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OUR FLOUR

The grain ground at Shipton mill provides flours that are unsurpassed in texture and flavour and have built a well-earned reputation among master bakers, artisans and homebakers all over the country.

We source exceptional grains both heritage home wheats/cereals and the best from the heartlands of the world. In keeping with todays requirements we supply both stoneground and roller milled flours both organic and conventional. We also mill a growing range of “exotic” and specialty grains.

By visiting FLOUR DIRECT you can order any of our flours/products, and there is free delivery on orders of 24kg or more.Some of our flours are available from select retailers. You are welcome to visit the mill, enjoy the ambience and purchase flour directly, mon-fri 9-5.30, and Saturday mornings.

Click here for directions.

Traditional grains

We use many traditional grains that have not been over hybridised or enhanced so the quality of the grain and its suitability for more traditional uses is ideal. For example to produce our traditional organic white and wholemeal flours, we use a rare variety of wheat called Maris Widgeon. Traditionally used for thatching because of the long stems on which heritage wheats bear their grain,it is well suited to the organic system of sustainable farming.

For every acre, Maris Widgeon yields almost half the amount of modern varieties, but its quality and flavour are so excellent we believe it is worth paying a premium to farmers who continue to grow it.

Provenance

England has always been part of the ancient trading network of history and wheat has been imported to England forever, even initially as wheat is not native to the British isles. While Shipton mill actively supports the practice of “local” wherever possible, and use English wheats exclusively in some flours  and in many of our blends, the demand is such that wheat must be imported and blended to provide good bread for all.

We actively support sea-transport as a sustainable practice, and source only the best parcels of wheat we can find on the world market, often preferring wheat grown closer to home such as the new market in Kazakhstan for example.

Kazakhstan is the newly developing bread bowl of Europe with ideal climatic features to produce strong bread wheats which are rich in protein, giving excellent baking qualities and consistency much prized by master bakers. Kazakhstan is the ancestral home of apples and garlic, so the famous English apples actually originate there indicating a lineage in food culture.

After political turmoil it has once again emerged as a culinary heartland growing superb organic wheat. Shipton mill sources the very best of these for some of our strong bread flours.

Ever since the settlement of North America and Canada, British bakers have delighted in the strong bread wheats grown on the northern praries. In colonial days this created quite a buzz as breadmakers found they got an extra loaf from the usual mix as these flours absorb more water than home-wheat flour.

Accordingly, we import the best of Canadian wheat and in the tradition of milling, mix them with flavoursome home wheat to produce blends which have been celebrated for hundreds of years.

We also import superior wheat from France when available, alternatively we use French varieties grown locally. Our type 45 flour, milled carefully is softish and flavoursome in keeping with the tradition of fine French flour milled for specialties such as croissant and puff pastry. Type 55 French, is ideal for baguette and white French breads, the perfect miche.

Shipton mill`s very finest flour is the "00" Italian ciabatta flour, ideal for fine pasta and massively holey chewy ciabatta loaves so popular today.

Our range

For more details about Shipton mills flours and to purchase click on the links below.