"Cinnamon rolls are calling us, do you hear? Come and get my sugary, sticky goodness!” Jude Watson
Disclaimer
Occasionally, our cross country trip requires us to briefly cross over to adjacent states we are not yet scheduled to visit, or have already visited, to see points of interest not included in our path through a specific state. Since our path through Montana will not take us through the city of Missoula, MT, we briefly crossed back into Montana during our week in Idaho to visit Montana’s “Famous Food”.
Lori
Upon our arrival in Missoula, MT, we headed to Wheat Montana Bakery & Deli to partake in the Cross Country Couple's “Famous Food” for the State of Montana; Wheat Montana Cinnamon Rolls. Although their cinnamon rolls have huge local cult following, it is the Wheat Montana locally grown and milled flour used in the cinnamon rolls, which makes them so delicious. Technically, Wheat Montana's wheat should be the Famous Food for Montana. However, I was not about to eat a plate full of flour, so Wheat Montana cinnamon rolls it is!
Wheat Montana is a 3rd generation family business, with 180 employees, encompassing 15000 acres of Montana's most fertile land. At 5,000 feet above sea level, it is also the highest elevation grain is grown in North America. A combination of low rainfall, high elevation and cool nights result in a high quality grain. All of their wheat is Non-GMO, certified chemical free, and certified organic! In 1994, Wheat Montana Farm was awarded, "Montana's Family Business of the Year", and in 1999, they won the "Best Managed Farms" contest out of all farms in the United States. Wheat Montana Farms has also made its way into the Guinness Book of World Records for cutting, milling, mixing and baking a loaf of bread in 8 minutes and 13 seconds! Their facilities include grain cleaning, processing, flour milling, a full scale bakery, and their products are sold nationwide. Wheat Montana also has 5 Bakery & Deli’s throughout Montana. It is at the Wheat Montana Deli & Bakery Missoula location where the Cross Country Couple caught up with their infamous cinnamon rolls!
As we approached the entry to the bakery and deli, we couldn’t help but laugh! As you can see from the pictures below, you enter the store through a grain silo! Talk about an attention grabber! We actually saw their silo from the highway! What great advertising! Upon entering the store, we saw an on-site full service deli, and bakery. To the left was a gift shop, and to the right was bakery products and baking staples. However, we came for one reason, and it wasn’t to purchase a 50 lb bag of flour. We came to partake in the famous cinnamon rolls we have heard about all across Montana!
I selected my cinnamon roll from a display case, and they were the largest I had ever seen! They had to be at least 10’ inches circumference, and the price was very reasonable at $1.50 each. Without asking, the young lady helping me ruined my cinnamon roll by doing the unthinkable; She put it in the microwave!!! I hate microwaves! Not only do microwaves heat unevenly, they suck the very life out of any food! It is the equivalent of giving my certified angus filet mignon steak to McDonalds to grind up and use in a Happy Meal. My heart sank, as I stood there watching my cinnamon roll go round and round and round for a full 30 long and agonizing seconds. Soon thereafter, the microwave made a “ding” noise, and I was handed my cinnamon roll. I wasn’t overly enthusiastic or optimistic about my cinnamon roll at this point! Nonetheless, I found a table, and took a big bite; “Chomp”! Albeit not very fresh, and unevenly heated, I was still able to taste the high quality of the flour used in the cinnamon roll, but they did not use enough cinnamon and frosting. The cinnamon rolls were not very good, however the Wheat Montana Grains were fresh and delicious. Perhaps I would have been better off just eating a plate full of their flour!