Moores Flour Mill

Moores flour mill entry view.

Looking down one of the four isles at Moores where my lovely wife stands.

Another isle at Moores flour mill.

I made a trip to our local flour mill that is very well hidden in our small town. It has been in business though for a pretty long time and has a very loyal following, plus their products are carried in many local grocery stores. Above you can see a few quick snaps we took while grabbing a few items we needed since we have gotten on a make our own bread kick.

They do grind and back all of their flours and most of their other items they offer. From cornmeal, to semolina, and assorted oats. They are also fully stocked with every starch one could think of, a variety of dried pasta, a few in house mixes (pancake, etc.), every kind of grain and dried bean one could want, plus a pretty fine spice area. The staff is super friendly and honestly if they were not a tad bit busy I would of asked if I could go into the massive backroom to get some more photos for all of you that are interested.

When we left to go to Moores flour mill we had a list that included the following: White bread flour, whole wheat bread flour, active dry yeast, and some rye flour. Well we picked up a 10 pound sack of the white and whole wheat flour (they go from 10lb to like 50lb plus). We also picked up a sack of active dry yeast, must be at very least 2 possibly almost 3 cups worth. Unfortunately they were out of the rye flour for the day (said check back tomorrow), but they did have pumpernickel which basically is the less but just less ground – we opted to wait for now. While checking over the spice area we did notice that they had some great deals and we ended up getting a large bottle of sweet Spanish paprika and some more dried marjoram (we just used the rest earlier this week). Then to wrap it up we also grabbed two locally produced soda’s for the ride back home.

Julia got herself a vanilla cream soda and I got myself a root beer. Must say that even though I drank it, and they were only .99 cents each – I just did not care that much for the flavor. Not sure if it was the sarsaparilla, the vanilla, the birch, the wintergreen, the sugar, or perhaps even the water. Whatever it was the spice blend just was not what I was looking for. I did not get a chance to taste the Vanilla cream soda, so that too will remain a mystery. I suppose to my next visit there I will grab a few soda’s to talk about on here.

Oh ya check this out:

• 10 pounds whole wheat bread flour.
• 10 pounds white bread flour.
• Huge sack of instant yeast, must weigh at least a pound.
• Large jar of sweet Spanish paprika.
• Standard sized spice jar of Marjoram.
• 2 Locally produced bottles of soda.
• Total cost – under $20.00 *we did bring in and use our own grocery bags, we always try to.

Freshly baked coffee cake

Slice of coffee cake

I found out last minute that my grandmother in law would be showing up this morning. Apparently my wife learned of this herself not that long ago. She was to stop by and visit with Julia some over coffee. Needless to say her saying that just some toast or something would be fine could not just stand. I have always felt a need to ensure any guests are not only well treated, welcome, and fed properly. Bad news was that I had yet not made a recent shopping trip and this was not planned. Off to the pantry it was and to see what could be whipped up. That is when it dawned on me that I have not made a coffee cake in a long time and what could go better with coffee than a cake with coffee in the name and not in the ingredients list. Thinking cap for next time, maybe I should try to alter that some and add some to my next cake. Guess that may be another post and another recipe.

Coffee Cake with crumb topping:

Topping mix-

• 1/4 cup room temperature butter.
• 1/2 cup medium brown sugar. (sure dark or light could be substituted.)
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour. (give container a shake first, or sift before measuring.)
• 1 Tsp. Cinnamon.
• Approx 1/4 Tsp. Fresh grated nutmeg. (few grinds on micro plane.)

Topping Preparation-

In a small bowl add the butter and brown sugar. Slightly combine with a fork. Sprinkle on the flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Combine it all with the fork until it is mixed and in a crumble texture or look. Set aside.

Cake mix-

• 1/2 cup milk.
• 1/3 cup melted unsalted butter.
• 1 egg – beaten.
• 3/4 cup raw sugar. (white sugar can be substituted.)
• 1 Tsp. real vanilla extract.
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour. (shake container or sift before measuring.)
• 2 1/2 baking powder. (please check your expiration date on canister.)
• 1/2 Tsp. salt. (I do not use Kosher or Sea salts, etc. in baking. So standard table salt.)

Cake preparation-

In a medium sized bowl mix together the sugar, the beaten egg, and the melted butter. Stir in the milk and the vanilla. In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix it well or sift it into the bowl. Slowly mix the flour mixture into your medium bowl of wet ingredients until thoroughly incorporated.

Grease either an 8×8 square pan or a 9 inch round cake pan with butter (Pam could substituted). Pour the batter into the pan, shake to set or lightly drop it on the counter from an inch or so up to help settle the batter. Sprinkle the crumb mixture as evenly as possible across the top of the batter. Place pan on the middle rack of a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes. You can check it around 25 minutes with either a toothpick or a butter knife. When inserted into the middle of the cake and removed if the object comes out dry- the cake is done. When cake has finished baking remove it from the oven and place the pan on a elevated wire rack, do not remove cake from pan. Allow cake to cool about 15 to 20 minutes and then slice it up into portions while still in the pan- cake should still be slightly warm. Serve immediately or will keep covered a few days and can be served at room temp.