Native to Ethiopia, but domesticated in Europe centuries ago, red (or purple) wheat has long drawn attention not only for its colour, but also its nutty taste and aroma, which is once again becoming popular amongst artisan bakers. This variety is therefore increasingly being milled in Czech mills such as Mlýn Dubecko, which supplies sacks of flour to the U Kalendů bakery, Eska and now also to Café Savoy.

"Chef Franta Skopec gave us the impetus - he came up with the idea that they deal with cereals at UM and that we should be more conscious about the quality of the flour at Savoy," says chef Martin Čáslavka. Shortly afterwards, all the flour for the bakery, pastry shop and kitchen was ordered from Dubecko.

"It has made a huge difference for us,as we can communicate directly with the mill. When I needed to grind the flour finer, Mr Zuna sent me a sample and in the end adjusted the coarseness to our specific requirements," says baker Míša Pelíšková. At the mill, she buys wheat ground into speciality smooth, semi-coarse, coarse and wholemeal flours, as well as red wheat in the form of semolina – for fruit dumplings, of course.

“The dough has a more distinct flavour and contains no flour, which helps the strawberries stand out. In the end, however, the main difference is the colour of the dumplings," Martin compares the original and current recipes. The proportions of the basic ingredients have been adjusted slightly – whereas previously two kilos of curd were processed with two kilos of fine baby semolina, now only 1.35 kg of red wheat semolina is needed for the same amount of curd. It absorbs more liquid than classic semolina, which means the dough is less sticky.

The future is colourful

Back in the days when low-milled white flour was on the rise, red wheat wasn't much in vogue. Bakers didn’t like the colour, which even after milling resembled darker wholemeal flour. At the time, its nutritional content and excellent baking properties did little to convince the market, or grain breeders – and actually, we’re quite grateful! After all, heritage, unmodified cereal varieties are inherently beneficial to our health, and that of the soil.

The story of the marbled dumplings you’ll find at Savoy started centuries ago, but manages to keep up with the times, responding to the issues of sustainability and shortening supply chains. Similar thinking goes on at U Kalendů, where they have been baking with Dubecko flour almost since the bakery opened, using red wheat to flavour loaves of wheat-rye bread. At Eska, they first started fermenting whole grains of 'purpura' (you already know the recipe!), and only recently have they taken a liking to semolina, using it to create crumble toppings for cakes and traditional kolache.

You can’t go wrong with a baguette!

Baguettes are the latest innovation at Café Savoy. Last year, Míša Pelíšková and Ambiente's creative chef Tomáš Valkovič went on an internship to the Warsaw bakery Cała W Mące, where they tried baking with ancient grains. Now, the baguette dough at Café Savoy is enhanced with Triticum monococcum, or single grain, stone-milled at Mulino Marino mill in Italy. The original, uncultivated variety is considered the oldest wheat ever domesticated by man thousands of years BC – and the Italians were among the first to grow it!

"The single grain makes up about 20% of the dough, but it still adds flavour and colour. The baguettes are beautifully baked, with a slightly darker crust and nice alveoli (air pockets) in the crumb," says Míša. This orange-tinged grain contains less gluten, so is usually combined with others to create the perfect dough – smooth wheat flour, rye leaven, salt and water all feature in the baguettes from Savoy. Simple, but perfect. The carotenoid, fibre and protein content are also worth appreciating, as well the taste, which is reminiscent of hazelnuts – and, of course, our cereal culture and heritage.