Stone-Buhr flour now has local ties

Bake up those holiday goodies with flour made from wheat grown in the Northwest.

Stone-Buhr is the first major flour brand in the country to offer an all-purpose flour made exclusively from local wheat.

Stone-Buhr’s Washington White All-Purpose Flour is made from wheat grown by Shepherd’s Grain, an alliance of family farmers in Washington, Idaho and Oregon.

Eighteen area farmers are part of Shepherd’s Grain, which has made it possible to buy foods made with Northwest wheat. Historically, the wheat grown in the area was shipped overseas.

Shepherd’s Grain producers practice sustainable agriculture and try to conserve soil and water with environmentally friendly methods.

Until now, the wheat was milled in Spokane, then baked into breads by local HearthBread Bakehouse or sold to a few select distributors and restaurants, including the Davenport Hotel. Some 400 local restaurants, hotels and grocers use Shepherd’s Grain products.

Now, home cooks can buy the flour in grocery stores.

“Today people care more and more about where their food comes from and how it was grown; we’re thrilled to be able to bring Northwest consumers a top-quality, family-farmed, local and environmentally friendly flour,” says Josh Dorf, of Stone Buhr, in a news release.

Stone-Buhr flour is available at Yoke’s and Rosauers stores in Eastern Washington, as well as Yoke’s in Idaho.

Look inside today’s Food section for Stone-Buhr’s recipe for Washington Apple Crumb Muffins.

Turkey troubles? Click or call for answers

If you find yourself in a bind this holiday season, there’s help. Here’s a listing of holiday help lines and Web sites compiled by the Associated Press:

• Crisco Pie Hotline: (877) 367-7438

• Butterball Turkey Talk-Line: (800) BUTTERBALL or www.butterball.com

• Empire Kosher poultry customer hot line: (800) 367-4734 or www.empirekosher.com/index.htm

• Fleischmann’s Yeast Baker’s Help Line: (800) 777-4959

• Foster Farms Turkey Helpline: (800) 255-7227 or www.fosterfarms.com

• General Mills: (800) 446-1898

• King Arthur Flour Co.’s Bakers Hotline: (802) 649-3717 or e-mail questions to bakerskingarthurflour.com

• Nestle Toll House Baking Information Line: (800) 637-8537

• Ocean Spray consumer help line: (800) 662-3263 or www.oceanspray.com

• Perdue consumer help line: (800) 473-7383 or www.perdue.com

• Reynolds Turkey Tips Hotline: (800) 745-4000 or www.reynoldskitchens.com

• U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry Hotline: (888) 674-6854 or www.fsis.usda.gov/food_safety_education/ask_Karen/index.asp#Question