Grain Process Enterprises, Toronto: I bought Dark Rye Flour

Dark rye flour, 10kg bag, from Grain Process Enterprises, Toronto, $12.50. Underwhelming store, but adequate.

Dark rye flour, 10kg bag, from Grain Process Enterprises, Toronto, $12.50. Underwhelming store, but adequate.

I have been baking bread for a good 9 months now, using white wheat flour and whole grain wheat. While it is nice, I’ve gotten tired of it. Many European people seem to really like rye in their breads. I do like rye bread as well, which has a very different taste. I searched for a source of rye here in Toronto, and found Grain Process Enterprises in Scarborough.

The place is at the end of an industrial area, on a street that does not really look like a street, but more of a driveway into an industrial building. It looks like a big building, but the retail store in front is very basic, with just a couple of shelves, bare concrete and a counter. They had 2kg ($5CAD) and 10kg ($12.50CAD) bags of dark rye flour, so I bought the 10kg bag.

There is a bright plastic blue handle that is sewn into the top of the bag, and is very handy for lifting. Unlike a bag of rice, if you unstitch the top line as well as the blue handle, this does not open the bag! The bag is glued shut, the top in the shape of a 3d rectangle. I had to restitch the top line and blue handle. Thankfully the holes are large, so not a problem. You will need to rip open the paper layers and carefully cut open the bag, hopefully allowing you to close the bag later. I don’t use enough rye to simply rip open the top of the bag, use the rye flour and then throw the bag away.

They have no price list. She told me to call them when you need something, as prices do frequently change. They do not take credit cards, so debit or cash. This is truly a very basic store. An item list is available on the web, from their Google web page, and below.

Dark rye flour, 10kg bag, from Grain Process Enterprises, Toronto, $12.50. Underwhelming store, but adequate.

Dark rye flour, 10kg bag, from Grain Process Enterprises, Toronto, $12.50. Underwhelming store, but adequate.

I tried to search for Millbrook flour in Canada but came up empty. It looks like Millbrook flour is the house brand of Grain Products Enterprises, but cannot confirm this.

Using Rye: I’ve been using white wheat flour and whole wheat flour. Usually I grow my starter with white wheat flour, which can double in size. I tried growing my starter with whole wheat flour, but it seems the natural yeast did not like it, and did nor grow very much. The rye flour seems to grow faster than the white wheat flour. It absorbs water faster and becomes more like tootpaste consistency.

The flavour of rye is subtle, but I do like it. As I am only using it 80% white wheat and 20% dary rye flour, I’m not expecting a huge change. The bread did not rise as much as with the 20% whole wheat flour. I think that rye has less gluten and therefore less structure, for a smaller bread. The bread did come out with good crumb. The gluten structure was certainly there, and there was sufficient CO2 for lift. I did a 70% hydration.

Sourdough bread, 80% white wheat 20% dark rye, came out a tad smaller, but the crumb was pretty holey. I do like the flavour and a good change from whole wheat flour. 70 percent hydration. Photo by Don Tai.

Sourdough bread, 80% white wheat 20% dark rye, came out a tad smaller, but the crumb was pretty holey. I do like the flavour and a good change from whole wheat flour. 70 percent hydration. Photo by Don Tai.

Dark rye flour, 10kg bag, from Grain Process Enterprises, Toronto, $12.50. Underwhelming store, but adequate.

Dark rye flour, 10kg bag, from Grain Process Enterprises, Toronto, $12.50. Underwhelming store, but adequate.

Dark rye flour, 10kg bag, from Grain Process Enterprises, Toronto, $12.50. Underwhelming store, but adequate.Generic label.

Dark rye flour, 10kg bag, from Grain Process Enterprises, Toronto, $12.50. Underwhelming store, but adequate.Generic label.

Dark rye flour, 10kg bag, from Grain Process Enterprises, Toronto, $12.50. Underwhelming store, but adequate.Generic label.

Dark rye flour, 10kg bag, from Grain Process Enterprises, Toronto, $12.50. Underwhelming store, but adequate.Generic label.

Grain Process Enterprises, item list, old (2011) and out of date, but has their contact info. Call for prices. S.G. means stone ground.

2 thoughts on “Grain Process Enterprises, Toronto: I bought Dark Rye Flour

  1. Sam

    Its 2021 and people are still consuming, willingly, knowingly, refined carbs. Quite incomprehensible. Surely you’ve heard of something called Diabetes? Blood sugar issues? Your sugar levels will spike quickly then crash eating refined carbs. They’re basically a slow poison.

  2. Susan

    Thanks for sharing this information about this business, your experience, and your backing! I was wondering about payment methods too and now I know!

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