GRAINSTORM FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs about: our baking mixes | nutrition & diet suitability | baking tips | home grinding

About our baking mixes

What do you mean by fresh ground?

All our mixes are made from organic ancient grains that we grind and blend ourselves, just hours or minutes before we pack it. We use whole meal–that is, the entire wheat berry or oat groat is ground–nothing added, nothing taken away.

What is Red Fife wheat?

Red Fife is a heritage hard spring wheat native to southern Ontario and one of the grandfathers of modern wheat. Cultivated since the mid-19th century, it has been prized for superior taste and baking performance. It is currently (and deservedly) enjoying a revival among Ontario organic farmers and artisan bakers across the continent.

What is Kamut?

Kamut (pronounced ku-moot) is an ancient wheat grain that is enjoying a revival. While modern wheat has been genetically tweaked over the years to maximize production, kamut remains much as it was thousands of years ago. It’s high in protein and rich in vitamins and essential amino acids. We like it for its unique nutty taste, golden colour and texture. Many people who are sensitive to regular wheat find they can tolerate kamut.

What is Spelt?

Yet another ancient grain enjoying a revival, spelt was originally native to the Middle East and was used by the Greeks and Romans. Like Kamut, it is a popular alternative for people with wheat sensitivities.

What are Oat Groats?

Oats were once considered strictly horse feed, but now we know they are one of the healthiest grains around, with over 17% protein, lots of Omega-3 fatty acids and valuable micro nutrients. We hand-roll whole oats as we need them for superior flavour and nutrition.

Do you use sugar in your mixes?

In a word, yes. However, we keep it as moderate and healthy as possible. Our fresh-ground grains taste so good we can use 50-70% less sugar than typical. And the sugar we do use is the very best: organic unrefined sugar and dried cane juice.

Nutrition & Diet Suitability

Are GRAINSTORM products suitable for diabetics?

We have had a number of diabetics who have been delighted with our products. Certainly, our formula of fresh whole grains, minimal sugar and moderate, healthy fats delivers the best possible profile for this type of food. That said, we would not presume to offer anyone medical advice—please check with your doctor.

Are your products wheat-free and/or gluten-free?

In a word, no. Spelt, Kamut and Red Fife are all strains of wheat—yet biologically distinct from modern commodity wheat. Our heritage and ancient grains are a nutritious traditional staple, and many people who are sensitive to common commercial wheat find that they tolerate spelt and kamut. If you have a serious wheat allergy however, our products are not for you.

Our All Oatmeal cookies are wheat-free; however they are made on the same equipment as other mixes, so may contain scant traces of wheat.

Are your mixes suitable for a vegan diet?

Absolutely. While our base recipes are obviously not vegan, there are no animal products in the mixes themselves, so vegan preparation is possible.

Baking with GRAINSTORM mixes

How long can I store sealed bags?

Our 500g bags use a sophisticated 4-part high-barrier package that will keep the product fresh for AT LEAST 9 months. The "Enjoy by" date on the back is 9 months from manufacture. Don't worry if your bag lives a few months beyond that—the product does not spoil and you may or may not notice a degradation in quality at that point. Sealed bags will keep well in the cupboard for a good 6 months. GRAINSTORM mixes are designed to be used in one batch, but you can save unused mix in an airtight bag in the fridge for 10 days or so—we don’t recommend more.

our 1kg foodservice bags have a shorter shelf life. The packaging is not as effective, so these are marked for 5 months from date of manufacture. Same rule applies, don't sweat it if you go past the date by a month or two.

One of the bags I received is soft compared to the others? Is it still good?

The softness indicates a microscopic leak in the bag caused by rough handling during shipping. Our larger foodservice bags are particularly susceptible. This is not harmful as the product will not spoil, however, the freshness quality on this bag will degrade faster as a small amount of air is getting in. You can compensate for this by sticking it in the freezer which will dramatically slow any oxidization effect. It will still taste great!

Do I have to make it all in one batch? That's a lot of food...

We designed them as single use to take maximum advantage of the fresh-ground grain. If you want to make a partial batch, store the remaining mix tightly sealed in the freezer for up to 3-4 weeks, no problem. We find however, that once we're baking, it's more convenient to make a full batch and freeze the finished product (see below). They reheat beautifully, and you'll have nice healthy items on hand for those busy mornings or to grab for your lunch bag.

Freezing & reheating

GRAINSTORM baking tends to stale faster than regular commercial baking; it also will more easily host molds. WE highly recommend that you immediately freeze whatever you aren’t going to eat within 24 hours. We like to use resealable freezer bags (push as much air out as possible when closing) and use it up within 6-8 weeks of going into the freezer. We always have some frozen pancakes in our freezer for our boys on those busy mornings!

To reheat, you use a microwave on defrost cycle (it's gentler) or a conventional oven at 400°F. If you want the very best just-baked quality, gently defrost and then heat in the oven for 6-10 minutes until heated through.

Can I reduce the fat content when baking your product?

Our base recipes have been carefully designed and tested to balance taste, nutrition, and baking performance at what we believe is optimum levels; but you may want your product richer or leaner, depending on your tastes and diet.

Here’s what you need to know: less fat will make your end result dryer and it will stale faster too; too much fat and the result will be overly greasy. As a guideline, it would be a good idea not to increase or decrease butter/oil content by more than 30% either way. Also, keep in mind, you are increasing or decreasing the fat content significantly by using lower or higher fat yogurt (We recommend 3%).

An editorial comment: For nearly 40 years now, we all have been taught to avoid fats whenever possible. We feel compelled to say that, in our opinion, despite this cultural conditioning, moderate amount of natural "good" fat is a very good thing.

Can I substitute a "healthy" oil for the butter?

We follow a whole food philosophy that says natural, traditional foods are preferable to modern processed foods. But if you would rather not use butter, you don’t have to! The character of the end product will be changed slightly by the flavour and texture of substitutions. Here are some options:

use all olive oil (this works surprisingly well, and is the healthiest choice in our opinion; although the flavour can get a little earthy for some; especially in the cookies)
sunflower oil, almond oil are both interesting, healthy choices canola oil will work fine in the taste department although we don’t love it for health reasons—it’s too highly processed
prepared margarines should work fine although, again, we’re not fans of this highly processed food

When substituting fats, keep this rule in mind: oils are a little denser than butter or margarine. So use 10-15% less oil than you would solid fat like butter.