September 2021

We Love Our Wheat

We love the cycle of our organic crop of wheat as it goes from field to fork. Last autumn, the land was prepared with organic matter from the stables, the chickens and our rich compost all ploughed in before the seed was planted. Reschio has a preference for the older varieties of grain, those that have less gluten and produce a more balanced wheat.

The spring sunshine ripened the crop and in the summer the field resembled a yellow ocean rippling in the breeze, ready for harvest. The machines arrived, reaping the wheat, the straw that fell back to the field was given as bedding for our chickens. Hessian bags were filled to bursting and these were returned to the chicken coops as feed to supplement their free range diet. The remaining grain was destined for Molino Silvestri, a local and ancient Umbrian mill on the Chiascio River dating back to 1100 AD where the stone mill is driven by the river.

Making flour is an ancient art and it is the miller who knows the right blend; the right consistency. He keeps a careful watch throughout the process and finally the flour is packed and sealed in paper sacks and returns to Reschio to go directly to the chefs.

Once in the kitchen, free-range Reschio eggs are gradually mixed into a pyramid of Reschio flour making pasta, not to mention cakes and bread served at the breakfast buffet each morning at the Hotel Castello di Reschio.

Eureka, we have succeeded in our ambition to complete a circle from field to fork, growing ingredients on our own land. Although farming brings annual challenges and no crop is ever a certainty.