From field to oven
Meet The Grains
We source our grains from small, midwestern farms, sprout them in-house and mill them into flour every bake day.
In Our Pantry:
Hard Red Winter Wheat
Heirloom Fife
Janie's Mill, Ashkum IL
The backbone of our breads.
Our organic heirloom Fife has deep complex flavor that lends to a nice, moist, cohesive crumb.
Soft Winter White Wheat
Frederick
Janie's Mill, Ashkum IL
Here to lighten things up.
Our organic soft white Frederick winter wheat has a mild, light taste, lending to a soft texture in baked goods.
Winter
Soft Red Wheat
Janie's Mill, Ashkum IL
Tender crumb, subtle sweetness
Our organic soft red winter wheat berries have a slightly sweet, nutty flavor.
Ancient Hard Red wheat
Spelt
Janie's Mill, Ashkum, IL
Nutty & sweet ancient grain
Spelt is an ancient grain that was domesticated around 5,000BC. It has a sweet, nutty flavor, low gluten content, and is a nutritional powerhouse, particularly rich in zinc, iron, phosphorus, copper, and magnesium.
Unhulled
Buckwheat
Janie's Mill, Ashkum IL
Naturally Gluten Free!
Fun Fact: Buckwheat is not wheat at all, but the gluten-free seeds from a plant related to rhubarb! Buckwheat has a distinct, complex flavor and is rich in protein, iron, fiber, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium. *NOTE: Although buckwheat is naturally gluten-free, Full Moon Bakehouse is NOT a certified gluten-free facility.
Grain
Rye
Bob's Red Mill
Earthy & Bold
Rye is deeply flavorful and a little wild. It ferments fast, holds moisture beautifully, and brings a characteristic tang and chew that wheat just can't replicate.
From field to oven
Why We Sprout
Sprouting grains makes bread that bakes up lighter, tastes better, and is easier to digest. Grains are technically seeds, and seeds are built to protect themselves. They have several protective layers (bran) that, in nature, would help protect the grain until it lands in soil to germinate, but they're hard for humans to digest. Sprouting starts to "pre-digest" some of the starches, breaking down those protective layers of bran and allows nutrients to become more bio-available, and is easier on blood sugar. This whole process also improves the flavor, making it subtly sweeter and more complex.
Our process
The Sprouting Process
We start with organic whole grain berries and soak them in clean water for 8-12 hours. After rinsing and draining, they go in to big lidded containers until they start to send out a little shoot/sprout, which happens in about 18-24h. After they're done sprouting, we spread the grains out to dry in a dehydrator for 18 hours before we store them to mill up into fresh flour on bake day.
A Note About Our Flour
We don't bake with 100% sprouted flour, as a choice, not a shortcut. Sprouted whole grains alone make for a dense, heavy loaf, but pairing them with strong, unbleached flours from mills we trust allows for a better and more predictable texture and rise. The sprouted grains do the talking and the artisan flour just makes sure the bread rises to the occasion.