Our Story

OUR MISSION

At Hayden Flour Mills, we are reviving forgotten native grains from the ground up in the Arizona desert - yes, more than cacti can grow and flourish in the desert. Our mission is to take you from chemical-laden, over-processed wheat into a world alive with flavor, texture, aroma, and natural nutrients through heritage grains and the art of stone milling.

ABOUT STONE MILLING

Stone milling is an old world process where the whole grain is crushed into flour by rotating stones. Unlike modern roller mills that tend to shave off and discard the flavor and replacing natural nutrients with chemical enrichments, our process of stone milling in small batches preserves the natural oils of the grain, creating a more flavorful, nutrient-dense product. While it’s hard, labor-intensive work, we believe it’s well worth it.

We’re proud to offer our customers the highest quality, natural, hand-cultivated flours that are never bleached or enriched, and always freshly milled.

Better For People And Planet

We’re dedicated to reviving and stone milling heritage and ancient grains through regenerative and sustainable practices that are better for both people and the planet.

  • Non-GMO & Additive-Free
  • Sustainable
  • Good for the Soil
All of our wheat and corn are non-GMO and chemical-free for the health of our customers.

Our heritage grains are grown using natural farming methods. We don’t use chemical fertilizers, pesticides or glyphosate, in efforts to protect not only the health of our soil and water sources, but the health of you and your family.

We do not add folic acid, bleach, enrichments, bromates, malts or anything else to our flours. The whole grain is stone milled to naturally preserve the flavor and nutrients of the germ, bran, and endosperm.

Our energy-efficient mill is 100% solar-powered, harnessing the sun’s energy to stone mill whole grains and preserve the natural flavors and nutrients.

Our sustainable farming practices and drought tolerant crops help us conserve our precious water resources in the desert.

Some people are surprised to hear we grow wheat in the desert - but in fact, heritage wheat is meant to be grown in a desert climate. By reviving forgotten grains that once thrived here, we’re preserving vital biodiversity, and allowing the desert to blossom with a natural bounty.

Our deep-rooted heritage wheat varieties require no chemical inputs, and revitalize our soil with vital nutrients. All of this means healthier soil and regenerative farming practices.

Our crops sequester carbon out of the atmosphere, drawing it into the earth through their deep root systems, where our rotation crops can draw from it as a source of nutrition.

Family Owned,
Family Run

My dad grew up on a farm in North Dakota where he witnessed the industrialization of wheat farming first hand and how it affected the crop. He watched the wheat on his family farm get shorter and shorter as modern seed varieties began being produced for optimal yield, at the cost of deteriorating quality.

Determined to see if growing and stone milling old grains really mattered, not just to him, but to a community of like-minded people, my dad came up with an idea - to restart the historic Hayden Flour Mills in my hometown of Tempe, Arizona.

In 2009, while working on my PhD, my dad called to share with me his wild idea and invited me along for the ride. If you know my dad, you know he is full of wild ideas - but something about this one stuck with me. I left my program to join in his dream and now, over a decade later, we’re still bringing flavorful and nutrient-rich heritage and ancient grains to more people and more tables.

It hasn’t always been an easy ride, and it’s often a labor of love, but we couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

Thank you for supporting my family’s dream. We hope you taste the love and care we package into every box!

From my family to yours,

Emma Zimmerman Co-owner, Hayden Flour Mills

Meet The Team

Our team is really more like family - and some of us are actually related! Get to know the people that make Hayden Flour Mills what it is today.

Jeff Zimmerman (Emma’s dad!)

Co-owner + Co-founder
From: A farm near Fargo, North Dakota

Jeff is the brains behind the mill. He is an expert on all things related to heritage and ancient grains, farming, milling equipment, operations - you name it. An avid reader and researcher, Jeff has at least 100 new ideas every day, but Emma and him have a rule: he’s only allowed to share one new idea a day.

Favorite HFM product:
All Purpose Flour for Pizza

Emma Zimmerman (Jeff’s daughter!)

Co-owner + Co-founder
From: Tempe, Arizona, where the historic Hayden Flour Mills first started back in 1874

Emma is the style behind the mill. She’s always in the kitchen drumming up new recipes to share with our community. She oversees our branding and style, making sure we tell our story with flair and beauty. Her keen business sense turned Hayden Flour Mills from a hobby into an award-winning business that sells its heritage grains and flour across the country.

Favorite HFM product:
Emmer Farro Flour

Diego Madueno

Head Miller (and heart of the mill)
From: Mazatlan, Mexico

As a former chef, Diego is serious when it comes to food and milling quality grain. He painstakingly scrutinizes each batch of grain – nothing below par passes by – then he adjusts the mill according to each grain variety and mills it to perfection. He’s the keeper of all our secret flour blends, and ensures precision with every batch.

Favorite HFM product:
Pastry Flour

Debbie La Bell

From: Cebu, Philippines

Debbie handles all things related to direct consumer sales. She loves interacting with our customers and sharing her passion for our products by shouting it from the social media rooftops and inboxes. With a constant ear to our Hayden fans, she is also in charge of new product development.

Favorite HFM product:
Yellow Corn Polenta

Abi Verdugo

From: Gilbert, Arizona

Abi takes care of our valued wholesale customers. She ensures every wholesale order moves through our system seamlessly and is shipped on time. Her sharp attention to detail and willingness to try new things make Abi an integral part of our team. And the best part? She does it all with an amazing smile and a can-do attitude.

Favorite HFM product:
White Sonora Pancake Mix

Brittany Mardis

From: White Lake, Michigan

Brittany is our fearless Operations Manager. With her unwavering determination and positive energy, she fearlessly navigates through the daily challenges of running our mill. Her strategic mindset and can-do attitude keep our team marching towards success, making her an invaluable asset to our organization. Whether it's troubleshooting production issues or streamlining operations, Brittany does it all with a smile on her face and a pep in her step.

Favorite HFM product:
Pizza Flour

Jaclyn McClure

From: Las Cruces, New Mexico

Jaclyn is small but mighty. She works speedily to count, date stamp, fill, weigh, and seal our retail packaging products to keep up with our ever-growing business. She relishes in the routine nature of her job, and you’ll often find her rocking out to her favorite tunes while she works. Jaclyn shows up every day ready to roll with contagious energy and a huge smile.

Favorite HFM product:
Pastry Flour for bizcochos

Tour The Mill

Behind The Scenes

Co-owner Emma harvests wheat by hand, paying homage to historic practices.

Hayden Flour Mills co-owners, and father daughter team, Emma and Jeff pour grains into the mill on their way to becoming delicious, fresh flour.

Co-owner Emma transfers whole wheat berries, getting them ready to be milled into fresh, flavorful flour.

The Hayden Flour Mills team adventuring through our fields of desert-grown grains.

Carefully measuring and hand-packing freshly milled flour.

Every Hayden Flour Mills product is hand packaged with care.

Every batch of whole wheat berries are carefully inspected for quality.

Farmer Noah hand harvesting Arizona-grown wheat.

Whole grain berries, fresh from the farm.

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