PRosé with special guest Jennifer Lapidus

Quarantine bread baking was huge in 2020. So much so that finding flour in stores was soon difficult. Jennifer Lapidus knows this firsthand. The principal and founder of Carolina Ground, a mill located just outside Asheville, North Carolina, takes us there in her new book, “Southern Ground.” Her idea was to create a community mill that connects farmer, miller and baker in a place that is environmentally and economically sustainable. Her mill has become a leading source for bakers in search of regionally grown, stone-milled flours.

Jennifer Lapidus says growing up seeing the materialism of Miami in the 70s and 80s pushed her in the opposite direction, towards seeking authenticity. Although she was planning on law school, she felt drawn to creating with her hands, and sought out apprenticeships with bakers to learn the intricacies of baking bread. The history of grain and its role in civilization fascinated her and she was “obsessed with the industrial revolution”.

Starting her own bakery and then her own mill, she has a deep understanding and appreciation of grains. Did you know, for example, that using different varies of grain in flour creates a more complex flavor? She explains that you don’t realize until you’ve had it, but that “it is no longer a one note flavor, its multi-tone, various shades, like wine tastings or coffee tastings, this is the next thing.” Listen to the C2 Communications podcast PRose’ to hear more about the origins of her mill and her book, which includes both a history of grains and recipes, sorted by type of grain.