Heritage Grains at Hayden Flour Mills

#FoodiesinPhoenix

When you think of Phoenix, you think of this, right?I know I do. And well, that is what it looks like, so imagine my surprise when I was introduced to Sossaman Farms who run Hayden Flour Mills. Phoenix and the prairie lands of the mid-west have little in common topographically–or so I thought.

I was surprised to learn that lands are extremely fertile for growing heritage grains. Back in 1868, Charles Hayden discovered the lands were perfect for growing these grains so he set up shop, so to speak, growing grain. Now, many years later, Sossaman Farms seeks to continue with what Mr. Hayden started, producing high quality, non-GMO, stone-ground grains.As part of our Foodies in Phoenix tour, we were given a sneak peak at their new, soon-to-be-open to the public operation where you can take a tour of the milling facility, attend baking classes, and other educational seminars. I strongly encourage you all to take a tour of this place, if for no other reason than to meet Ben, the Bearded Miller Extraordinaire. I have never met someone more enthusiastic about what he does. He broke down how the grain becomes the flour we use to make all our delicious items. I honestly feel because he loves what he does so much, that translates into a better quality product, his heart is fully invested. Then he hit this girl right in her heart!

He showed us his homemade pastas, which are still in the experimental stages using freekeh, farro, and more. The frenzy behind the pastas was both palpable and audible when he and Emma Zimmerman, the Director of Operations said we could take samples home, as long we understood these were not perfected yet.  None of us cared. We were simply delighted to be able to try these fantastic items.A random bit of trivia I took from my visit was that Hayden Flour Mills supplies Italy with durum wheat, which is what Italian love to make their pasta from….Think, that pasta imported from Italy that we all love quite possibly started from wheat grown and ground in Phoenix at Hayden Flour Mills!Hayden Flour Mills
22100 S Sossaman Rd
Queen Creek, AZ 85142

480-557-0031

And you can find them online at their Webpage,  Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Thank you for sharing!