Ancient Plant Baking Mixes Promoting planetary & human health
Made with 100% naturally gluten-free ingredients*
Amy’s Ancient plant Baking Mix Story
In 2023, after discovering that I was highly gluten intolerant, and missing the delicious flavor of whole grain toast in the morning as well as cookies for my afternoon break, I undertook a journey to create baking mixes from 100% naturally gluten free ingredients which also supported planetary and human health.
I began searching for flavorful alternatives to wheat that could nourish the body, delight the tastebuds, and be sustainably grown on small farms in the United States and internationally. This led me to six ancient plants: millet, teff, sorghum, amaranth, arrowroot*, and tapioca* and the delicious, nutritious, and climate friendly Mama Tree Farm baking mixes made from ecologically diverse food plants and premium, sustainably sourced cocoa and chocolate.
It turns out, many people love these mixes, gluten intolerant or not!
*Arrowroot and tapioca are not grown in the United States. Arrowroot is a a tuber Tapioca is a tuberous root. They are grown in tropical and subtropical regions.
Mama Tree Farm baking mixes are made with 100% naturally gluten free ingredients and processed in a kitchen dedicated to processing only naturally gluten free ingredients*.
We use compostable packaging and labels and source our premium cocoa and chocolate from companies dedicated to improvING livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their communities through the promotion of sustainable farming.
Ancient Plant Baking Mixes for People and Planet
At the same time, I began to explore the potential for ancient grains to grow on my farm, Mama Tree Farm, in Worcester, Vermont.
At Mama Tree Farm, I’ve conducted two seasons of small-scale trials to test how these grains perform in our regional climate. The results have been encouraging. In the very wet summer of 2024, at 1,000 feet of elevation in USDA Zone 4b, both Jousves Millet (Panicum miliaceum), Hells Canyon Millet (Setaria italica) and White teff (Eragrostis tef.) grew exceptionally well—despite late planting and minimal care
While I am not currently able to grow the quantity of ancient grains needed to make these gluten free baking mixes, my long term hope is to help grow the market for organic farming of diverse and gluten-free grains in Vermont, Maine, and New York.
Image of Hells Canyon Millet (Setaria italica) growing on Mama Tree Farm.
Why Ancient PLants?
According to the Whole Grains Council, “all whole grains in the larger sense are “ancient” — they all can trace their roots back to the beginnings of time. However,…ancient grains are largely unchanged over the last several hundred years.”
These ancient plants are more resilient to environmental pressures. The grains,—millet, teff, sorghum, and amaranth—can be grown in the Northeast and are remarkable for their efficiency and adaptability. They tolerate heat, drought, and low-fertility soils; they require minimal fertilizer, herbicide, and irrigation costing the farmer less; and they can thrive and yield sufficiently on smaller farms.
Growing these ancient plants provides a beneficial alternative for small farmers, their neighbors, and the planet by reducing dependence on costly and toxic agricultural inputs and promoting sustainable growing practices locally and globally.
Together, these crops support agrobiodiversity*, central to global food resilience. Eating from diverse and resilient crop species, such as these ancient grains, spread risk and strengthen resilience to the whole system.
*Currently, just three cereals – rice, wheat, and maize - now provide about 60% of plant-based human energy intake (World Agriculture).This extreme reliance on a few crops leaves global food systems highly vulnerable to pests, disease, international conflict, and climate disruption.
Image of White teff growing on Mama Tree Farm
By using six different ancient plant flours, Mama Tree Farm promotes and celebrates plant food diversity, small farmer livelihoods, and nutrient rich food to strengthen food security, rural community resilience, and planetary and human health.
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*Our baking mixes are made with naturally gluten-free ingredients in a commercial kitchen used only for gluten-free ingredients. Not certified.