Whole wheat cinnamon smell?

[pcampbell]

Been getting butter works grainery flour here in vt... Noticed the whole wheat flour smells like cinnamon especially when baked..any ideas!?

[The Dough Doctor]

Yep, some way or another it got contaminated with cinnamon. They are both dark in color, and someone might have gotten the two confused, or failed to wash out a cinnamon container before filling it with whole-wheat flour. You should bring this to the attention of the manufacturer along with a sample of the flour. The ramifications of an error like this could be devastating, so please bring it to their attention as soon as possible.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[pcampbell]

Thanks Tom.  I e-mailed them to let them know/ask.  I googled this, and found  only one other person asking my same exact question (didn't indicate where the wheat came from but did say he or she milled it themselves I think) but it was from a long time ago.

[The Dough Doctor]

PC;
The only aromas associated with clean, whole-wheat flour, bought as a ready milled product, or milled at home are 1) A grainy aroma which is normal. 2) A rancid aroma, slightly sharp and heavy. This is not a desirable aroma as it is due to rancidity of the wheat/flour. Whole-wheat flour will go rancid within a month of milling if not correctly stored (frozen or refrigerated) due to the germ oil being present in the whole-wheat flour. I would candider any other aromas to be "foreign".
One of the foreign aromas that we pickup occasionally is a musty aroma (think old, wet/damp newspapers), this can be caused by improper storage of the flour or wheat prior to milling/grinding. In this case the wheat/flour was stored in a damp location and it may have begun to mold (reason to discard). In some baked products made with whole-wheat flour we find a fruity/melon like aroma. This aroma is due to "rope" spores. Rope is a spore forming bacteria that is not destroyed during the baking process, and is in fact activated in the oven. It manifests itself by forming the characteristic aroma. Rope is soil borne, so it tends to be more prevalent in whole-wheat items, but it can still affect products made with regular white flours too. Rope is not dangerous, but the aroma is not desirable, so any products found with this aroma should be immediately discarded. In a bakery setting the rope infection can be transferred to other parts of the bakery making it extremely difficult to get rid of. FYI: Vinegar will kill rope spores on contact. So if you ever find that you have this pesty little number as a visitor to your kitchen, just wipe everything down with a a sponge or towel soaked in regular, household vinegar.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[pcampbell]

I thought I would pass along the response...

Hi Patrick, thanks for your comments about the "hidden" flavors in this last
batch of flour.  The taste comes from some sweet clover that was interseeded
with the wheat.  Sometimes accompanying plants will impart their essences to
the wheat.  This is especially the case when the clover (or any weed for
that matter like ragweed) is still green and moist when the wheat is dry and
ready to harvest.  The flour is just fine and will not hurt you.  I hope the
next batch will not have that extra cinnamon flavor.  Please let me know
about the flour.  Thank you very much.  If the flour is unpleasant to you,
take it back to the store, and we will make sure you get reimbursed.