Rye has a special place in our breads and sourdough starters. It turbocharges the activity of our starters, and is the secret ingredient of many of our pizza and hearth loaf bakers, who will blend in just a little bit for flavor and liveliness.

Aside from its use in European bread baking, it can be substituted in many pastry and cookie recipes for an unusual and complex variation.

Fourth-generation farmer Dave Hedlin and his wife Serena Campbell have a special place in the Cairnspring family—our founder, Kevin Morse, once farmed with them himself. Today, they grow our Whole Grain Rye on 500 acres his family has been farming since his great-grandfather arrived from Denmark in 1906. A leading voice for sustainable land stewardship in the Skagit Valley, Dave uses organic and other regenerative farming practices to grow a lot more than our grain in his fields—he plants over 100 varieties of 40 different crops each season!

Use rye as the flour to feed your sourdough starter. For any hearth loaf or pizza, add about 9% rye for flavor and enzyme activity.