The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Mock mill corn success!

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

Mock mill corn success!

Used the Mock Mill to grind my cornmeal. There isn’t much information out there so had to experiment. I ordered 6# of Hoosier Hill Farm yellow popcorn. Haha I was optimistic about my new project! 

I used “10” to start thinking it would be good for polenta. I then took out one cup of that and moved down to “5” then “1”. 

The cornbread is amazing with fresh ground corn! But there are a few crunchy bits. I reset the mill to get a new set of “10” finer grinds. I started at the new “10” then went to “5” and then tried moving toward “1” but the mill stalled. I quickly moved back to about “3”. Perfect! I was using the same cup of cornmeal for the regrinding. 

The info I would pass on as a result of this is: buy good quality popcorn, start on your coarsest setting and work down. Depending on what your desired recipe is you can go coarse for polenta and finer for grits and finer yet for cornmeal. 

Do not buy dent corn as it is field corn and intended for 4 legged critters. The ultimate would be fresh corn cut off the cob and dehydrated and then ground. That’s my plan come Summer. 

The cornbread is made with buttermilk and tastes like pound cake. Truly wonderful especially baked in my Mom’s antique iron skillet ?❤️

Served hot with local honey... yum!

 

 

 

Comments

Danni3ll3's picture
Danni3ll3

and yours looks scrumptious! Especially with local honey! I should check to see if I can mill corn in my Komo. 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

https://www.daringgourmet.com/komo-classic-grain-mill-review/

This blog says they did grind corn...they used dent which isn't optimal. The cheap corn meal you get already ground and the mixes you buy on the store shelf are often made with cheap field " dent" corn which is intended for farm animals to eat. The best quality corn is popcorn. I can hardly wait to try fresh dehydrated corn. it will be softer so easier to grind and if you google some blogs you can see the amazing yellow color. Always fun to experiment. 

I am going to try polenta then polenta cake and then polenta biscotti....may have to get another 6# bag LOL !  c

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

follow up it was pointed out to me that my Mock Mill doesn't do popcorn !  I read the manual and indeed it isn't supposed to grind popcorn. So I will be donating the popcorn and getting heritage yellow corn that is softer for milling. c

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

Your cornbread looks wonderful, Caroline. Waiting for updates.

Happy baking!

David

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I have a Goodwill $5 blender that I am willing to test some of the corn in. I will see if it cracks it and then proceed to mill it again after breaking it down a bit. I don’t want to break my stones but I do want to give it one more try. 

haha... yeh this might be the Bumblebee thing but warranty is canceled if you grind popcorn?

I can get local yellow corn from our mill so will do that if this doesn’t work out. The taste is incredible though so I will be pursuing milling corn

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

its an old old blender but I can put in about 1c corn and blend it to the point that my MM didn’t have any problem millling it on a fine enough setting for cornbread and polenta at a slightly coarser setting. I’ve now ground 1 1/2 # out of 6 and will be making several things this week with it. In future I will only purchase heirloom corn specifically meant for grinding but at least this does work and the taste is fantastic. 

Justanoldguy's picture
Justanoldguy

Ohhh Yes! Peak flavor from freshly milled corn especially if you also use freshly milled wheat too. I'm not too sure about your plan to cut sweet corn from the cob and dehydrate it. That might not work quite the way you expect. But using freshly cut kernels in the cornbread batter is certainly an enhancement. I'm getting ready to attempt nixtamalizing my corn to make masa for fresh tortillas and of course if you dehydrate the nixtamalized kernels and grind them into meal it adds a definite punch to your cornbread.  

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

https://www.google.com/search?q=grind+dehydrated+fresh+corn&oq=grind+dehydrated+fresh+corn&aqs=chrome..69i57.10229j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

there is some info out there about dehydrating sweet corn and then grinding for cornmeal . The link above has several good sources of info and pictures. It's interesting that the one blogger is using the WonderMill with the company's  blessing to grind popcorn and with way faster/better result than I got on one pass. As I said above I will finish out this bunch of popcorn but will then switch to dent corn to get a softer starchier kernel.

I sure would like for you to post your nixtamalizing as we make our own tortillas with masa and I would like to try making my own . Thank you !  c

Justanoldguy's picture
Justanoldguy

My main concern with the fresh corn stripped, dehydrated and ground had to do with the partial perhaps full loss of the kernel's germ. I suspect the germ is an important part corn's nutrition and an essential element of the flavor difference between fresh milled and commercial meal. I'm sure it can be made to work but, for me, the flavor differential and nutritional loss not to mention the extra time and energy needed to prepare it would make me discount it in favor of purchasing dried corn. After all the kernels are in a form that's ready for long term storage without any need to blanche, strip, and dry them. In regard to milling popcorn I suspect the toughness of the pericarp and the smaller amount of endosperm in the typical popcorn kernel are factors in some mill manufacturer's objection to them plus the fact that kernels have to have fairly high moisture content  in order to pop. Mills with steel burrs or impact/micronizing mills will probably handle them just fine. 

 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

well I didn't think of that part of the equation. I do want the germ  . Thank you for pointing that out and do post when you get your corn limed and milled

Isand66's picture
Isand66

I have it on my list to try grinding my own corn and you have saved me a lot of work :).  I do remember someone on one of the FB sites I follow mentioning popped corn is a no-no in the Mockmill.  Glad you figured it out before you burned the mill out :).

Where are you buying your softer corn from?  If you can share that would be great.


Thanks and great looking corn bread!

Regards,
Ian

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

We ate the last of the pan of corn bread at lunch today and I must say that the reheating in the microwave was the most successful with this batch than any other in the past. It is just so moist and full flavored. 

Wade's Mill is right up the road from Lexington VA and I am going to get some yellow corn from them , unground, when I finish all the popcorn.  They will sell me anything unground if I ask ahead of time so they can get it bagged. I get my rye unground  from them as well . I did get unbleached wheat from them but it is really expensive so I likely will continue with Arrowhead Mills and KA for my unbleached flour. I found out from them that is requires a " 200" sifter to make unbleached flour !  That would be  a job to sift !!  

I am sure since you are in NY that there are mills in the area that you can get the whole kernel yellow corn so you don't have to pay shipping. I would look around and see what is available. 

Good Luck ! c

mski2's picture
mski2

A little old but you are incorrect in saying dent corn is feed corn, the original cornmeal is made with dent corn. popcorn is a no no in a Mockmill.

https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/growing-heirloom-gourdseed-corn-zmaz08onzgoe

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

https://www.google.com/search?q=is+dent+corn+used+to+feed+animals&oq=is+dent+corn+used+to+feed+animals&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64.16288j1j7&sourceid=chro...

 

Dent corn is used primarily as animal feed, although it is grown for human consumption as well; it just isn't the type of corn that we eat right off the cob. It tends to be less sweet and starchier than the sweet corn varieties and is used in products that are either dry or wet milled.

 

 

ChaseCo2

Field corn is the classic big ears of yellow dented corn you see dried and harvested in the fall. In fact, it’s sometime called “dent corn” because of the distinctive dent that forms on the kernel as the corn dries.

 

Field corn has dozens of uses, but it is most commonly fed to animals or used to make renewable fuels like ethanol to power our cars and trucks.  But only part of the kernel is used for ethanol (the starch), the rest of the kernel, including the protein and fat, are then used to make another popular animal feed known as distillers grains.

 

 

mski2's picture
mski2

You are confused ,flint , dent corn comes in many different varieties, cornmeal ,masa , polenta , GMO feed corn is a dent corn, so is gourdseed,