, and fennel, to make a delicious spiced rye loaf. Other times, toasted sunflower seeds or local flax!