No Run-of-the-Mill Flour

The Seattle Times - “IT’S TOAST THURSDAY,” says Kevin Morse, as he slices a loaf of naturally leavened bread that he made. Wearing a plaid shirt and baseball cap, he puts slices in the toaster.

​The crust crunches nicely, and the latte-colored bread is chewy. Specks of grain are visible — Gazelle rye and two hard red spring wheats, Yecora Rojo and Expresso. Wonder Bread this certainly is not.

In industrial Burlington, next to a wholesale lumber mill and a fiberglass supplier, sits unassuming Cairnspring Mills. The brown building is rather generic — there’s not even a sign out front. But what happens inside has caught the attention of some of the top bakers in the country.

Inside is a revolution in flour milling. Using high-quality grain from sustainable farms in the Northwest, Cairnspring makes fresh European-style flours with amazing taste and baking performance.

Morse explains why Cairnspring flour is better than mass-produced — or commodity — flour. “Our grain is minimally processed. Just two grinds and two sifts.” That way, the nutritious, flavor-packed bran and germ stay in the flour. (The tasteless white industrial stuff is stripped of bran and germ.)