An organic food boom in Germany is creating demand for flour ground the old way, but the country only has one person left with the skills needed to carve and maintain millstones.

德國有機食品熱銷，使老式磨麵粉的方法需求殷切，但德國目前只剩一位達人，還保留石磨鑿刻及維修技藝。

According to the German organic food industry body, the BOeLW, sales of organic food in Europe's biggest economy have tripled since 2000 and are on course to exceed six billion euros this year.

德國有機食品業機構BOeLW指出，自2000年以來，德國這個歐洲最大經濟體有機食品銷售額已急速成長為原來的3倍，今年並正一路飆破6億歐元（249.7億台幣）。

But not only do health-conscious consumers like their food chemical-free, they also want the flour for their bread ground using traditional millstones, believing this helps retain vitamins and other important ingredients. This has led to old windmills being cranked back into operation and to a growing number of farmers and organic food stores making their own flour on site.

但不只健康意識抬頭的消費者希望他們的食物不含化學添加物，他們更希望可以用傳統石磨磨出來的麵粉製作麵包，他們深信，這有助於保留維生素和其他重要營養成分不致流失。這也導致古老的石磨重新運轉起來，而且愈來愈多農民和有機食品店就地取材，自行碾磨麵粉。

But the only person in Germany who can help them set up is Wolfgang Strakosch, a 58-year-old hewing and maintaining millstones for them in the village of Zusamaltheim in Bavaria, southern Germany.

但德國唯一碩果僅存、可以助他們一臂之力的是58歲的史托拉柯希，他在德國南部巴伐利亞邦楚薩馬泰姆鑿刻維修磨盤。

The stone that Strakosch uses is basalt from the Eifel region of western Germany. Its ideal properties mean it has been used to grind wheat and other cereals into flour for more than 2,000 years. “We find millstones made from this basalt as far away as England, and dating back to Roman times,” said Ursula Heimes from the restored Saalburg Roman Fort and museum near Frankfurt in western Germany.

史托拉柯希使用的石頭是來自德國西部埃費爾地區的玄武岩，這種岩石質地好，2000多年來一直被用來研磨小麥和其他穀物成麵粉。德國西部法蘭克福附近已修復的羅馬古堡和博物館館員烏蘇拉．海姆斯則說：「我們發現遠至英國也用這種玄武岩製造石磨，甚至可以追溯到羅馬時代。」

Millstone making originated in the medieval period, possibly earlier, and continued into the twentieth century. The dark, fine-grained volcanic rock is perfect for making flour because the grinding is relatively “soft” and erosion of the millstone minimal, says Zusamaltheim farmer Joseph Ilg. Ilg grinds the spelt wheat he grows -- a wholesome variety used in ancient times and now increasingly back in vogue -- at his farm to make organic bread that he then sells. "It conserves the vitamins and the enzymes in the cereal grains," he said. "This is our selling point to customers. It only works with these millstones."

石磨製作源於中世紀時期，甚至可能更早，並持續到20世紀。楚薩馬泰姆農民伊格說：紋理細密的黑色火山岩是碾磨麵粉的完美石材，因為碾磨相對比較「輕軟」，把石磨的磨損和侵蝕降到最低。伊格用石磨在自己的農場碾磨自種的小麥，再製作成有機麵包出售，這在遠古時代是最健康的麵粉，現在愈來愈重回主流時尚。他強調說：「這可保存穀物中的維生素和，對我們的客戶是一個大賣點，但一定要用這些磨盤才行。」

Strakosch says that the basalt's porosity is also vital. “Air locked inside the stone created pores. When I work the stone, I cut the pores and this creates very sharp edges which helps grind the grain and hardly ever become blunt,” the thin, white-haired Strakosch told AFP.

史托拉柯希說：玄武岩的孔隙度也至關重要。滿頭白髮、身材瘦削的史托拉柯希告訴法新社：「鎖在岩石內的空氣形成氣孔，當我在鑿磨岩石時會切除氣孔，這可產生非常鋒利的邊緣以幫助碾磨穀物，而且幾乎不會變鈍。」

“I used to work in a mill with millstones and I wanted to know how they worked. After a long search and speaking to lots people I ended up finding the last two millstone master craftsmen," said Strakosch. But there is no written manual or textbook. "They told me they had learned the trade working with their fathers and grandfathers, and that this was the only way to learn.”

「我曾在一家磨坊製作磨盤，我很想知道他們是怎麼做的，經過漫長的探索，並向很多人請益後，我終於找到最後兩位石磨老師傅。」史托拉柯希說。但沒有書面操作手冊或教科書。「他們告訴我，他們是跟著父祖輩苦學才學會這門手藝，並認為這是學會製作石磨的不二法門。」

To fashion the stones, Strakosch is armed with two special hammers, his ears and a whole lot of patience. With a slow, rhythmic knocking, he roughens the rock using a special diamond-headed hammer before painstakingly cutting grooves at a 45-degree angle. A large millstone of two tonnes requires at least a week's work.

為了打造這些岩石，史托拉柯希使用兩把特殊的錘子，再加上靈敏的耳朵和無限的耐心。隨著有節奏的緩慢敲擊，他先用特製的鑽石頭鐵錘使岩石變粗糙，再以45度角精心切割鑿出凹槽。一個2噸重的大型石磨至少要花1星期才能完成。

There are thought to be more than 1,800 windmills in Germany, although it is unclear how many are in operation. In the fiercely traditional state of Bavaria alone there are 50 -- too many for Strakosch on his own.

德國據了解有1800多家磨坊，目前還不清楚有多少石磨仍可運作。光是在極端重視傳統的巴伐利亞邦就有50家，對「只此一家，別無分號」的史托拉柯希來說，已經有點嫌多。

But there is hope that someone else will learn the skills. At the moment the main hope is Andre Roessner, a dreadlocked 27-year-old stonemason who read about millstones in a local newspaper. “It would be a shame if this old trade disappears,” he said.

但這項技藝有望找到其他人傳承下去。目前主要希望放在羅斯納身上，這位27歲的石匠從當地報紙讀到有關石磨技藝面臨失傳的新聞。他說：「如果這個老行業消失了，將令人扼腕。」

Photo shows millstone manufacturer Wolfgang Starkosch, 58, working on a millstone in the village of Zusamaltheim, on June 3, 2011.