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The Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, inquired by email if the bakery would be interested in doing a pilot project baking with Kernza® perennial grain flour. And so began Artisan Naan Bakery's ongoing Kernza® experience. Photo courtesy of Carmen Fernholz. -
Early January 2021, the Kernza® naan pilot project officially took off and took shape through videoconferences, emails, and telephone calls between the bakery and AURI. Photo courtesy of Carmen Fernholz. -
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). -
AURI delivered two Kernza® flour samples to the bakery. The flour was MN-Clearwater and had been milled by Swany White Flour Mills in Freeport, MN. Swany White Flour Mills has been owned by the Thelen Family since 1903. -
MN-Clearwater is the first variety of Kernza to be released for commercial production in the U.S. It was developed by the University of Minnesota Forever Green Initiative, a College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) research platform developing winter annual and perennial crops and cropping systems that protect soil and water while also providing new economic opportunities for growers, industry, and communities.
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AURI shipped flour from Swany White to the bakery for the pilot project Kernza@ naan, which would be sold at the bakery's retail counter and at the 2021 St Cloud Area Farmers Market in downtown St Cloud, MN. Thereafter, the bakery finalized the Kernza® naan recipe; named our naan, The Marvel; and designed the required food label and a special label identifying the bakery's products made with Kernza®. -
AURI visited the bakery and baked the 1st batch of Kernza® Naan with Gwen. We also baked amazing Kernza@ Pizzas for lunch. Yum! Yes, we hand-tossed each naan and naan pizza crust. -
We debuted a Kernza® naan, The Marvel, and a Kernza® par-baked Naan Pizza Crust, the Marvelous Naan Pizza Crust, at our local farmers market in St Cloud, MN. It was a sell-out! -
The bakery sold our Kernza® breads, The Marvel Naan and the Marvelous Naan Pizza Crust, for the duration of our 2021 farmers market season.
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Based on the positive reception from farmers market customers, the bakery prepared for wholesaling our new naan to 4 long-term customers, The Wedge, Eastside, and both Seward Co-Ops, Minneapolis, MN. Preparations included buying MN-Clearwater flour through Baker's Field Flour and Bread, making arrangements with our buyers, and finalizing the retail labels. AURI analyzed our recipe and provided a Nutrition Facts label.
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The bakery expanded our web presence. We deployed a new website. We engaged a Marketing Director to handle our social media presence; and to map out a specific social media campaign for our Kernza® products. In September, the bakery added Instagram. -
Gwen Williams attended the Kernza® Field Day at A-Frame Farm in Madison, MN. She met and conversed with many people, notably, grower and President of Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative, Carmen Fernholz; growers from Sustain-a-Grain in Kansas, Brandon Kaufman and Peter Miller; Tessa Peters, The Land Institute; and Connie Carlson, UMN Forever Green Initiative. Photo courtesy of Karl Hakanson. -
Gwen brought samples of our Kernza® Naan to the Madison Field Day. Gwen had the pleasure of meeting Beth Dooley and tasting her wonderful Kernza@ pilaf. Gwen especially enjoyed meeting and talking with Jill Holter, who had created fantastic grilled pizza recipes for our Naan back in 2017! Photo courtesy of Karl Hakanson. -
AURI brought our Kernza® Naan to this educational Kernza® field day open to the public. Our Kernza® Naan was one of many delicious Kernza® food samples attendees enjoyed. The field day was held at the 16-acre Kernza@ plot planted by ROCORI FFA and Ag students. The day featured presentations by AURI and the Stearns County Soil & Water Conservation District, among others. -
The bakery sent an envoy to The Land Institute in Salina, KS, to take one of their public Friday tours in order to learn more about perennial crop research in general and Kernza® in particular. The delegation consisted of the bakery's Marketing Director and her daughter, the bakery's Teen Food Ambassador. Photo courtesy of Julia Williams. -
The bakery's delivery driver Dave brought The Marvel naan, made with Kernza® perennial grain, to four Minneapolis locations. The Marvel hit the shelves at Seward Community Co-op Franklin store, Seward Community Co-op Friendship store, Eastside Food Co-op, and The Wedge Community Co-op. -
The bakery prepared for wholesaling a new Kernza® pita, starting with a select group of Lunds & Byerlys stores. Preparations included buying more Kernza® flour, finalizing our pita recipe and handling / baking method, making arrangements with our buyer, and finalizing the retail labels. AURI analyzed our final recipe and provided a Nutrition Facts label.
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The bakery bought Kernza® C5 flour from Sustain-a-Grain in Kansas, where The Land Institute is located. "C5" stands for "Cycle 5," the variety obtained through five breeding cycles at The Land Institute.
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The bakery officially released our 2nd Kernza® flatbread, our Perennial Grain Pockets, or Kernza® Pita. This fresh whole grain pita launched at 5 select Lunds & Byerlys locations in Eagan, Highland Park, Maple Grove, Ridgedale, and St Louis Park. -
Lunds & Byerlys France Ave Edina, 50th Street Edina, and Northeast Minneapolis stores started carrying our Kernza® Pita, bringing the number of stores selling this pita to 8. -
The bakery was honored that AURI selected Artisan Naan Bakery for their 2022 AURI Connects: Fields of Innovation Innovator Profiles. The profile discusses the bakery's work with AURI and the emerging grain Kernza®. -
At the bakery's request, Mad Agriculture, a non-profit that works to advance regenerative agriculture, delivered assistance to the bakery and the grocers selling our Kernza® breads. This assistance by Mad Agriculture came in the form of composing a 4x6 Kernza® Postcard for display in grocery store settings and a basic Kernza® Fact Sheet. Mad Agriculture represents the Perennial Promise Growers' Cooperative. -
Long-time customer, Linden Hills Co-Op in Minneapolis, MN, started carrying our Kernza® Naan. -
Connie Carlson, Forever Green Initiative, brought the bakery's Kernza® Naan, The Marvel, to the April 2022 international research conference held at the Land Institute, Salina, KS. Conference attendees enjoyed the Marvel along with other perennial crop foods at the Earth Day luncheon. Photo courtesy of Connie Carlson. -
Our Kernza® breads appeared at various field days, including a July 7 Field Day at A-Frame Farm, Madison, MN; August 1 Michael Fields Agricultural Institute Kernza Field Day, East Troy, WI; August 18 Rosholt Research Farm Field Day, Pope county, MN; and Great River Greening's September 14 Kernza® Field Day, St. Peter, MN.
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Michael Fields Agricultural Institute's Dr. Nicole Tautges ordered The Marvel online and the bakery mailed The Marvel packs for a special Kernza® event in Wisconsin, "Sustainability 3.0 Field Day." This is how "Delavan, WI" got added to the bakery's Wall of Naan Fame. -
The bakery was thrilled to send our delicious bread, pan de medianoche kernza, to the Rosholt Research Farm's Field Day hosted by Pope County Soil and Water Conservation District, a neighboring county. And Gwen and Tahir had the pleasure of meeting Dennis Fuchs, Administrator, Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District, since Dennis transported the Kernza® breads to the field day. -
To wrap up a great summer of our Kernza breads at various perennial crop events, The Land Institute ordered some Marvel Naan and we dispatched it for their Prairie Festival 2022. Festival attendees sampled our naan along with other Kernza food and drink. Photo courtesy of Julia Williams. -
Long-time customer, Lakewinds Food Co-Ops, began carrying our Kernza® Naan and Pita. The bakery was honored when Lakewinds created two recipes for The Marvel Naan and posted them in March 2023. -
The bakery's Kernza® pilot project with AURI was a small part of the much larger work to advance Kernza® value chains for food and non-food uses. AURI's comprehensive report about their partnership with Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District includes endnotes, citations, plus extensive appendices, including a 32 page appendix by Northern Crops Institute, among others.
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Gwen had the chance to tell a great water story as part of the Becker, MN exhibit, "We Are Water MN," which was hosted by the Mississippi River St Cloud Watershed Collaborative. The water story she shared was the bakery's Kernza® story. Have a listen to Episode 29 Beer and Bread. -
Mississippi Market Co-Op, with three locations in St Paul, began carrying a full range of the bakery's flatbreads, including The Marvel Naan.