Wheat Montana Deli
On our way back from The Back Home Bakery, we made a quick stop at the Wheat Montana bakery/deli pictured here:
It is located in Three Forks, Montana and is just off I-90. The place is big; I only captured part of it in this photo. And yes, those are grain silos at the back corner of the facility. I believe that they grind all of the flour on-site that is then bagged and sold, or used in their baked goods. There is also a gas station out of the frame, about 100 feet to the right of my position as I took this photo.
The first thing that meets your eyes as you step through the door are stacks of 50-pound bags of flour: Bronze Chief (red whole wheat), Prairie Gold (white whole wheat) and their Naturally White AP. There are also bags of wheat berries. Prices are surprisingly low, compared to what I see in local supermarkets. The berries were priced from $19-21 per 50-pound bag and the flours were priced $20-22 per bag. If I hadn't been told just before leaving for vacation that I'm going to be spending the next couple of years in South Africa, I'd have purchased a couple of bags and worried later about where to store them. As it is, I need to burn through my existing flour stocks in the next few weeks.
Further in, there are shelves with Wheat Montana logoed goods; caps, cups and such. There are also flours in 5- and 10-pound bags, cook books and preserves. Still other shelves hold various breads. There is a deli counter where one can purchase various pastries and sandwiches, along with hot and cold beverages. There are a number of tables to sit at while enjoying your food and drink. I must confess to having been a bit of a bread snob after a week of seeing what Mark produces. Any other day I might have thought their stuff looked pretty good, but it just didn't measure up to what we had been making at The Back Home Bakery. So we stopped long enough to buy a drink and take this picture, then headed back to the road.
Paul
Comments
My wife and I are driving up to Glacier National Park this weekend and this looks like a good place to stop for a cup of coffee and a souvenir. I'll take your advice and look for the bread in Kalispell.
The farmer's market in Kalispell is located in the west parking lot of the Kalispell mall (sorry, don't remember the exact name), which is on your left as you drive through Kalispell on 93. It runs from 8:30 to 12:30 on Saturday morning.
I think there will be one last farmer's market session in Whitefish, some 10-15 miles north of Kalispell, on Tuesday. That runs from 4:30 to 7:30 Tuesday afternoons. It is located near the old train station in Whitefish.
Depending on the timing of your trip, you should be able to hit one or the other while you are in the area.
Paul
Paul, That is the very same one we stopped at on our long summer road trip. The car was totally *packed* and we didn't think there was room for another thing, but I managed to fit 2 of the 50 lb. bags of Prairie Gold. The prices were great and we got a couple cinnamon rolls from the deli. I was so excited to see the big billboard on the highway and pulled off instantly. My DH thought I was a bit crazy because I seemed more excited about getting that wheat than I was about seeing Yellowstone--LOL. He still teases me about it.
Later, along our way, we discovered that several towns in Montana have small Wheat Montana Deli and Bakeries. They don't have 50 pound bags of wheat, though.
Where else would you walk through the door and find 50-pound bags of wheat berries, after all? For a baker, that is just about as exciting as Yellowstone. Your DH just lacks the proper context for understanding your enthusiasm, that's all.
Gotta admit that Yellowstone is pretty darn spectacular, though. And that's without considering the opportunities for geothermal baking and steaming. ;-0 We want to go back and spend several days there sometime.
Paul
Wishing you an easy move..looking forward to your posts from South Africa!
Betty
And please make some local South African breads to share.--cake diva
South Africa has a reputation for producing high-quality wheat, so it will be interesting to see what I can bake up with local flours. Especially when I can get settled and get a new starter up and running!
We're pretty good at moving, having done it a number of times, but going international is a horse of a different color. Your sentiments are much appreciated.
Paul
Your Wheat Montana visit sounded nice. Your next trip will be an adventure. Once you settle in, I am confident you'll be fine. I too, am looking forward to hearing from you while there. and looking forward to your safe return.
Ray
I just stopped there earlier this evening. It's just as described and the pastries did look good. I picked up a couple of bags of flour and somehow resisted buying a coffee cup. I may succumb on the way back.
If anyone is passing through on I-90, it's worth a stop.
I just picked up a bag of their Natural White and made near perfect Pain au Levain yesterday. Having had troubles lately with a alternate brand of all purpose flour, and still awaiting my order of Giusto's, I thought I would try something different.
I used the same percentage of water that I always do—at it almost wasn't enough! But, the bread turned out terrific.
Today I have another batch fermenting and I use a little bit more water.
Here's a link to their spec sheet if anyone is interested.
http://www.wheatmontana.com/pdf/mill-product-list.pdf