Putting the Local in Bulk

If you haven’t stopped by City Market to pick up your Eat Local Week scorecard and to see our display in Bulk, do! There are lots of fun events happening. Now that the cool weather is upon us, it’s nice to get cozy in the kitchen, too, with recipes like whole wheat cinnamon rolls made with local flour.


Whole wheat cinnamon rolls - warm and toasty on a chilly morning

Bulk is rocking the local foods this year. I talked to Sean Flemming, our Bulk Buyer, about the process of working with local growers to fill the bins in the Bulk section. Say hello if you see him in Bulk:


Sean Flemming, Bulk Buyer

Farms might not be on your mind in the Bulk section, the way they are in Produce with its bountiful displays of fruits and vegetables. But behind the scenes, farmers are working hard to bring crops of beans and grains to harvest, dry them, and thresh beans or mill flour. Sean is on the phone with the growers throughout the summer, checking in about the crops and projected availability for the Co-op.

“I’m excited about the approaching harvest season,” Sean says. The heat wave we had in the early summer helped the grains along, and he’s hoping for a bigger yield on beans, too. Black turtle beans now have pride of place in one of our bins year-round, and we’d like to carry creamy and delicious yellow-eye beans throughout the year, too. We may even be getting local soy beans!

Besides the local cornmeal, wheat berries, and rolled oats that are currently on display in the Bulk endcap, local flour is going to be big this year. Gleason Grains, based in Bridport, VT, will be bringing us a “bolted flour” soon. Bolted flour gets its name from the bolt of cloth through which flour was once sifted to remove some of the bran. It’s somewhere between whole wheat and white flour, essentially making a slightly lighter whole wheat flour. It’s already in Middlebury Co-op, and customers love it.

If local foods like these get you excited, pick up an Eat Local Week scorecard and go to a class, a tasting, the farmer’s market, or cook a local meal at home. And be sure to check back in Bulk for more local crops as summer turns to fall.
 
Local Cinnamon Rolls
I love the nutty taste of the Butterworks Farm whole wheat bread flour. It has a robust flavor that’s wonderful in homemade breads and rolls. Shape the rolls the night before and bake them in the morning for a delicious whole-grain breakfast.



Ingredients:
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 ¼ cups warm water
2 Tbs. Bee Haven honey
1 tsp. sea salt
2 cups Red Hen all-purpose flour
2 cups Butterworks Farm bread flour
2 Tbs. melted butter or vegetable oil

For the filling:
½ cup melted butter
½ cup walnuts or almonds
½ cup raisins
½ cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
 
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with honey. Set aside for 10 minutes. Mix in salt and slowly add the flour until it comes together. It should still be soft and slightly sticky to the touch.

Sprinkle some extra flour on a work surface and knead for about 10 minutes.

Grease the bowl with melted butter or vegetable oil. Place the dough in the bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 ½-2 hours.

Roll the dough flat on a floured surface into a rectangle about 20 by 10 inches.

Spread the melted butter, nuts, raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon on the dough and roll into a long log.

Cut into 1-inch pieces and place flat on a greased sheet (or one covered with parchment paper). Leave about a ½-inch space between rolls for rising. Let them rise for ½ hour, or overnight, covered, in the fridge.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 for about 30 minutes, until golden on top.

Cool slightly before serving and they will melt in your mouth.

Adapted from Baking Bread with Children