Many pastas I understand are made from Soft White Spring, Summer or Winter Wheat, whereas most bread is made from Hard Red Winter Wheat. Both have undergone significant changes over the years.
The original Hard Red was 4 feet tall, golden, with a nice nutty flavor. My great-grandfather was one of 10 Mennonite farmers who brought over the first of this wheat (Hard Red Turkey Winter Wheat) to the U.S. (Kansas) in 1874. Unfortunately, the seed companies have bastardized the wheat seed. They crossed it with a Japanese grass to make it half the height and in the process inject a ton of gluten and gliadin, which has caused so many people so many digestive problems. Find a baker who uses the old wheat and 99.99% of the digestive problems are gone.
The Hard Red is mostly grown in the Mid-West, and the Soft White is grown a lot in the Pacific Northwest, especially NE Washington state. Like with so many other foodstuffs, your effort to find, use and eat the old heirloom varieties will be well rewarded!
