Here is a peek into Gloun Cross Dairy production of butter which is delicious with my traditional brown bread which I make using Dónal Creedon's wholemeal flour. Both are award winning producers based in the Lee Valley of Co Cork.
1832 -Macroom Walton's Flour Mills
In the late 1700s, the original Mill was built by John Walton, across the road by Walton's Lane on the northern side of Macroom. In 1832, his brother Richard built his own family flour mill in Masseytown near the banks of the Sullane river. This location was chosen to provide the powerful water flow needed to operate the Mill Water Wheel which provided essential power prior to the availability of Electricity in the region.
Dónal Creedon is the present Millar and is the 6th generation of the Walton family today.
Dónal produces the original 1kg Macroom Oatmeal and 2kg Stoneground Wholemeal Flour to the exacting manner handed down to him. Using fresh roasted oats sourced from specific parts of the sunny south east of Ireland. For the most part, Dónal hand delivers his produce weekly all around Southern Ireland and keeps a close eye on how it is handled and displayed in stores. Never store near coffee he tells me as the product may absorb the flavour!
It has gained a strong reputation with renowned Chefs such as Myrtle Allen of Ballymaloe House and Food writers John and Sally McKenna of McKenna Guides. Myrtle Allen provided the recipes for making brown bread on the packaging of the flour which are easy to follow and a delight to make.
His Pinhead Oatmeal makes tasty porridge and using it to bake homemade oatcakes makes for crunchy, delicious biscuits for enjoying cheese.