Michelle Darmody: Brown, wholemeal and whole-wheat?

Stoneground flours, such as the excellent flour from Macroom, are ground between two mill stones, an ancient process that has not changed much over the centuries.

When ground in this manner the flour stays quite coarse and is excellent for soda bread. Today most commercial flours are not ground between two stones but rather crushed between steel rollers. The flour can be calledwhole-wheat, wholemeal or more often in Ireland brown flour.