South west grain network
Is a group of South West bakers, millers & farmers who are taking active steps into an alternative grain economy, one that is human scale, non-commodity and grounded in friendship and collaboration.
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Hylsten Bakery has been active member of the network since its inception and are proud to continue to work closely with our neighbour Andrew from Fresh Flour to include as much locally grown, regenerativly farmed grain as possible in all our breads.
The cann mill project - true south west flour
The Cann Mill project is the culmination of work of a group of farmers, millers and growers both from the South West Grain Network and further afield. The aim was to produce a flour that was grown, milled and baked with in the South West and could replace some of the network's reliance on the high volume, modern wheat varieties produced by mills such as Shipton Mill.
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The grain used to produce the True South West flour is a blend of two different population wheats - YQ and Mariagertoba. Population wheats are a wonderful way of introducing a wealth of biodiversity into both the field as well as our diets . Conventionally farmed modern wheat varieties (that make up the vast majority of grain consumed world wide) are monoculture modern varieties. They are often reliant on chemical imputs or if grown organically could be susceptible to disease or adverse weather such as drought that could wipe out an entire harvest.
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Population wheats are made up of a wide variety of different wheats meaning the whole crop is more resilient. Some varieties will be drought resistant and others less susceptible to certain diseases. This means that even if there are adverse conditions the farmer should still be able to harvest something rather than losing the whole crop. Not only this but a population wheat will adapt to the climate and land over time increasing its resilience.
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