SPONSORED BY CONSERVATION GRAINS
IT STARTS WITH THE FLOUR
The Montana mill behind some of Bozeman’s best baking—and now yours.
Freshly stone-ground on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front, Conservation Grains flour is finding its way into the hands of celebrated bakers—and home cooks who care just as much about what goes into their bread.
Great baking begins long before the dough is mixed. Conservation Grains starts with Montana-grown grains from farms committed to healthy soils and biodiversity, then stone-grinds them fresh at its mill in Choteau. The result is 100% whole-grain flour with remarkable flavor, character, and a connection to the land where it was grown.
It’s flour you’ll find in the kitchens of some of Bozeman’s most accomplished bakers. And it’s made for your kitchen, too.
These Sourdough English Muffins, made with Conservation Grains Snowgoose flour, showcase exactly what makes freshly milled Montana grain so special: depth of flavor, beautiful texture, and the satisfaction of baking with flour whose story begins close to home.
SOURDOUGH ENGLISH MUFFINS
This recipe features Conservation Grains’ Snowgoose flour blend. Made with15.1 percent protein hard white spring wheat grown regeneratively at Spring Coulee Farm, it’s blended with a small percentage of locally malted durum. It is a strong flour with a whiter crumb and milder flavor than hard red wheats. Use Snowgoose for long-fermented sourdough breads like these English muffins, as well as for traditional yeast and quick breads. It is milled to order by Conservation Grains in Choteau, Montana.
MAKES 1 DOZEN MUFFINS
33 grams* cold unsalted butter
255 grams Conservation Grains Snowgoose flour
245 grams all-purpose flour
300 grams water
118 grams active sourdough starter (ideally 100-percent hydration, 50:50 whole grain rye and whole wheat)**
55 grams whole milk
12 grams honey or sugar
10 grams kosher salt
For proofing: Cornmeal
Cut butter into pieces and set aside on a plate to come to room temperature.
In a stand mixer with the dough hook, mix together both flours, water, sourdough starter, milk, honey or sugar, and salt until a shaggy dough forms. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Add the room-temperature butter 1 piece at a time, mixing until fully incorporated before adding another. Once all the butter has been incorporated, continue mixing on moderate speed with the dough hook for 5 minutes.
Remove dough hook and cover bowl. This begins 3–4 hours of fermentation. Set a timer for 30 minutes. When the time is up, give the dough a set of stretchand- folds.*** Repeat two more times at 30-minute intervals then allow dough to rest, covered, until it has proofed, about 1.5–2 hours more.
Sprinkle cornmeal onto a rimmed 13- by 9-inch sheet pan. Transfer proofed dough to a work surface and divide into 12 equalsized pieces. Form each into a taught ball by tucking from top to bottom, then place onto the sheet pan. Cover with a piece of oiled plastic wrap, set in a warm place, and let proof for 2–3 hours, until very puffy, or place in the refrigerator overnight. (After refrigeration, proof at room temperature until very puffy.)
When ready to bake, preheat a griddle to 400°F (or use a frying pan) and preheat the oven to 350°. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper. Using about a tablespoon of butter, grease the griddle then gently transfer dough balls to the hot surface without crowding them. Cook until brown on bottom, flip, and cook the other side—about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to prepared sheet pan.
After griddling, bake the English muffins in the oven for 15 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and keep in a bread bag or freeze to store longer than a couple of days. These are best fork-split and toasted. * These measurements are calibrated in weights for high elevation. Baking is a precise science, and using weight measurements rather than volume will produce more consistent and predictable results.
**Feeding a starter with some proportion of rye boosts microbial activity and produces lively fermentation. As an alternative to the active starter, build an overnight levain: In a pint jar or bowl, mix 6 grams 100 percent hydration starter with 56 grams Snowgoose flour and 56 grams water; loosely cover and let develop overnight at room temperature.
***To stretch and fold, keep dough in the bowl and use a curved-edge bowl scraper or damp hands to scoop the edge of the dough from the bottom of the bowl up (stretch) and over (fold). Repeat to stretch and fold 4 times in the clock positions of noon, 3, 6, and 9.
Recipe adapted from “English Muffins” in The Perfect Loaf, by Maurizio Leo.
Order Conservation Grains flour online at conservationgrains.com or purchase bags at Wild Crumb Bakery in Bozeman.
