Accessory or Electric - Which Grain Mill Do You Prefer?

[Corey123]

Do any of you own a grain mill?

If so, which one do you like better? One that's an accessory for your stand mixer or a separate electric model?

I ordered the K-Tec / BlendTec Kitchen Mill / Wheat Grinder online today. I want to start grinding my own wheat and other grains for homemade flour to make wholesome bread.

It's an electric unit. K'Aid and Bosch both have one for use with their stand mixers as well.

But I just thought that I'd just be a bit nosey to find out who has what and if yours is all that you expect.

 

[subfuscpersona]

I have an old model of the Kitchen Aid grain mill attachment - see my recent post about it. I got it way before there was a choice of electric grain mills. For a variety of reasons, I wouldn't recommend it now but it does still get frequent use in my kitchen.

skilletlicker recently got the Nutrimill electric grain mill. PM him for his opinion.

I'd be interested in your opinion of the K-Tec once you've had a chance to use it some.

 

[StirBlue]

I would think that grinding wheat would take a bit of research and learning. What is the oil content in wheat? How much bran is involved in processing?

I don't think it's as easy as turning on a coffee bean grinder.

Who are the suppliers of wheat? Is it only sold bulk (100 lb bags)?

I don't mind paying the price for stone ground wheat flour, pecan flour, etc.

I know that there are people grinding wheat for their personal use. Is your K-Tec / BlendTec Kitchen Mill / Wheat Grinder coming with wheat? If so, maybe you will get a re-order card for the wheat.

Will you be able to use this grinder for rye?

 

[Corey123]

From what I read, there isn't any oil hardly in wheat. The holding container that the machine sits on is pretty large, and is said to hold quite a bit.

The website where I ordered it from, says the unit can grind up to 90lbs of wheat per hour. Won't be processing THAT much wheat though. And no, wheat doesn't come with it. And according to the info, rye CAN be grouind in it.

Instead of stone wheels,m it uses surgical stainless steel teeth to grind whole grains. If you'd like to read more on it, you can go to this websitewhere I bought it from;
Top Quality Juicer and Dehydrator Selection. Click on Grain Mills on the left in the orange section, or on the grain mill pic, and the page should come up.

Subfuscpersoina, that's pretty much how the K'Aid grain mill looks today, even though it's been slightly remodeled over the years, the mechanism that's inside is still pretty much the same.

I had thought about getting one from Cooking.com, but they are out of stock on it.

 

[bethzaring]

I have a hand cranked grain mill.

Through my experimentation with grinding grain for breads, I concluded, for my purposes, that the commercial interprises do a much better job of grinding grains for bread. I mainly use flour ground by Arrowhead Mills and King Arthur flour. These businesses know much more than I about grinding grains for flour and I am happy to support their businesses.

 

[subfuscpersona]

Today's grain mills can mill both grains and many beans (but not nuts or small seeds). Yes, there is oil in the germ of a kernel of grain, but not that much. Beans (legumes) can contain much more oil - especially soybeans. Flour milled from whole grains or legumes should ideally be stored in the 'frig or freezer, not in a cupboard. Whole seeds, on the other hand, can be stored at room temp without degradation for a year or more as long as the environment is not especially hot or humid.

It is hardly cost efficient to mail order grains or flours since shipping costs are so high. I can buy organic grains and beans from open bins at a local health food store, so I can buy whatever quantity I wish at reasonable prices. One supermarket also carries one-pound bags of organic grains and beans from both Arrowhead Mills and Bob's Red Mill at reasonable costs. The web sites of both distributors have an easy lookup page to find a store near you that carries their products.

I agree with bethzaring that the King Arthur line of flours is excellent. Unlike Beth's WW bread, my WW bread is not made entirely from whole wheat flour, but the King Arthur whole wheat flour is very finely milled and makes excellent whole grain bread. However, I find that WW bread made with home milled whole wheat flour has a wheatier, fuller taste than the identical recipe made with King Arthur WW flour.

Even my Kitchen Aid grain mill attachment, which can only mill a rather coarse grain or bean flour, gives me these advantages

• convenience (grains and beans don't need refrigeration - flour made from them does)
• taste (IMHO, fresh milled, used within a day or two of milling, does taste better)
• variety (milling specialty grains or beans; cracking grains)
• freedom to experiment (with the fineness/coarseness of the flour or the grain/bean - for example, I make what I call a "whole wheat bread look-alike" that uses some flour milled from supermarket brown lentils instead of WW flour)

Milling your own flour isn't for everyone, but it can be a lot of fun.

PS - if you're interested, check out this thread on grain mills started by skilletlicker. I'm sure a search of DC forums would uncover others.

 

[Corey123]

I'll probably make some whole wheat bread in the bread machine today or Monday.

 

[Corey123]

I received my electric grain mill the other day.

Plugged it in and tried it out just to see if the thing comes on. It does, but it sounds like a 777 is flying low over the house!!