Grist & Toll Combines Old School Techniques With New School Sustainability to Lead Charge Against Flour Status Quo
By Gus Herrera
Nan Kohler, owner of Grist & Toll in South Pasadena, is a modern-day revolutionary. A lifelong avid baker, her mission is to change the way we think about flour and wheat. As Los Angeles’ only urban flour mill, Grist & Toll is a very unique business that challenges the status quo, dominated by the large commercial flour companies that churn out the products the public has come to accept.
Since the end of the 19th century, most flour milling has been accomplished by using a roller milling technique, a seemingly cookie-cutter approach that no one has really challenged until now. Grist & Toll uses a stone milling technique, the old school way most millers went about their business prior to the technological advances of the Industrial Revolution. Where roller milling is, “all about just getting the central part of the white endosperm,” stone milling crushes everything together, making it much more aromatic, flavorful, and beautiful. At Grist & Toll, each order is custom made to fit the buyer’s specifications; you would be amazed at the plethora of nuances that can go into making different types of flour, appropriate for different types of baking. It is this very diversity behind flour that is ignored by our predisposition to think that all flour is built alike. Kohler describes the key difference between her products and those we have been accustomed to: “when you go to the grocery store shelves you do not find different milling techniques. There is a huge bump up in flavor, aroma, and quality because our flours are so fresh. That’s where the stone milling process shines the most and puts the biggest spotlight on what the dramatic differences are between what we are doing and what big, industrialized, commercial roller milling is all about.”
There is no comparison in the quality between picking up a fresh, custom order from Grist & Toll (sometimes milled just hours before pickup time) and purchasing from a grocery store. But it is not just the difference in the milling technique that improves the flour’s quality; there is also a fundamental difference in the raw materials. This is where Kohler’s attention to detail shines. With a focus on sustainability, she only selects wheat and grains grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. In order to achieve this she must develop relationships with farmers and seed distributors one contact at a time. While most of her materials originate locally in California, she also sources from Oregon and Arizona, among other states. Furthermore, similar to single variety wines, most of her flours are each sourced from a single variety of wheat, unlike the big companies whose flour is made up of a combination of different wheat blended together. In fact, Kohler’s prior experience in the wine industry helped influence her approach to flour, “I was in the wine industry for several years, so part of my background was already about individual flavors and elements, understanding agriculture and sense of place, and how that drives the expression of a single variety of grape.”
Grist & Toll is not just a unique business; moreover it strives to be a movement to revolutionize the way we think about flour. Kohler describes her vision for her company: “It’s pretty big, I don’t know how realistic it is, but I’m doing it one bag of flour at a time. I really want to change how we think about flour and wheat. We’ve been taught not to think about it, someone else has blended things, they’ve created something they say is for bread … ‘here you go, bake with it.’ Wheat has such beautiful individuality and character; it’s a big learning curve for all of us. We haven’t had flour with character and real aroma in a long, long time.”
Grist & Toll occasionally host community classes and workshops meant to not only allow the public a chance to come and get their hands dirty, but more importantly to spread awareness and educate the people on today’s flour industry. Kohler’s business truly opens a whole new world for those who love baking. Her passion is contagious, a quality which will inevitably drive the success of her company.
Grist & Toll is located at 990 S. Arroyo Parkway and is open to the public Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.GristandToll.com or call (626) 441-7400.
