Close-up of a woman in a peach blouse smiling and leaning against a kitchen counter, with fresh flour and wheat berries visible beside her.

About Emily

Fresh Milled Flour & Sourdough BAKER · FROM-SCRATCH RECIPE CREATOR · HOME MILLER WITH 25+ YEARS EXPERIENCE

I’m Emily. I’m a wife and mom, left-handed, and I am the kind of person whose brain is always busy with ideas, projects, and creative threads pulling in different directions.

Because of that, a slow, cottage way of life has always grounded me.

I was drawn to it early, long before it had a name, and began trying to live this way in my twenties, when I first became a mother.

Creating a calm, cozy home mattered deeply to me.

Where It All Started

I learned how to mill flour beside my grandmother, standing on a stool in her kitchen when I was very young.

Each summer, I was immersed in my grandparents’ homestead way of life. Cooking, baking, sewing, gardening, and learning by watching and doing.

I carried those skills into my own home at twenty-one, when I began milling flour myself and shaping a slower, more intentional rhythm for everyday life.

Over time, that way of living became less about doing everything and more about doing what felt grounding and sustainable. What I now think of as a cottage lifestyle.

Hands holding a scoop of golden wheat berries over a jar.

What Grounds Me

This lifestyle calms my nervous system. It always has.

I’ve been drawn to gentle domestic rhythms, classic stories, and quiet routines since my youth.

The kind of world where homes feel lived in, meals are made with care, and time moves a little more slowly.

That sense of home and coziness still shapes how I live today.

A woman standing in a snowy landscape, wearing a pink fleece jacket, gray beanie, plaid scarf, and jeans. She holds a floral teacup, enjoying the serene winter scene.

A Little More About Me

I grew up involved in hands-on learning through baking, sewing, and community programs, and later raised my own children with similar experiences in gardening, livestock, and horticulture. Food, home skills, and learning by doing have always been central to our family life.

We now live on a single acre with a cottage garden, heritage chickens, and a deep appreciation for growing what we can.

I love heirloom seeds, though I’ve learned that sometimes hybrids are simply more practical for a hot, bug-heavy climate.

Life here is a blend of coastal air and agricultural land, a place where deer crossings and tractors are just as common as garden beds and kitchen tables.

I’m also quietly full of contradictions: deeply cautious around horses (okay, deeply terrified of them), yet I spent my teenage years barrel racing, trail riding, and taking part in horse shows.

Life has a way of shaping us that way.

Woman standing in a cozy kitchen, scooping whole wheat berries from a glass jar into a wooden grain mill, with a bowl of freshly milled flour on the counter.

Join Me at the Cottage

The Modern Day Cottage exists as a reflection of how I live, not perfectly, not nostalgically, but intentionally. It’s about food made at home, seasons noticed, and everyday moments treated with care.

This way of living isn’t for everyone. But for me, it’s what brings peace, steadiness, and meaning to ordinary days, and that’s why I choose to share it with you.

I would like to invite you to join our Cozy Cottage Community to receive a weekly letter from my cottage hearth, stories, seasonal recipes, and practical baking guidance to bring warmth and rhythm into your week.

If you’re curious about fresh milled flour, step inside The Cottage Mill — a fresh flour resource library for home bakers ready to mill, bake, and learn the art of freshly milled flour.

Get To Know Me

Go to Cozy Rituals to wind down

A good cup of tea & a well-loved book.

Couldn’t live without

My mockmill and wheat berries!

Favorite Cottage Garden Plants

pumpkins & dahlias

My Dream

To share and enjoy this amazing cottage lifestyle with others!

My Favorite Music

A blend of folk, classical, and indie music.

Crafts I enjoy

Sewing, needlework, and cozy projects.

Favorite Colors

sage green & pink

Most Days, you’ll find me

In the kitchen, homeschooling, or in the garden.

Favorite Cozy Series

Lark Rise to Candleford, & Anne with an E

Favorite Hobbies

Cooking, gardening, chickens, and homemaking.

“Cottage living to me is about savoring the beauty of everyday moments — baking from scratch, living with intention, and finding joy in the rhythm of the seasons.” –Emily Rider

Explore The Recipes New? Start here!

FAQ’s

I started baking with sourdough when I was very young, standing beside my grandmother in her kitchen. She never called it sourdough — she simply told me to “go get the thick leaven from the refrigerator.” It was a simple, no-waste way she used for bread, biscuits, pancakes, and everyday baking.

After my grandparents passed, that rhythm was lost for a time. When I was 21, a neighbor gifted me freshly milled flour and a jar of sourdough starter, and it brought everything back. I’ve baked with sourdough ever since, using the same low-maintenance, no-fuss method my grandmother taught me.

Today, I pair freshly milled flour with sourdough because it feels nourishing, sustainable, and easier on my digestion, especially in midlife. If you’re curious, I share my exact starter method — simplified for modern kitchens — in my Beginner Sourdough Starter recipe.

I first milled flour at the age of three, standing beside my grandmother, Nub, in her kitchen. Years later, in 1999, I began milling flour in my own home — long before it became a popular topic online. I was 21, newly married, and deeply committed to feeding my family the same way my grandparents had fed theirs.

Around that time, I discovered Sue Becker and The Bread Beckers. Her teachings, combined with my grandmother’s quiet wisdom, became the foundation for everything I know about freshly milled flour.

There were no blogs or videos back then — just lived experience, handwritten notes, and a desire to bake better for my family. Milling flour became part of my daily homemaking rhythm, and it remains one of the most grounding practices in my kitchen.

It’s more than flour. It’s nourishment, simplicity, and a connection to where I came from.

You can explore more Fresh Milled Flour guides and recipes here at The Modern Day Cottage, and new recipes and inspiration are being added regularly.

It began in the summers of my childhood, visiting my grandparents’ farm in rural Oklahoma — a place where slow living wasn’t a trend, but simply the way life was lived.

I was just three years old the first time I stepped onto that land, and I was drawn to everything about it: the rhythm of the seasons, the quiet simplicity, and the freedom of being close to the earth. Even then, I imagined a life that felt softer and more feminine — skirts brushing past garden rows, days shaped by the same gentle spirit I found in Anne of Green Gables and the illustrations of Tasha Tudor.

Farming ran deep in my family, stretching back generations. Though my grandparents never named it as anything special, that way of life quietly shaped who I would become.

I still love the sounds and scents of it all — hay drying in the sun, sourdough rising on the counter, the soft peeps of chicks tucked beneath a broody hen. Those rhythms continue to steady me, now lived on a smaller scale in a cottage on one acre of land.

It isn’t the farm my grandparents had, but it carries the same devotion — a life built by hand, with care, warmth, and a gentle, feminine touch.

The Modern Day Cottage grew out of my lifelong love for slow, cottage living. I created this space as a place to step away from the rush and rediscover the simple beauty of baking from scratch, honoring the seasons, and tending to home with care.

My hope is that it feels like a well-worn kitchen table — where stories are shared, recipes are passed down, and everyday moments are treasured.

We live in a cottage my husband custom-built, one we thoughtfully designed after downsizing from our forever home. It’s just over a thousand square feet, with an open floor plan and spaces shaped carefully for how we actually live.

Set on one acre, it’s small but deeply loved — filled with warmth, purpose, and the quiet rhythm of daily life.

Yes, every recipe you find here is either created by me or passed down and carefully tested in my own cottage kitchen. I draw on more than four decades of hands-on baking experience — beginning as a child beside my grandmother — especially with freshly milled flour.
Each recipe is baked, tasted, and enjoyed by my family before it’s ever shared in the Recipes collection on the blog.

Yes, every photograph you see here is taken by my daughter or me, most often in the natural light of our home. I aim to capture the true textures, colors, and feeling of each moment — from a golden loaf cooling on the counter to a table set for Sunday supper.You’ll see this most clearly in the Freshly Milled Flour How-To section, where I use step-by-step photos to show the process in a way that feels both clear and beautiful.

Freshly milled flour has a depth of flavor and nourishment that pre-packaged flour can’t match. Milling grain at home keeps the natural oils, aromas, and nutrients intact, which makes a noticeable difference in both taste and texture.

It’s a traditional way of baking that still fits beautifully into a modern kitchen. If you’d like to learn more, you can explore my Freshly Milled Flour How-To guides for simple tips and techniques.