What is Marquis Wheat?
Marquis wheat is a heritage wheat that helped establish Canada’s reputation as a grain producer. It is one of the original wheats that all the current wheats in North America can be traced back to genetically.
In the early 1900s, a Canadian scientist created this species by crossing two other heritage wheat (The Red Fife, for its excellent breadmaking properties, and the Hard Red Calcutta, for its faster growth) in order to shorten the maturity date of the wheat types in use and to increase their bread-making quality and their yield.
After WWII, other types of wheat took its place and Marquis was slowly forgotten.
Marquis seeds are difficult to come by these days, but thanks to our joint project with the team at the Moulin de Charlevoix, we have the opportunity to use this “new” flour!
The Marquis wheat kernels are grown responsibly in Sainte-Eulalie, in the Centre-du-Québec region, before being stone ground at the Moulin de Charlevoix to make the flour used in our Rustic Bread with Marquis Wheat.
Moulin de Charlevoix
The Moulin de Charlevoix, a joint venture between French and Quebecois businesses, rents and operates the La Rémy Mill in Baie-Saint-Paul. The mill belongs to the non-profit organization Héritage Charlevoix, which protects heritage buildings in the region.
The La Rémy Mill was built by master carpenter Jacob Fortin in October 1825.
Although the main structures of the walls and roof are original, the mill was in terrible condition when Héritage Charlevoix purchased it in 1999 and required extensive renovations.
The first restoration took nearly seven years (from 2000 to 2007) and cost more than $5 million. It was the largest private investment in a heritage building in Charlevoix history. The goal was to restore the mill to working order with mechanisms reproduced from old mill parts (the originals had disappeared) with a view to bringing it back to life and making it accessible to the public.
The vision behind the 2020 upgrade was even bolder and more innovative: to restore the building to its original purpose of serving local farmers while slowing the exodus from the country to the city. The modern equipment was designed to work seamlessly with the traditional elements, allowing the mill to generate enough revenue to pay for the historic building’s long-term maintenance.
Stone milling
The Moulin de Charlevoix still boasts the key behind the quality of its original flours: the flint millstones from quarries in La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, France. This type of milling is really what makes all the difference. It is the only technique capable of recreating the taste and complete nutritional quality of traditional flours. Renowned around the world starting in the 16th century, these millstones were once widely produced in France and exported, but they are now considered very rare.
Stone-milled flour retains the wheat kernel’s germ and aleurone layer, the most nutritional parts. (See image on the next page.)
While milling has been thoroughly modernized over the years, stone grinding is considered an artisanal method. Millers need to rely on their senses—of smell, hearing and touch—to judge the flour’s quality and make the proper adjustments. Millstones also require regular maintenance to make sure they keep their striations and porous surface, a slowly disappearing art that is practiced mainly in France.
