When Steve DeWitt was experimenting with ingredients to make the perfect pancake mix, he immediately saw differences that brought to life the distinctive baking characteristics of individual wheat varieties.
DeWitt’s increasing familiarity with the intricacies of flour is something he never anticipated while growing up on the family farm near Braman in north central Oklahoma. Only in recent years did he become interested in marketing his own homegrown grain in a minimally processed form.
DeWitt sells his products through an online store, but the bulk of sales are to what he calls “year-round farmers market stores” focused on local sourcing. Oklahoma City and Tulsa have several, but others have sprouted up in smaller towns like Arcadia, New Castle, Piedmont and Deer Creek.
Still, the market is changing, and DeWitt sees potential in new directions pursued by OSU’s chief wheat geneticist and distinguished professor Dr. Brett Carver, who leads the wheat breeding program. He’s been carefully following varietal advances for years, looking for options that combine good yield potential with environmental adaptability and desirable baking characteristics.