A Slice of Pie: A visit to the Pie Ranch
From the archives: Written August, 2014 while researching local grain cultivation along the West Coast
This essay was written in 2014 when I was in my peak baker-era. I had recently been a baker at the Big Sur Bakery, and after attending the Grain Gathering in the Skagit Valley was inspired to learn more about locally produced flour. I took a road trip through California, Oregon, and Washington visiting farmers that were growing and milling grain, and the bakers using their local flour. I worked at the farm stand for the Pie Ranch after writing this piece. I highly recommend a visit if you find yourself on Highway 1 between San Francisco and Santa Cruz.
Nestled along Hwy 1 among cypress trees and foggy shorelines is a literal slice of serenity, as cozy as a piece of pie in autumn. The Pie Ranch is as idyllic as its name would lead you to believe. My wild imagination spun visions of life-size pie slices grazing on fields of grain, and the reality of the ranch doesnʼt fall too far from my daydream. During my first few months living in California my roommate and I took a day trip to Santa Cruz to surf and drove north up Hwy 1 back to the Bay Area. A roadside sign reading ʻPie Next Rightʼ evoked wide eyes and wonder in both of us, and ever since then, I have been charmed by the rustic roadside barn filled with vegetables, pie, and freshly milled flour.
I recently had the opportunity to spend a morning at the Pie Ranch and celebrate the ʻfruit fillingʼ of the sky-high slice of joy that is the Pie Ranch. I met the farm stand manager Tamar while heavy fog still hugged the coastline as grey-blue waves rolled in to wake up the world. We warmed up over tea and conversation before treading out to tour the fields of the ranch.
If you had the pleasure of being a little birdie soaring through the skies above the ranch, you would see two glorious fields of bounty, shaped like two slices of pie. Starting with the crust at the Pacific Coast, the two tips meet inland, and the furthest piece of crust forms the Western edge of the ranch. Across 14 acres of land, goats, cows, chickens, and farm interns find themselves happily at home. During the early morning hours, interns were already out with baskets full of eggs and were getting a start tending the vegetables.
Strawberries, tomatoes, greens, flowers, and plentiful summer squash were abundant. The crops were lush and flourishing, and while there may have only been a few dedicated rows to tomatoes, they were some of the happiest plants I had ever seen. It was vibrant diversity and a resourceful & thoughtful utilization of land.
I had come to learn more about wheat cultivation and milling that takes place at the Pie Ranch. Freshly milled flour is available in the farm stand, and over time I have seen multiple wheat varieties available. Ethiopian Blue Tinge, Espresso Wheat, and Sonora Wheat were written with care on brown paper sacks and piqued my curiosity as a baker. I had brought home flour for experimenting with many times, but I wanted to learn more about the nuances of each wheat and to understand how wheat is grown in Central California.
Sonora wheat is the main variety grown at the Pie Ranch, and also at Coke Farms in San Juan Bautista; wheat berries from both farms are milled on-site. Historically Sonora was brought into California from Mexico as a stowaway with missionaries who ventured north through the state. Sonora wheat is soft, and stretchy and can be given some credit for the modern-day burrito as it is the wheat variety that was used in the first flour tortillas, hand-crafted in the Sonora desert. I have written a bit more on the history and characteristics of Sonora Wheat here for the inquisitive mind, as well as a short intro to wheat classification terms here.
The Pie Ranch is beginning to explore the cultivation of other grains on newly acquired acreage in the vicinity of the farm. Multiple varieties of barley and wheat have been planted, and the farm will monitor the growth and harvest to understand what grains may be ʻhappiestʼ on the land.
To mill the hearty wheat berries into soft flour, an Osttiroler Getreidemühlen Stone Mill is employed. Austria is the origin of this stoic appliance, and if a small-scale bakery or farm is stone milling wheat on-site, it is most likely being done by one of these. Stone milling is simple in practice, but a nuanced art for a dedicated miller.
The grain is poured down a grain chute, the miller then controls the speed at which the grain shakes into the stone chamber, and one stone moves over top of another with the grains caught in between. The miller controls the speed of the stoneʼs movement and the distance between the two stones. These variables can determine how fine the grain is milled and will need to be varied in response to the physical characteristics of the grain. The physical components of the whole grain are present in flour produced by stone milling – germ, bran, and endosperm, where other methods of milling may not.
During my visit Tamar and I milled Sonora wheat fresh – she went about her milling in a directed fashion, a simple ritual. The Osttiroler is kept slightly shrouded by a humble curtain; the miller sneaks behind and ascends to the grain chute, pouring golden berries into the smooth wooden chute. Within minutes, plumes of white flour, flecked with straw-colored bits of bran and germ sift from the stones. The physical transformation is drastic, and quickly the tightly held interior of an impenetrable kernel is floating through the air for anyone to see. This is how the dense nutrients packed into grains are made available for eaters, and how the artistic medium of bakers is procured.
After our rendezvous with the noble Osttiroler, we trekked back up the hill to the beautiful outdoor teaching kitchen. The Pie Ranch coordinates multiple education programs, which utilize the kitchen and farm. The kitchen space is a bakerʼs dream – you can see and hear the flocks of chickens that laid the eggs you are about to bake with as you look up from your mixing bowl. A small wood fire oven stands at the center of the space, and it is flocked by stainless steel work counters and well-stocked pantry drawers.
We had been buzzing all morning over warm mugs of coffee stirred with the luscious cream top of the milk from the Pie Ranchʼs cow, and now the time had come when we could enjoy the fruits and bounty of the Pie Ranch in the form of a baked good. I was tickled with joy to be presented with farm fresh flour, eggs, milk, and a hot oven hungry for batter and baking sheets. Tamar let me loose with the goods, and I set to work crafting popovers and pecan-date-rosemary cookies.
The popovers were a perfect platform to feature the flavors of the Pie Ranch-produced ingredients. The popover is simply flour, eggs, milk, and butter – everything but the butter had been cultivated on site! I had not made 100% whole grain popovers before and the Sonora wheat performed beautifully even though the popovers were varied in structure from a traditional popover. The golden, craggy tops were flecked with flavorful bits of bran and germ, adding a depth of flavor not found in all-purpose flour popovers. I am also convinced the chickens at the Pie Ranch are fed nuggets of gold – the yolks were rich in color, lending a bright shade of yellow to the finished product. In half of the batter we folded in strawberries picked on our morning walk, these emerged like mini clafoutis – soufflé-like and jammy. The final result: craggy golden tops, custardy centers, and rich ingredient-forward flavors. Sonora wheat makes for an unforgettable popover.
The cookies were a demonstration of how fresh, local, whole-grain flours can be used to create scrumptious treats with no sacrifice to flavor. A touch of rosemary clipped right before mixing added a lovely accent to the nutty flavors of the pecans & Sonora wheat. The Sonora wheat lends its own sweetness in baking and is complemented by the dates. Only one cookie was needed to fulfill a sweet craving as each was packed with toothsome ingredients and deep flavors.
We happily left platters of our morningʼs work (if you can call it that) for all on the ranch to enjoy. I joined Tamar in displaying the fresh produce for sale in the farm stand, still buzzing from copious cups of coffee and a shared enthusiasm for food innovations.
I left the ranch with a new love for Sonora wheat flour; I have baked multiple items since then with it and it gives a lovely light texture to muffins, quick breads, and cakes. Be sure to pick some up and give it a try if you find some at your local farmerʼs market. If you are in the Central Coast region of CA, you can make the Pie Ranch a part of your reality and stop by the farm produce stand. Nothing but joy, enthusiasm, and a passion for good food abound from the Pie Ranch.