Grains photo by Tory Tepp
Kernza grains and a sourdough loaf.
Kernza grains (left), and as part of Bloom’s sourdough.
What if you could have all the flavor and function of wheat without the environmental downsides?
Kernza, a domesticated wheatgrass that scientists are developing, may ultimately fit the bill. It’s captured the attention of local bakers Annemarie Maitri and Mark Pavlovich of Bloom Bake Shop and brewer Scott Manning of Vintage Brewing.
Kernza is a grain with similar characteristics to wheat and rye, and it is especially interesting to environmentally minded food purveyors who normally use wheat flour or wheat malt to make the breads and beers many of us crave.
It’s a trademarked product developed by the Land Institute of Salina, Kansas, which focuses on perennial agriculture. Kernza, first developed in 2008, is a perennial grain, so it doesn’t need to be replanted after harvesting. Its dense, deep roots and the reduced tillage of the soil mean lower rates of erosion. And erosion carries sediments and excess farm nutrients into rivers and streams. Less erosion means a big benefit for the ecosystem.
Maitri recently obtained a few pounds of kernza flour and is excited about the results. She was introduced to it by the group Clean Wisconsin, and obtained the flour from Perennial Pantry, in Burnsville, Minnesota, which is one of the few commercial sources for kernza flour.
The environmental qualities and distinctive flavors really appealed to Maitri. “We’re always interested in getting our hands on new grains and flours to try them so we can better understand how they work in baking,” she says. “Kernza takes on deep flavors and aromas, like honey, cinnamon and molasses. And it lends a beautiful amber color to the crust and crumb of bread.”
Maitri and Pavlovich, who does much of Bloom’s bread baking, used some of the kernza to make sourdough bread. “I love the smell of it coming out of the oven,” says Pavlovich. Unfortunately, he could get only about five pounds, which all went to make his sourdough. Pavlovich says when more kernza is available he plans to try it in cookies.
While kernza can be used all on its own in baking, Pavlovich finds it works best when incorporated along with higher protein wheat flour.
Kernza is not widely commercially available. It is grown only on a few thousand acres in the U.S. It has much smaller kernels than wheat and yields are less, which of course makes it more expensive.
Researchers, including those at the UW-Madison’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, are studying kernza to improve its usefulness as a forage crop and for grain production.
John Wepking of Meadowlark Organics in Ridgeway, Wisconsin, has been growing about 10 acres of kernza for three years, but hasn’t done much with it, using it mostly to prevent erosion in steep areas. “The small seed makes it difficult to use,” says Wepking, and there’s little infrastructure for processing it. He would need special equipment to de-hull it, something he hopes to try doing this winter. “It’s a cool idea,” says Wepking, but even though his farm specializes in niche grains, he’s waiting until the breeding improves to plant any more kernza.
Sauk County farmer William Gasser has been growing about four acres of kernza for the last three years with UW-Madison researchers. Gasser, who lives on a farm that has been in his family for more than 100 years, started growing it out of curiosity. “My grandpa was really into conservation, and kernza is preventative of soil erosion, so I wanted to know more about it,” says Gasser. This past fall Gasser provided about 500 pounds of kernza to Scott Manning, brewmaster at Vintage Brewing Company in Madison and Sauk City. Manning was eager to try using it to make a beer.
Manning is known for his small-batch experimental brews made with unusual ingredients, many not associated with beer. He recently released Z-Quester ale (the name is a pun on how kernza can reduce erosion and improve soil carbon sequestration).
Thanks in part to the kernza, Z-Quester is lightly spicy and sweet, with a bready, grassy, woody aroma. A pint holds many subtle layers of flavor, and Z-Quester is currently on tap at all Vintage locations.
Manning returns the spent brewing grains to Gasser, who adds it to the feed for his dairy cattle.
“It makes perfect sense that Vintage would brew with kernza and then return the spent grains back to the cattle and soil on the farm where we got it,” says Manning.
