Not every farm starts with rows of wheat. Some begin with a loaf of bread that didn’t quite turn out.
For Darrold and Marty Glanville, that loaf was the first step toward Sunrise Flour Mill. What began as a search for the kind of crusty, artisan bread they had eaten in Europe turned into a lifelong mission: to bring heritage wheat back to the table and remind people what real flour should taste like.
From Garage Experiments to a Mill of Their Own
The Glanvilles started milling flour in their garage, experimenting with baking and studying the science of wheat. At first, the bread was dense and disappointing, but with each failed loaf came a revelation. The issue wasn’t the recipes. It was the flour.
Modern, hybridized wheat, developed in the 1950s for high yields, wasn’t the same grain they grew up eating. Its gluten structure had changed. Its reliance on chemicals had grown. And its digestibility had declined.
So they went back to where it all began: heritage wheat.
Why Heritage Wheat Matters
Heritage wheat predates modern hybrids and carries the traits that made wheat the foundation of so many food cultures: flavor, nutrition, and digestibility. Many people who struggle with modern wheat find they can enjoy heritage wheat without the same discomfort.
At Sunrise Flour Mill, every bag of flour is:
-
Organic: Grown in rich, chemical-free soil on fourth-generation organic farms.
-
Single-source: The wheat’s journey is traced from seed to mill, with nothing blended or hidden.
-
Unifine-milled: Using 1930s technology that shatters grain into a superfine, fluffy flour in a single pass, keeping the bran and germ intact while producing flour nearly as fine as white.
-
Additive-free: No bleaching, no bromating, no vital wheat gluten added. Just the grain, as it was meant to be.
The Turning Point
Heritage wheat didn’t just change the Glanvilles’ bread. It changed their lives.
For years, Darrold suffered from severe health issues, aches, reflux, fatigue, that doctors couldn’t explain. Going gluten-free helped, but left them disappointed with substitutes. When they returned to heritage wheat, everything shifted. Darrold could eat bread again, without symptoms. Marty found her joint pain eased. Together, they rediscovered the comfort and flavor of fresh, homemade bread.
That personal transformation became the foundation for Sunrise Flour Mill’s mission: to bring heritage wheat to home bakers everywhere.
A Mill with Purpose
Today, Sunrise Flour Mill in North Branch, Minnesota, produces heritage flours in small batches with the same care and curiosity that started in the Glanvilles’ garage. Their team continues to grow, but the philosophy remains simple:
Wheat is the foundation of almost every baked good. Better flour makes you a better baker.
And for Sunrise, better flour means heritage wheat, organically grown, carefully milled, and delivered fresh.
Baking a Legacy
Sunrise Flour Mill isn’t just selling flour, it’s helping families return to the joy of baking from scratch. Their mission, Every Day From Scratch, is about more than food. It’s about self-reliance, creativity, and the satisfaction of nourishing people with something real.
Whether it’s bread, pizza, cookies, or cakes, Sunrise flour gives bakers a foundation they can trust, flour that tastes better, feels better, and connects us back to the wheat our grandparents knew.
Sunrise Flour Mill. Heritage wheat, better flour, and a return to bread worth baking.
