Artisan
Flour Power
Wisconsin’s historical role as a wheat producer is explored through artisanal millers like Meadowlark Organics and Anarchy Acres, which emphasize heritage varieties and stone-milling.
Wisconsin has long been known as the dairy much of the 19th century, Wisconsin was known as a wheat state. In fact, in 1860, Wisconsin was ranked third in the nation for wheat production. Several factors helped dairy take over, including severe soil depletion, insect infestations and intense competition from cheaper western wheat. Dairying provided a more sustainable economic alternative, favored by climate and European immigrant skills, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society. Fast forward to the 21st century and farmers growing wheat in Northeast Wisconsin grow it as a cover crop or sell it for livestock feed. Wheat growing for flour has migrated to Southwest Wisconsin, where the crop is grown on the well-drained ridges of the Driftless Area.
A significant provider of Wisconsin winter wheat flour is Meadowlark Organics near Ridgeway. Owners Halee and John Wepking met working in New York City restaurant kitchens, then decided to return to John’s native Wisconsin. They moved to Lancaster where they operated a restaurant and farmed a bit on John’s family farm. After learning that the farm would not provide them with a clear future, Halee found an ad on Craigslist from Paul Bickford, an area farmer, which read, “I am seeking a forward-thinking individual or couple to join my 950-acre organic farming operation. Ethics and trust are a cornerstone of organic farming and are important to my operation. I want to share my 40 years of farm experience with someone who is willing to work to improve my farm.”
The couple opened Meadowlark Farm and Mill in 2021 after purchasing equipment from nearby Lonesome Stone Mill when the owner retired, so they are celebrating their fifth anniversary.
Their focus is first on the land in Southwest Wisconsin’s Driftless Region and, along with their own wheat organically grown on the tops of hills, the mill obtains grain from 10 other area farms for their stone mill. Now, they produce a dozen varieties of flour. Sixty percent is sold wholesale to bakeries, grocery stores, and restaurants. The grain is stone milled shortly after harvest to maintain its superior nutritional value, flavor, and aroma, as it retains the nutrient-dense germ and bran. The only refinement they do is to sift the flour through a fine mesh screen to remove the larger pieces of bran, which is called “bolting,” but bleach is never used.
Bread flour is Meadowlark’s biggest seller, but they offer a variety of grains such as buckwheat, corn, rye and spelt. Meadowlark employs three full-time and five part-time workers. Halee said all of their employees are interested in making changes in the way the food supply chain works and providing solid nutrition and high quality. Sixty percent is sold wholesale to bakeries, grocery stores, and restaurants.
Another producer is Anarchy Acres in Mount Pleasant, Wis. Its mission is to bring back wheat varieties that were significant to Wisconsin’s agricultural past.
“To work towards our mission, we plant, grow, and harvest all of our wheat ourselves, so we know exactly how the crop has been handled,” owner Charles Tennessen said. “The flour we sell is milled on site using a stone mill designed and built here at the farm. We do not keep more than a few pounds of flour in stock at any time, ensuring that the flour you receive is the freshest possible.”
Charles is a life-long baker and became more and more interested in where his flour was coming from — so he started growing wheat on his small farm about 15 years ago. He began with a strain of wheat called ‘“turkey red,”’ then after continued research, found he could buy small amounts of seed from a number of historic strains, then plant it for several summers until he had enough seed for a field. “That was very exciting and, of course, a lot of work,” he recalled.
Eventually he focused on seven varieties he knows were grown in Wisconsin in the 19th century and were authentic. “My business now is growing wheat from 19th century Wisconsin,” Charles added. “I have at least four varieties that I’m the only person in the world that’s growing those varieties.
What drives me is that I’m a baker and I love pizza and I love eating the things that I grow. You know the wheat is more than 100 years old and you know where that variety was keeping people alive.”
“I sell to people who are baking at home,” he added. “More people are also grinding at home because the best product is when you grind it yourself,” Charles explained. “Wheat has a short shelf life, especially whole grain flour which becomes stale quite quickly. Being such a small operation, I probably have less than 40 pounds on hand. When an order comes in, I turn the grain into flour and, therefore, my customers have the freshest flour.”
Charles is not only a wheat grower and baker, he has his own philosophy that drives his life and farming. Anarchy Acres is powered by a team of three miniature donkeys: Rosie, Cassie, and Sebastian (often called “Team Anarchy”), who have been on the farm since 2012. They till the soil, plant, harvest, and power a turner for tasks like shelling corn. They also handle the transport of grain from the fanning mill to the granary. “It’s springtime here and for awhile the weather’s in charge,” he explained. “I’m not in charge, the weather’s in charge. In another week or two I’ll be plowing with my donkeys, and the donkeys are ready so we’re all in this together. There are limitations and respect, and everything has an input rather than one person being in charge.”
While most bread flour wheat is grown in the Driftless Area, much of it makes its way to bread ovens in Northeastern Wisconsin. Jake Higbee is the head baker at Voyageurs Bakehouse, an open-con- cept bakery with locations in downtown Green Bay, Appleton and DePere. Voyageurs buys its whole wheat flour from Heartland Grain in Lodi. “Every type of flour is going to have different protein structure, different enzymatic activity that comes throughout,” he explained. This affects the dough’s strength and stretchability. “Everything depends on what you’re trying to use it for,” he added. ”Each grain has its own properties. That’s seed dependent, region dependent. That presents challenges but it also allows opportunities to craft something local and unique.”
Sheboygan is home to four restaurants owned by Stefano Vigletti and his wife, Whitney Witt Vigletti. Il Ritrovo, Field to Fork, Trattoria Stefano and the Duke of Avon along with the Slo Food deli and store where Ana Ninkovic is the general manager. She said the secret to great bread and other baked goods is using stone-milled wheat. Not only does Ana oversee bread production but also the pastry and pizza dough for Il Ritrovo which is an authentic Neopolitan pizza restaurant.
While the wheat belt has moved to the Great Plains, Wisconsin-raised winter wheat is still highly valued in producing some of the best bread and pizza dough found anywhere.
