Whether you've got a baking enthusiast to buy for or you want to bake your own treats for a Christmas party, you can add a memorable touch with specialist flour from the historic Wessex Mill in Wantage. We chatted with flour miller Emily Munsey.
Tell us about what you sell.
We sell a range of flours and breakfast cereals. The wheat in our flours is all bought from farms within 50 miles of our mill in Wantage.
How long have you been going, and why was the business started?
The story begins in 1895 with my great-great-grandfather, William Henry, who was forced to relocate from Cambridge to Oxford, following a devastating outbreak of foot and mouth. Consequently, he moved from farming into flour milling. Originally starting as a partnership with Archer Cowley, the mill situated in Osney in Oxford became W.H. Munsey Ltd, with William Henry taking complete ownership of the business in 1911.
What do you like best about being based In Oxfordshire?
We like being based in Oxfordshire because of the wonderful wheat available, and our wonderful staff. We work with farmers local to the mill; they grow top quality wheat which enables us to mill beautiful flour. We also have brilliant staff who live locally and keep the mill going.
Do you think Oxfordshire is a good place to run a small business?
We are blessed in Oxfordshire with people who value locally-produced flour made by a small company. There are a large number of brilliant bakeries in Oxfordshire, whom we are also able to sell our flours to.
What's the best thing about running a small business?
Producing a high quality product that our customers love, and hearing their feedback.
What’s the biggest challenge?
All our machinery is from around the 1940s, and some is even older. Keeping this going is probably our most challenging job. Luckily, we have a world-class maintenance engineer!
What's the most interesting little- known fact about what you do?
Milling is all about chopping, rather than crushing. The aim is to first chop the grain down in size first releasing the white middle of the grain before crushing just the white endosperm down in size.
What’s your favourite product?
Six Seed Bread Flour - it makes the most wonderfully tasty loaves of bread.
Is there anything else you’d like to highlight?
We put the names of the farms wheat we've used on the back of each bag of flour, so you know exactly where your flour has been grown.
We also have a range of recipes on our website which you can follow to get started with making your own bread.
The Wessex Mill team have kindly supplied a recipe booklet to give you a taster of the creations you can achieve with their flour. Click the images for a printable pdf version!
Welcome to Daily Info’s 2023 Advent Calendar – 24 days of festive tips, free activities & local shopping suggestions!
This year's calendar offers a mix of Christmas suggestions, taking in traditions in Oxford and the wider area, and free activities & events in the build up to the big day.
