The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Best manual hand crank mill.

sournewb71's picture
sournewb71

Best manual hand crank mill.

I like to do everything without electricity if possible.  I know that manual grinding grain is a chore and I'm probably crazy for wanting to do it.

Either way I'd like some recommendations for the best manual grinding mill.  I'm looking for something that can grind from fine to coarse, preferably with stones and is made of high quality materials (cast iron a plus).  I hate plastic and cheaply made products.

Go!

OldWoodenSpoon's picture
OldWoodenSpoon

You might look at their product line.  I think it might satisfy your demand for a well made product.  Their grinding stones are ceramic, not steel, but not natural stone either.  You can find them easily on the web.  One place I know carries the Komo line is at www.PleasantHillGrain.com.  I don't know anything about hand-crank mills but I love my Komo electric.  Another hand mill I've read about is Retzel, but not all that I have read has been good.  In any case, grinding your own grain for bread baking is an interesting exploration, and it tastes good!

Best of luck
OldWoodenSpoon

sournewb71's picture
sournewb71

Komo hand grinder does intrigue me, as well as its german engineering ;).  I haven't heard much about ceramic, but I'm guessing you wouldn't have to worry about wear and tear on these stones?

OldWoodenSpoon's picture
OldWoodenSpoon

Their product literature says stone wear and dressing are not necessary.  I have not had mine long enough to know for sure, but I've also not read anything about such issues.

OldWoodenSpoon

proth5's picture
proth5

If you want to drop some serious money, look at the Diamant. It does have steel burrs, but every time someone writes a hand turned mill review, they will rate a mill at the top with the disclaimer "well, except for the Diamant."

I love mine.  It is a bit more work to grind by hand, but the large, heavy flywheel on the Diamant does provide a lot of help.  I've kept up hand milling for some time now.

It is cast iron construction and needs to be permanently bolted in place - it's too heavy to move anyway.

Lehman's is the US dealer for the Diamant.  Link here: https://www.lehmans.com/p-45-diamant-grain-mill.aspx

But even though that ill wind of Euro devaluation has blown us some good - I'll warn you again about the price...

Happy Milling!

Pat (happy Diamant owner)

 

sournewb71's picture
sournewb71

Uggh!!  That is what I was dreaming of, lol.  That price though shewww.  It might be cheaper to fly to Poland and buy one :).

proth5's picture
proth5

Yes, that's always the reaction to the Diamant.  I get to gloat that I got mine on eBay for way less than retail.  I haven't seen one on eBay since - but you might try there anyway.

It is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

I read reviews that like the Country Living Grain mill very much - especially with the power bar - but I don't have first hand experience with it.  I believe that Lehman's carries it and a motorizing kit for it also.

Happy Milling!

Crider's picture
Crider

Their Uni-Ark. It works quite well. The steel burrs they sell aren't very good, but the stone burrs are excellent. After I got it, I was milling all our flour with it, and my rotator cuff started giving me trouble so I motorized it. It is likely to last my whole lifetime.

The trouble with Retsel is you might have to wait several weeks before they ship the darn thing. They sell it in all these crazy colors, but white is the only reasonable color unless you want all your stray flour to show up in the crevices of the mill!

You've probably seen the Wonder Mill Junior Deluxe. It's a bit overpriced in my opinion. They also have lousy seel burrs in addition to the stone burrs. If you get the Wonder Mill Jr. (without the Deluxe), then you just get the stone burrs.

One possibility for might be to get the Retsel Grister Convertible, which has 5" stones. Add the manual handle, and then you can easily add a motor to it when you're no longer interested in milling by hand!

fotomat1's picture
fotomat1

Also available at Pleasant Hill......sold with handbase but easily motorized...love it and it's ability to do coarse to fine. many attachments available!!

charbono's picture
charbono

I would get a Grainmaker, but it has steel burrs. 

subfuscpersona's picture
subfuscpersona

I also was going to suggest the Grainmaker mill; I researched it pretty extensively when it first came out. It seems to be very well made (and it is made in the USA) *BUT* it can be pricey (depends on model).

There's a long thread on this grain mill on TFL - see Grainmaker Grain Mill . Scroll down to the very bottom for two good links to reviews by owners.

The direct link for their site is http://www.grainmaker.com/

The original poster didn't give a price range, so I don't know if this mill fits in his/her budget. I'm not going to debate the manual vs motorized issue, but, as a long time home miller, I will say that if you plan to mill your own flour on a regular basis, I think you're better served by chosing a quality mill over a less expensive one.

=========== edit ============

This site - Grain Mill Comparisons - reviews most of the manual grain mills available in the USA. There's a comparison of the 3 top-of-the-line manual mills (Grainmaker, Diamant and Country Living gain mills) as well as lower priced manual mills. Most of the reviews were written in 2011. Worth the read.

sournewb71's picture
sournewb71

OK so after further research it is apparent that natural stone is out of the question and it has become a battle between steel or ceramic.  So if you have a suggestion that has steel burrs, don't disqualify it.

SlowRain's picture
SlowRain

This thread is very interesting and has lots of good suggestions to research. For any of you who have a hand mill, how do you like it and what would you suggest to others who are interested in getting one?

tony's picture
tony

I have two hand mills, a Country Living mill and Salzburger Getreidemuhlen MH8.  Both work well and both require a quantity of physical labor if you are making more than a kilo of bread dough.  There's labor in smaller dough quantities, of course, but less time comes out of your day for smaller baking projects.  The Country Living mill with it's steel burrs and cast aluminum body is bulletproof.  If you believe that stone burrs crushing the grain makes more preferable flour than steel burrs shearing it then you'll want a stone mill.  The Salzburger people on their web site assert that true stone burrs are better than the corundum composition material.  In the absence of double-blind testing results I don't have an opinion, but I like my stone mill.

David R's picture
David R

It really is possible that natural stones might be better - if the technology for manufactured stones gives inferior results. It seems more likely to me that it would be totally possible to manufacture stones that perform better in every way than natural ones, but that they aren't considered for this use because they'd be more expensive.

Anyway, that company uses natural stone, and obviously it works. They are defining "better" in whichever way suits them, and that's their prerogative I guess. ?

David R's picture
David R

Sorry, double post

USNGunner's picture
USNGunner

I have a model 99, I motorized it, and I'm getting the bigger one soon.  Great mill, customer service is unbeatable, and they're guaranteed for life.  Including the burrs.  Even if you buy one used!   Hard to beat that deal.

Great folks that answer the phone when you call.  Well worth it.