Lake Garda’s typical stone-ground flour from cornfields grown in the hills of Lake Garda, also used in the Masterchef finale.
The typicality of the corn used
The “Farine tipiche del lago di Garda” cooperative mainly produces flour for polenta. Since 2009, at the Bedizzole Mill, it has been stone milling selected whole-corn grain in keeping with Brescia’s deep-rooted milling tradition. The flour obtained is made from vitreous fracture corn, that is, containing less starch and more protein than the varieties commonly used in livestock farming.
The increased vitrosity makes the raw material particularly suited to the production of high-quality grains, from which excellent flours are made to be processed into steaming polenta. The typical vitrosity of some of the corn varieties used, which is necessary for the production of high-quality polenta flour, is also maintained and increased by the cultivation techniques adopted; therefore, any molecular intervention of genetic modification is excluded.
The corn varieties sown by cooperative members are acquired partly from public research and partly through a careful and passionate search for local corn; a few grains typical of ancient crops safeguarded and handed down by native farmers are often sown to try them out. The cultivation adopted does not involve the use of irrigation water, a choice also linked to the goal of recovering marginal lands in the district; sowing operations and agronomic techniques with a low environmental impact are used, such as the very low use of fertilizing elements.
All this is possible also and above all thanks to the work of the cooperative’s farmer-members, who already several years before its establishment carried out an interesting work of recovering and planting largely abandoned varieties of vitreous corn.
All the cultivated fields are on the moraine hills of Lake Garda, in dryland, in an area, which, thanks to the microclimate of the lake, contributes to giving particular qualities to the corn.
The product
The corn used comes from native vitreous varieties, grown exclusively by the members on the moraine hills of Lake Garda, in full respect of Brescia’s deep-rooted milling tradition.
In the recently renovated building, it was possible to transfer a characteristic stone mill dating back to 1850 and used today for the production of flour
Cooking
To make a good polenta for five servings you need 500gr of typical Garda Bresciano flour, 2 liters or 2 1/2 liters of water and a tablespoon of coarse salt and , if desired a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Following this just pour in the flour by sprinkling it, stirring it with a whisk, then cook over moderate heat for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
It is then recommended to calibrate the amount of water in the recipe (2 liters or 2 1/2 liters) depending on the desired consistency and the cooking method used. For the use of the electric cauldron, a slightly higher amount of water is recommended than that to be used when stirring the polenta by hand.
Why did we choose the Garda flour from Bedizzole?
Bbuono selected this flour because it embodies all the values of tradition and craftsmanship that today are increasingly costly and difficult to keep alive. The ancient mill of Bedizzole continues its activity thanks to an agricultural cooperative founded in 2009 by local people attentive to traditions.
Garda flour was used in Masterchef.
A fine recognition, rewarding the cooperative’s work.
This flour is also used to make “crispy” pizza dough and breadcrumbs for fried foods.
Watch the video below of the Garda Flour used in Masterchef.
The flour signed Deco article quoted from “Il giornale di Brescia of 20/02/2013”
“Typical Garda flour,” produced by the agricultural cooperative “Farine tipiche del lago di Garda,” is the first product to enter the municipal Deco register.
Produced using raw material that is indigenous and cultivated in purity, that is, without the use of genetically modified organisms and with the help of pesticide treatments with a low toxicological profile, the flour is obtained by grinding corn with a two-stone machine dating back to the second half of the 19th century: what results is a “yellow powder” that is as valuable as the main derivative product, polenta.
From the ancient mill of Bedizzole a polenta-proof flour article quoted from “Il corriere della sera” of 12/28/2012 by Carlos Mac Adden
In 1184 Bedizzole was already a municipality and owed much of its resources to the factories that stood beside the bed of the Chiese River, such as the mill where cereals of the time were ground. Nothing particularly unusual in a nation unique in the world for its wealth of historical heritage. Less common is the fact that that mill, at least the place, is living a sort of second life: very long the first one and almost uninterrupted until 1964, when it ceased all activity. Recovering it is a group that, after years of trials and research, debuts in 2009 with the first flour made from local vitreous corn under the brand name of the agricultural cooperative Farine Tipiche del Lago di Garda.
