Grain business offers locally milled flour
-Photo by SARAH JENKINS The view outside the Farm to Market building.
--Photo by SARAH JENKINS The wheat for the soft white winter wheat flour before it’s harvested.
—Photo by SARAH JENKINS Farm to Market mill showing grain ready to be milled.
—Photo by SARAH JENKINS The Farm to Market stone mill.
BOUNDARY COUNTY-Three miles south of the Canadian border, nestled on a quiet hill, sits Farm to Market Grains. For four generations, Houck farms has been farming in the Kootenai Valley. The farm was established by Tim's great-grandfather and continues nearly 100 years later.
The stone milled flour produced by Farm to Market Grains utilizes only grains from their farms. Their mission is to produce quality products that are nutritious and GMO free.
Owners, Tim and Julie Dillin, wanted to enhance the products grown on the farm. Tim had been on the Idaho Barley Commission for six years, and knew that barley grain was healthy. The stone milled flour uses a 30 inch stone. Different from the all-purpose flour at a local grocery store, at Farm to Market Grains, the flour is full of the original nutrients, wheat germs, minerals and vitamins. There is also no added preservatives or bleaching. Their milling process is at a slower, lower temperature which allows for a longer shelf life without preservatives.
There are several options to choose from when selecting types of flour. Hard white spring wheat flour, which is excellent for bread making. The soft white winter wheat flour is the finest sifted flour and is perfect for cookies, cakes and pastries, as well as several others. Also, the heart healthy barley flour may be used for breads and cookies; see the recipe from Farm to Market Grains in this week's edition. Bags come in five pound bags, 25 pound bags or fill your own bulk container. For those who enjoy milling their own, they offer wheat kernels as well. All of their products are hand bagged, some even come with a recipe on them. Pancakes and seasonal bread mixes are also available for purchase.
Interested in purchasing Farm to Market Grains flours, contact the Dillins at 208-267-7192. Local stores also carry a variety of merchandise; Mandy's Gift Shop, Sharon's County Store, Yoder's, Super 1, Akin's, Mountain Mike's Health Food Store. The Express O'clock also uses their flour in all their baked goods and pizza crust. In Sandpoint, Winter Ridge Natural Foods and Wood's Hay and Grain. Farm to Market Store in Libby, Mt., has their flour as well.
Field trips or tours are also encouraged.