article The Surprising Truth About Flour (And Why It Matters for Your Family)
Somehow, I ended up on a farm trying to build an online farmers market. This is all brand new to us. Neither MariKate or I come from a farming background. We’ve never worked in food, logistics, or figured out how to get fresh eggs and beef to someone’s doorstep. So I’ve been diving into books and podcasts—well, mostly listening—to learn everything I can.
I recently finished Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America by Michael Ruhlman. It’s all about how the grocery store became what it is today—and how food itself had to change to fit that system.
The part that stuck with me? Flour.
Here's what I learned
Back in the mid-1800s, roller mills came along and basically changed flour forever. They stripped out the germ and bran (the parts of the wheat that have oils, vitamins, minerals, fiber…you know, the good stuff). What was left was the starchy middle—the “refined” white flour that could sit on shelves forever without spoiling.
It was perfect for mass production and shipping food across the country. But perfect for nutrition? Not so much.
As Dr. Sukol puts it in Grocery:
“‘Refined’ flour means flour made by removing the germ and the bran—leaving mostly the starchy endosperm. That removes fibre, oils, iron, vitamins—all the stuff our bodies need.”
Later, food companies tried to patch things up by “enriching” flour with a few added vitamins and minerals. But it was never the full picture—and what we ended up with was unhealthy bread filling the nation’s bellies.
What That Means for Us
All that refining didn’t just change flour—it changed our health. Roller-milled flour is basically empty carbs. It spikes your blood sugar, wears out your metabolism, and has been linked to things like diabetes and heart disease.
Like this article from Saskia Industries points out, roller milling also heats up the grain during the process, destroying even more nutrients. Cheap and efficient? Yes. Good for your body? Not so much.
The Better Way (That’s Actually the Old Way)
Here’s the good news: stone milling is making a comeback—and we can deliver it right to your door. From all-purpose flour to Einkorn to oats, you can find it all here: Janie’s Mill Flour.
Janie's Mill is just an hour south of us in Ashkum, IL, they slowly grinds the whole grain—bran, germ, and all—between traditional stones. That gentle process keeps the flour cool and preserves the delicate oils, proteins, and vitamins that industrial roller mills strip away.
They put it best:
“Stone milling is an ancient art and a modern science… Our flours do not need to be enriched, because they have all the richness that nature put into each and every kernel.”
Even their sifted flours keep 70–90% of the whole grain. Translation: more flavor, more nutrition, more life.
Real Bread, Real Grain
For those that don't have time do bake their own bread, we teamed up with Rustic Knead, a local bakery you might know from Lemont (and now Frankfort), to make a special sourdough using Janie’s Mill flour.
Three local companies—Kakadoodle x Rustic Knead x Janie’s Mill—coming together to make bread that actually nourishes.
Final Thought
I never thought I’d geek out over flour. But once you learn how something so basic was stripped down for convenience, it makes you want to do better.
That’s what we’re about here: real food, raised and prepared the way it should be. Not the lifeless version that industrial shortcuts gave us, but food that still has its soul.
