The struggle of working in whole grain

and everything else

This one is bits and pieces.

The first part of this newsletter was written last year, and was originally titled “Miller Spotlight: Nan Kohler.” But I never finished it, I barely started it, and it’s been one of my many drafts that never got done. Nan and I had a call yesterday, and it lit a fire under me.

Hey all,

I hope you’re doing well. I am trying to keep my writing gears going, now that it feels like there is a little momentum. I was looking at the numbers of my old posts, and, not too surprisingly, noticed my spotlight on Dawn Woodward was one with the most views/engagement. I understand why, Dawn continues to be one of the most exciting and underrated bakers working with whole grains. Her approach is so thoughtful and refreshing. If you haven’t had the chance to read it yet, I hope you’ll circle back.

Why be an influencer when you can be a trailblazer? Food trends are often just valuable in the moment, during a brief time where you gain clout online for taking part. Dawn’s work has left a deep path for others to follow and is about so much more than just trendiness. Home-bakers, professional bakers, and lovers of great breads and pastries, have been discovering new flavours while gaining a better understanding about grains and our food system through Dawn’s work. Her and Nan have a lot in common.

Rhubarb frangipane tarts at the bakery.

So, I wanted to talk about Nan Kohler, owner/operator of Grist & Toll, an urban flour mill in Pasadena, California. If you’ve been reading my newsletter from the beginning, you would have noticed me mention her on more than one occasion. I met Nan at a time I was looking for a major shift in my baking and my career, and she ended up having a major impact on my perspective of what it is to work with grains.

For anyone working in whole grain, a radical change has taken place. I first heard the difference between incremental vs. fundamental change explained at a soil conference in Montreal in 2019. Incremental change in my work would be something small, like changing a piece of equipment or an ingredient. Fundamental change is when the underlying reason for doing something changes. Nan and Dawn are changemakers, and they, among others, inspired this change in my work. It’s a radical and alienating road to take. I know it can be lonely for a lot of us working in this space. I can feel swallowed up by the world around me. We’re trying our hardest to move our mission forward, because we believe in it’s social and environmental impacts so much, but we are up against so much.

How can a restaurant with white flour pasta and brioche say that they are close to zero waste? People write whatever they want, and it’s easy to celebrate powerful people who make you look good doing it. Nothing matters. This is David versus Goliath.

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I wrote the part above a year ago and never finished it. The bakery wasn’t open yet and Elena was born. Hard to remember that long ago.

I have been grinding at the bakery and haven’t taken a day off yet this year. I’m feeling exhausted but earlier today had a 2 hour phone call with Nan, and that really invigorated me. So I thought it might be a good time to come back to this.

Whole Grain Matters. Nourishing yourself, contributing to an equitable and just society, and caring for the environment are radical acts in a system that thrives on exploitation. We lack agency as people in community. We don’t have enough control over the mechanisms of our society, from municipal to global. We don’t have access to directly influence foreign policy, to stop genocide or end war. We are without the tools to protect forests and wetlands, and sensitive ecosystems of all kinds. Trade wars will take place whether we like it or not, and mining contracts and energy contracts will get approved faster. The industrial machine will offer us “green” solutions that are no less harmful, a new revenue stream for the same system.

The industrial revolution changed society, but largely benefited those in power. Industrialization allowed for larger monopolies of our basic needs. Towns and villages no longer had to grow their own food, mill their own flour, or raise their own cows. We gave up our crafts and economy to become labourers. In that, we lost crop diversity and self-reliance. In return, we got connivence, at a cost that is still impacting us today. For the most part, we depend on food that comes from an unknown source. We don’t know the growing conditions or the working conditions. We don’t know the nutritional value, but we’re told it’s high. For over a hundred years, the ruling class has wanted to be responsible for our food. They’ve told us it’s safer this way, more efficient, more delicious. We are still allowing mass farms to grow grain just to have 40% discarded. As long as it financially benefits those in power, the consequences for the rest of society pales in comparison to the profit.

Whole Grain is not the answer to all of our problem, but it’s part of the solution. Big picture, existential stuff, actualized one loaf of bread at a time.

In concert, during Amazing Grace, Arlo Guthrie said: “We can’t ever let nothing make us afraid to do anything that’s right. You know, because there’s a lot of stuff in this world that needs to be turned around. But the funny thing is, if you can’t do it for yourself, you can’t do it for the world either…it’s possible to do for yourself what you intend to do for the rest of the world”

So it starts with us. You want to shift politics? Eat it.

Wendell Barry said: “Eating is an agricultural act”. Eating is taking part in the management of land. The way land is managed is reflected in how we eat. And to explain how important land is, Malcolm X in 1963: “ Revolution is based on land. Land is the basis of all independence. Land is the basis of freedom, justice, and equality.” Our revolution is in our food.

Where does our food come from? Does it allow dignity for the people cultivating it? Does it respect that land it was grown on? Does it respect the water it required? Does it nourish people to the fullest extent possible. Good bread starts with good soil.

Active culture.

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I’m just going to publish this before another year passes. Thanks to everyone that is part of our mission and supports our work. The bakery is coming up on its 17th month. I appreciate everyone the allows this dream to be possible.

Don’t be shy.