Food Barley: A heart-healthy grain produced in Boundary County

When you come to the end of the pavement on scenic Farm to Market Road in northern Boundary County, you will see a small gray building perched up a hill overlooking the valley. This is the headquarters of Farm to Market Grains. Established in 2015, this small flour mill produces stone-ground flour from wheat and barley produced on Tim and Julie Dillin’s farm that you can find at Sharon’s Country Store, Super 1 Foods as well as other shops and grocery stores throughout North Idaho and into Western Montana.

As the entrepreneurs for Farm to Market Grain, Tim and Julie Dillin will receive a Governor’s Award for Excellence in Agriculture in marketing innovation at the upcoming Larry Branen Idaho Ag Summit in Boise on February 18 and 19. Not only have they been marketing innovators, the Dillins have also been at the forefront in promoting food barley as a crop for northern Idaho. They host extensive University of Idaho wheat, barley and canola trials, testing out new varieties for this area.

Barley is a very heart healthy grain, similar to oats in terms of having the potential to lower cholesterol and promote good health. Transit Hulless, the variety of food barley used in the flour produced by Farm to Market grains, was developed in Idaho. Barley flour has twice the fiber contained in wheat flour, plus it promotes healthy blood sugar levels by slowing glucose absorption. You can easily substitute 20 percent of the wheat flour with barley flour in all your favorite recipes. On their website, farmtomarketgrains.com, you can find tested recipes developed by Julie Dillin for 100 percent barley flour chocolate chip cookies, among other recipes.

In addition to barley flour, Farm to Market Grains produces hard white spring wheat flour, which is a high protein bread flour, and soft white winter flour, which is low in protein and designed for cookies, cakes, and pastries. The all-purpose flour you find in the marketplace is a blend of these types of flours that you can use in both bread and pastries. The beauty of specific purpose flours like the Farm to Market products is that they are specifically designed for these different end products.

Since consumers appreciate convenience, Julie has developed mixes for some different mixes, including a very popular pancake mix that is 50 percent barley flour and 50 percent wheat flour. She has created quick bread mixes as well, such as lemon blueberry bread, that are available seasonally. Other products that are available include wheat and barley kernels, and garbanzo beans.

*Look for our upcoming Timber & Agriculture Yearbook in next week’s issue.

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BARLEY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

3/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

8 oz. chocolate chips

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups Farm to Market Grains barley flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl, beat butter and sugars until almost fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the barley flour, baking soda, and the salt. Stir or beat on low until almost combined. Add the chocolate chips until blended. Drop dough by large spoonfuls onto parchment paper. Bake 10-14 minutes until golden around the edges but soft in the middle. Let them set for a minute then transfer.