Bluebird Grain Farms' farmstead flour

"Hardly anyone has tasted what fresh-milled grain is like," Brooke Lucy says, adding that most flour in the grocery store is at least three months old. But Brooke and her husband, Sam, mill their grain to order. Their signature variety, an ancient strain of wheat called emmer farro—which the grow in Washington's Methow Valley—bursts with sweet, nutty freshness.

Usually, most farro is pearled, meaning its inedible hulls are removed—along with most of the nutritious bran and often the germ. "We felt it was wrong to go to great lengths to grow it, only to shave off the most nutritious parts," Brooke says. So the preserve the whole grain by dehulling it in a custom-built centrifuge. Pale yellow and finely ground, it gives cookies, cakes, and pies a rustic freshness. And the whole grains are great cooked, risotto-style.

$6.95/2lbs. for milled emmer farro; bluebirdgrainfarms.com; find at regional Whole Foods Markets or order online.