Back to the Stone Age

Good flour is hard to find, even in the Mill City – or so it was before Steve Horton, founder of Rustica Bakery, opened Baker's Field Flour & Bread in Kieran Folliard's Food Building in Northeast Minneapolis. There Horton and team are stone-milling local whole grains, most of which are purchased directly from family farmers in our region, located in cities like Cottonwood, Cokato and Dawson, Minnesota. After milling the grain into fresh flour, they then craft it into premium-quality, naturally leavened artisan bread.

Baker's Field's delicious end product is a result of these key factors:

  • WHOLE GRAINS contain oils from the germ, fiber from the bran, and protein and starch from the endosperm. Many modern flours are sifted to leave only the less nutritive white endosperm.
     
  • LOW-TEMPERATURE STONE MILLING is believed to produce better-tasting flour and to preserve beneficial nutrients and enzymes in the grains, which may be damaged at high temperatures.
     
  • NATURALLY FERMENTED SINGLE-ORIGIN GRAIN and use of no commercial yeast produces unique textures and lingering, complex, nutty, creamy and even tangy flavor profiles.
Baker's Field Seeded Bread
Baker's Field Seeded Bread

Baker's Field's meticulously baked breads are notably darker than other loaves. This is due to the whole-grain nature of the flour and the fermentation process, but it is also a product of the rapt attention the bakers give to their breads. They know that when it comes to bread, color equals flavor. Baker's Field breads are available on weekends on the Artisan Bread Table in the Bakery Department.

Seeded Bread

This dense, round loaf has a unique texture and flavor from the incorporation of toasted millet, flax, pepita and sunflower seeds.

Hundred Rye Bread

This dark and dense 100% rye bread is tangy and intense.

Filone

An Italian-style baguette, this loaf has a particularly flavorful crust and a beautiful open crumb.

Table Bread

Made with whole wheat, rye and bread flour, this multipurpose loaf has a great depth of flavor that's slightly sharp with a chewy crust.

Millstone

Good Question: What is a millstone?

There are two types of millstones, and you need one of each to mill grain. A base stone, also called a bedstone, is slightly convex and does not move. A slightly concave runner stone turns above it and produces a grinding action that turns grains into flour.

Selection and availability of products and ingredients vary by market.