May 26, 2019
Michael
Stoate is a fifth generation miller in Dorset, whose
family have been producing stoneground flour since
1832. That means he knows a lot about flour. It was the
era when sailing ketches would carry the flour across the
Severn to Swansea and return with coal for the mills. As a
teenager he thought he’d be an engineer but he had so much fun
getting his hands dirty in the holidays he couldn’t
help but join the family business.
In this conversation you’ll learn about the wonder of wheat
germ – the embryo of life, which gives bread its
gorgeous flavour – and what really happens to it
in modern mechanised milling… That might help you work out how
bread now can last for days, but when you were a kid, or in France,
it lasted just a few hours.
And you’ll see how Michael has adapted to the
ever-changing bread scene: from the lows of the late
80s and 90s, when his whole-food shop
market disappeared to brighter times, with our growing
interest in continental breads, artisanal baking and
sourdough.
I learnt a lot, and I hope you do too. Enjoy x