The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Buying a Grain Mill

bread10's picture
bread10

Buying a Grain Mill

Hello,

 

I am going to buy a grain mill for my breadmaking (to gain the best flavour and nutrition from my wholegrains)

I will also use the mill for brewing all grain beer sometimes.

 

I am looking at:

 

* Stone Ground

* Electric

 

* Quality & Value

* Quiet and hopefully relatively small or maneuverable 

* (Live in Australia)

 

I am deliberating over whether to get one which also has a flaker function for rolled oats and fresh wholegrain cereal..???

 

I have been looking at: www.skippygrainmills.com.au

and the only electric grain mill which also has a flaking option is the Schnitzer Vairo which costs $948 - quite a bit more money then I was hoping to spend.

 

Do you think I am better off getting a hand flaker separately (if at all)??

 

The other grain mills which look good on the site (but don't include flaker) are:

* Schnitzer Pico - $448 (2 year warranty)

* Hawos Billy 100 - $528 (10 year warranty)

 

The Hawos is more appealing with the longer warranty.

 

Please share any experience with these particular brands or any other advice, suggestions, brands, stores, websites etc etc....

Are there any other good online stores, preferably Australian?

 

Thanks Heaps.

 

gary.turner's picture
gary.turner

If you plan on brewing from scratch, you will need a roller mill (flaker) for crushing rather than grinding your malted barley.

Does your mixer accept accessories? I notice the DLX2000 has both a grinder and a flaker for about USD160 each. Batch capacity on each is 1.25kg.

cheers,

gary

Crider's picture
Crider

And look at the Marcato Marga for flaking. At only AU$135, they're a good deal. Not suitable for flour, though.

bread10's picture
bread10

Thanks for the replies.

 

Sorry if this is a really stupid question, I just wanted to confirm that the 

Marga Mill, Is suitable to make flaked breakfast cereals & porridge using oat grouts, wheat, spelt etc...?

(Obviously it would do the job for all grain brewing.)

subfuscpersona's picture
subfuscpersona

Is this the flaker you're thinking of buying?

According to TFL member BettyR, they don't have a good reputation.  They may be fine for brewing (I don't know anything about that) but are limited in their uses. Frankly, it takes a bit of muscle to flake whole grain by hand and the construction of this mill doesn't look that sturdy to me.

Here's what BettyR had to say about the flaker

Quote:
I didn't order the Marga...Now I'm glad I didn't because I've talked to several people who have them and they ended up tossing them into a closet and buying the Country Living Grain Mill because the Marga had such limited use.

Here's the source of her quote http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f23/help-choosing-a-grain-mill-42490-2.html#post591346

With a good grain mill you can mill grain into grits which are fine for making breakfast porridge. I use oat groats (whole oats with the husk removed) to make a hot breakfast cereal. I can also buy steel cut oats from certain natural foods stores (I live in the USA) which require somewhat less cooking.

Crider's picture
Crider

The only bad reviews I've seen about his machine say that it is unsuitable for making flour. Positive reviews say it is great for making rolled oats. Can't make rolled oats with a US$399 Country Living mill, can we? That would be a waste of money, especially since the person is already getting an electric stone mill.

For cracked wheat, corn and oats, a $49 Corona would be more reasonable. I think a more expensive Schnitzer Campo would be great for flaked grains, too, but not so good for crushing grains for beer.