Got Wind? Grind Wheat.

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

Flour. Isn’t it one of those kitchen staples that we tend to take for granted? Oh, sure the bin on the counter needs refilling once in a while, but it’s something that’s always there—ready and waiting at our beck and call. It’s one of those modern everyday ingredients that always seems to be waiting (yes, so nice and neatly) on the shelf in those ubiquitous five-pound bags.

Really, I doubt if the average American gives much thought to the process (or even the product) in those paper sacks. Oh sure, it’s the basis for bread, bagels, muffins, cakes, pies, pasta—and those at-times much-maligned carbs.

But what if we each had to manage just one of the production steps to get that flour into our hands? Would our daily respect and reverence for it increase? … perhaps dramatically?

I say definitely. For anyone who has a garden—or has even just tried to nurture a fledgling patio plant—knows that it’s no small endeavor to take what Mother Nature doles out and have it end in a satisfying end product that fills the belly.

That’s what I would call a grand wake up call. And that’s precisely what happened to me on a recent press trip to Windmill Island in Holland, Michigan. For it was on one windy spring morning that I learned how the Dutch truly “made an ally of the wind.” It was the windmill that traditionally ground spices, tree bark, nuts—and flour. But that’s not all: Harnessing the power of the wind meant utilizing the windmill to help irrigate fields too.

Lucky for us here in America, the Dutch government agreed to sell one of their last remaining windmills to the town of Holland in 1964. It was disassembled piece by piece, shipped across the Atlantic, transported via truck and reassembled in less than six months. Known as Dezwaan (Dutch meaning: the swan), it was dedicated in May of 1965. Dezwaan is the only authentic working windmill in the United States—.

Interestingly, the Dutch named windmills for ID in the same way that we use house numbers. And it is Dezwaan that grinds flour to this very day in the same authentic way of the Dutch millers of centuries ago, thanks to the only Dutch-certified miller in the country, Alisa Crawford. As our personalized (and very interesting!) tour guide during this fascinating trip back in history, Alisa shared her expertise and historical knowledge with the group. And as the only woman in the world certified by the authorities in the Netherlands as a master miller (that’s milling flour using traditional Dutch methods and wind power), she shared the fascinating story of Dezwaan with us.

Of course, unlike our mechanized, electrified modern world, this true-blue windmill can’t operate without wind. When winds are blowing 20 to 30 mph, grinding is optimal, although lower winds will find Alisa adjusting the angle of the blades (wings) and even climbing to the top and attaching sails made out of material to maximize the wind speed. But should winds top 30 mph, that’ll actually be too much wind for grinding. Most grinding is done in the spring and fall when the winds are steady.

Standing at the base of this windmill was a humbling experience in and of itself. For it stands 125 feet from the tip of the wing to the first floor (and we had the good fortune to be able to walk through and tour all four floors).

Hundreds of years ago, windmills did some serious grinding on optimal days: grains that were regularly ground included corn, barley and wheat—and the windmills were also used to generate electricity and pump water. The only grain that Dezwaan grinds today is Michigan’s soft white winter wheat. It’s not bleached, it contains no preservatives, and it’s best kept refrigerated or frozen.

Plus, it makes some the most delicate, delicious waffles I’ve ever eaten. But the truly good news is that it’s whole grain—and when you use a freshly ground whole grain flour, it’s superior quality nutrition for your body. And when it tastes as fresh and sweet as Dezwaan’s gift, that’s another excellent way to get kids hooked on whole grain goodness.

Forget trying to convince them of the goodness of those brown specks (bran = good fiber). Just take them on a historical trip back in time and they just might become as enamored with one the most basic staples that we’ve taken for granted here in America.

And that’s a win-win no matter which direction the wind is blowing.