We have chosen oats as our Favorite Grain for 2025. This versatile grain impresses with its high fiber, vitamin, and mineral content. Thanks to its versatility, oats are the basis for numerous baked goods. At the same time, oat cultivation has a low environmental impact, making it an ecological choice for conscious consumers.
bot. Avena
Versatile powerhouse
Oats are impressive thanks to their abundance of valuable nutrients and proven health-promoting properties for the cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract. With their exceptional properties, they are the ideal basis for a balanced, health-conscious diet and a modern lifestyle. As one of the most nutrient-rich grains, oats are naturally low in gluten and versatile in their use—whether as oatmeal, kernels, groats, bran, flour, cereal, or drink.
Oat beta-glucan
What makes oats special is the soluble fiber beta-glucan (4.5 g per 100 g), which forms a protective layer in the digestive tract thanks to its ability to bind fluids. This not only promotes a healthy intestinal mucosa, but also helps regulate cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and satiety.
This nutrient profile is supplemented by important trace elements such as iron, zinc, manganese, and copper, as well as vitamins such as thiamine (B1), biotin, and vitamin K, which support numerous bodily functions. The plant-based iron in oats is particularly effective when consumed in combination with foods rich in vitamin C.
Our oat products
Oatmeal flour is particularly suitable for making bread, long-life baked goods, and cookies, Oat flakes big and Oat flakes small are versatile—they can be used in bread, desserts, and as a decoration on baked goods. Oat grains can be used in baked goods, but they can also be ground or further processed, e.g., into oat groats. Nutritionally valuable oat bran is suitable for yogurt and quark dishes. You will find the following products containing our Favorite Grain in our range: Schapfen Beta HaferGold and Schapfen Beta HaferGold 50 %.
Many of our oat products are also available in organic quality.
For us, the grain of choice for 2024 is the ancient grain emmer. This is because we are seeing a steady increase in demand for original grain varieties such as emmer. This is due, on the one hand, to a return to traditional values and, on the other hand, to a growing need for greater sustainability and naturalness. Due to its long history, emmer meets many people's desire for original, unadulterated products. This ancient grain has hardly been bred and is therefore well suited to an authentic diet.
bot. Triticum dicoccum
History
Emmer is one of the oldest cultivated grain varieties. As early as 10,000 BC, the grain was cultivated in the Near East in the area known as the Fertile Crescent (now southern Iraq, northern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan) and in Egypt. Around 5,000 BC, the grain was first cultivated in Germany, where it has a tradition stretching back thousands of years, until it was gradually replaced in the Middle Ages by higher-yielding grains such as spelt and soft wheat.
Appearance
Emmer is a spelt grain. This means that the grains are firmly enclosed in a husk (spelt) that cannot be removed by simple threshing. Before further processing in the flour mill, the husk must be removed in an additional process (hulling) in the husking mill.
The ears with the most grains sit on long stalks, and emmer wheat grows up to 140 cm tall, which is taller than wheat or barley, for example. The black varieties of emmer are particularly impressive, immediately catching the eye with their purple color.
Products and baking properties
Emmer flour type 1300 and emmer wholemeal flour are particularly suitable for making rolls, bread, or pizza dough. Emmer flour has a low kneading tolerance. This means that when processing and kneading, you should knead the dough carefully at a low speed and only briefly at a high speed. You will find the following products containing the ancient grain emmer in our range: Schapfen "Meine Mühle" Emmer Urkorn and Schapfen "Meine Mühle" 4-UrKornbrot.
Nutritional values and special features
Emmer is a good source of protein and contains higher levels of valuable minerals than soft wheat. It is particularly rich in magnesium and zinc. Emmer contains around twice as much beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the body and is important for the immune system, as modern wheat varieties.
Emmer and SchapfenMühle
In 2013, SchapfenMühle decided to resume contract farming of emmer. The contract farmers are all located within a radius of 20 to 30 km around the mill site in Ulm. Through its cooperation and close network with local farmers, SchapfenMühle contributes to strengthening the regional economy and ensures transparency throughout the entire value chain, from breeding and seed selection to cultivation and processing.
