Locally grown organic grain supply fuels bakery's success
Carol Stender
Date Modified: 01/14/2010 12:24 PM
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Agri News staff writer
BENSON, Minn. -- There's something special about the wheat buns at Toby Johannessen's Benson Bakery.
A nice, light grain flavor is a highlight of the bread that has customers coming back for more.
His secret? Locally grown organic grains.
Johannessen was introduced to local flours by Betty Noordman of Hancock. they met at the University of Minnesota-Morris where Noordman displayed the organic products growing on their farm.
"She got me into the loop using her flour," he said. "She had organic white and wheat flour milled at Dry Weather Creek Farm at Milan. We developed a relationship that's continued to this day."
Through Dry Weather Creek Farm's owner Mark Lange, Johannessen learned of Willmar Public School's locally produced farm products day. Johannessen has, for the last five years, baked all the dinner rolls served with the locally grown meal.
Baking is a fine art. Each ingredient must be measured to make rolls, cakes, cookies and breads. When using locally grown grains, Johannessen has had to tweak his roll recipe to account for the protein changes that can happen from year to year from one grain source.
Johannessen knows those protein levels fluctuate depending on the growing season. Commercial flours, a blend of several sources, is a stable product, but he likes the flavor the locally grown grains bring to the dark rolls. His revised wheat roll recipe uses one-third of the locally grown and milled wheat flour and two-thirds of the commercial white.
Organic grain costs more than commercial flours so he's limited the types of baked goods that use it. Wheat buns and flat bread are two items that feature it, he said.
He plans to continue using it because of the special flavor it gives, he said.
He points to the bakery display cases filled with Bismarcks, long johns, turnovers, doughnuts and more. The tasty treats may not be at first thought in a health-conscious meal, but he has made changes to ingredients to reduce transfats. The industry has turned toward different shortening to reduce fat. Johannessen now uses unbleached and unbromated flours.
The Benson Bakery was built in 1900 and has always been a bakery, he said. His grandfather, Norsk, immigrated from Bergen, Norway, and worked at a Montevideo bakery before coming to Benson Bakery. The bank owned the bakery. After Norsk became familiar with the operation, he was asked to purchase it in 1932. He made quality baked goods and ran a restaurant with the business.
Norsk had stores in Milan, Kerkhoven and Clara City and made regular rounds with his baked items.
When Johannessen's father, Jerry, took over, times were changing, he said. As commercial baking companies came in, changes were made to make the local business more profitable. Jerry closed the restaurant and the regional stores.
Jerry purchased flour from 10 mills located within 100 miles of Benson.
Toby and his wife, Debbie, purchased the business in 1995.
The younger Johannessen had no formal culinary training, but he's learned about baking from the best -- his family. He worked as a pastry chef at the Radisson in St. Cloud and said his college degrees haven't gone to waste. He uses his marketing skills and people skills in the bakery's advertising and product development, paying close attention to what the customers want.
He employs 15 full- and part-time people and has two night fryers responsible for doughnuts, cakes and long johns.
The Benson Bakery is open form 5 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and offers and expanded sandwich menu from paninis and subs to soups. He also offers hot beef sandwiches and BLT specials.
Flat bread is made year-round as are rosettes, he said.
"I am excited about the business," Johannessen said. "I am excited about the trends with small mills. That's something that can make an impact on the area and hopefully it will experience growth."