A New Canmore Business Is Making Flour the Old-Fashioned Way

For centuries, turning wheat into flour was a relatively simple process: grow the grain, grind it and bring the resulting flour home.

Spindle Mill, a new Canmore business launched by Jessie Boston and Raf Pinho, is betting there is still a place for that simplicity in the modern kitchen.

“We strive to deliver a one-word ingredient list: wheat,” said Boston.

At Spindle Mill, red fife wheat berries grown in Alberta are ground through a granite stone mill in Canmore, producing flour without the more complicated processing associated with much of the flour sold commercially.

“The world in general seems to have overcomplicated that wheat berry to flour process,” Boston said.  “Imagine stripping down all the essential nutrients from this natural ingredient until you're left with a "hollow" wheat, only to then blend them back in and sell it to customers. It doesn´t make much sense, does it?”

Stone-ground flour

The company currently sells three products: Red Fife whole wheat flour, Red Fife sifted flour and whole wheat berries for customers who want to mill their own grain at home.

The difference from conventional grocery-store flour is visible before it is tasted.

Flour is not naturally bright white, Boston said. Because Spindle Mill leaves the bran in its whole wheat flour and does not bleach it, the finished product has a beige colour.

She describes the flavour as rich and slightly sweet, with an aroma reminiscent of a sourdough starter.

The flour can be used for everyday baking, including sourdough, pancakes, pizza dough, cakes, muffins, cookies and sauces. Boston said the company would not recommend it for particularly fine pastries where a more finely sifted flour is needed.

The sifted version provides a lighter alternative while retaining some of the characteristics of stone-ground flour. Spindle Mill describes it as producing a lighter, fluffier flour suitable for elastic doughs without the need for additives.

A modern business built on an old tradition

For Boston and Pinho,  the business grew out of a long-standing interest in baking, traditional milling and the idea of building a more self-reliant local food system.

The name Spindle Mill is a reference to one of the central components of an old water-powered stone mill. The spindle creates the circular rotation that turns the millstones, continuously moving and grinding grain. Boston said the name captured what they wanted the business to represent: a simple process that has been used for generations.

Stone milling is considerably older than the industrial flour production most people encounter today.Boston said part of the appeal is the history attached to the process. Growing up in Europe, she encountered stories of village water mills where grain from local farms would be collected, ground and returned to households as flour.

“Establishing a local mill seemed like a way to boost the community’s healthy diet and self reliance,” Boston said.

The milling operation currently takes place in Canmore under a home-business licence. Orders are placed online and collected from the business's pickup box at 147 Moraine Rd.

The founders hope eventually to expand their customer base throughout the Bow Valley and potentially begin supplying local businesses.

“We really appreciate any good or bad feedback,” Boston said. “Maybe locals want to see more products, different wheat varieties or larger flour quantities.”

For now, a bag of flour from the Canmore mill offers a deliberately uncomplicated proposition: Alberta wheat, ground between stone and delivered fresh to a local kitchen.