Community Grains in the News

The biggest thing that will attract regular people to eating whole wheat will be the taste. With a variety of different flours, Community Grains is also trying to offer different flavors. And, with high-end chefs and bakers, like Yard and Robertson and Ponsford, using the whole wheat flour to make delicious treats, it’s sure to attract fans...

Today, Community Grains sells its whole-grain pastas and stone-milled flours at places like Whole Foods and Bi-Rite, but Klein has no intention of stopping there. He wants to “rebuild the local grain economy in Northern California” by supporting small farmers who grow different varieties of wheat...

Of course you’ve had whole-grain pasta before, but this is different. In the usual milling of wheat, Klein explains, the germ and bran are separated off, which removes the fatty acids that prevent rancidity.  You can taste the difference  - Community Grains dried pastas...

I tried different proportions of whole-wheat and all-purpose flour, never using less than half whole-wheat, and found that the same overall recipe worked no matter how I varied the proportions. I’m working with a terrific whole-wheat flour produced in California, available online and now carried by Fairway, called Community Grains."

Community Grains guarantees 100 percent whole grains in its nutty-tasting pastas, which are still delicate enough to seduce you into the whole-wheat pasta camp. The California company gets its various types of wheat directly from small growers there, and identifies the exact type of grains used in its products.

"People who don't have the time or inclination to grind their own at home should have options for true whole grains," says Bob Klein, owner of Oakland's Oliveto restaurant and founder of Community Grains, a whole-grain company that grew out of a desire to know the origins of the flour used in his restaurant. Klein found that getting access to even basic information -- such as the wheat variety...