The Fresh Loaf

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Advice on a flour mill

cib's picture
cib

Advice on a flour mill

I'm taking the plunge in getting a flour mill but need some advice.

 

I want to have a wide range texture from corn meal to fine flour. I'm not sure why you would do cracked grains but I'm still fairly new at bread making. Maybe herb grinding as well if the mill is capable but that's not a requirement.

I was looking at the komo but the fidibus 21 indicates it isn't for whole kernel corn. I'm interested in the new lee mill but it is more than I'd like to spend. I love the grainmaker but it is just outside the budget as well. 

The country living is in the budget and I can motorized it easily. The retsel is as well but I'm not sure about it I've read it is great but takes forever to get once ordered etc..

 

Are there any others I'm missing or that people would recommend? My intention is for it to be motorized or one that I can motorized reasonably easy.

 

Thanks.

Lazy Loafer's picture
Lazy Loafer

I have a Wondermill Junior and I really like it. My husband has attached his drill (with the optional drill conversion bit) and he grinds all my rye flour for me. It comes with stones and steel disks and seems to be able to grind just about anything to just about any degree of fineness.

LL

dobie's picture
dobie

cib

I also have a WonderMill Jr and like it very much.

I do like that it comes with the steel burrs, tho I don't use them much. It does produce a nice range of fine to coarse flour. The finer, the more effort. It is also built solid and well designed for what it is.

I bought the WMJr because we suffer frequent power outages (and I live less than 1/2 mile from the power plant, go figure). The hand operated option was a big plus for me.

I also have the drill conversion attachment, but it requires a drill with a 1/2 inch chuck and the only one I have at the moment is cordless, which doesn't have enough torque to drive the mill for any legnth of time. It would soon destroy the cordless, so a corded drill would be required IMO. But to the degree that I ran it, it produced well and was easy to do

I am usually grinding small amounts at any given time (50 - 300g) and so it is reasonably easy (in fact, pleasant) to do. But it is a decent work out and if you have any upper body issues, I would go in another direction or be sure to get the drill attachment and appropriate drill.

There are a lot of fine mills out there and they can get pretty pricey. I wasn't sure how commited I was to home milling, so the WMJr was a modest investment to find that out, and even if I later upgraded, would provide as 'powerless' backup.

All in all, I'm happy with it, but it's not for everyone and please, don't believe the various videos showing such high outputs within such a short time when manually operated. There are better mills for that, but to my knowledge, they are either much more expensive or without a manual operation option (or both).

dobie

Jon OBrien's picture
Jon OBrien

[with drill adaptor]

cib's picture
cib

Thanks for mentioning the wm jr. I'd forgotten about it and motorized it would do just fine.

dobie's picture
dobie

cib

Regarding the WMJr,

Just take it for what it's worth. There are many other good mill options about that you might find better suited for you. But (for what it is), a WMJr is good at what it does.

dobie

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

I have the Komo Classic, and the prior versions of the Lee,   Both do a great job, and both give a fairly wide range of adjustment in coarseness .    If you want to buy new,  I think you are looking at the right models.  If you are willing to buy used, there are several other models and styles that would work - probably in the $200 to $350 range to get a mill with an induction motor and stones, which means it will last virtually forever.  

cib's picture
cib

I've thought about an older lee but I want an adjustable and haven't seen one come up for sale. I'd love a new one but the price is darn steep.

dobie's picture
dobie

cib

What is meant by 'adjustable'? Just curious.

dobie

cib's picture
cib

Some of the Lee's produced one flour grind type, fine flour they weren't adjustable from course to fine.

dobie's picture
dobie

Thanks cib and Barry

Good to know.

dobie

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

cib,  yes,   you would definitely want an adjustable ,   I am not sure why they even offered a non adjustable model, and wonder what exactly what setting they chose for that model, other than the description of "fine".    The models with a 6,  the 60, 600 and s600 are all adjustable, but when buying on ebay , it is sometimes hard to read the numbers, so I look for the silver knob at the top in a slot.     I agree the price for the new one is very steep, IMO a little overpriced compared to the competition.  

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

Cib,  since you are considering used, another option is the All Grain Mill.  It has some advantages, and drawbacks, compared to the Lee.  The footprint for the mill itself is small, and it uses an induction motor which should last forever, and the level of adjustment is quite good.  Downsides are that the model numbers are the same for different versions, so you would want one with a knob that sticks out at the bottom - that allows for a much easier and consistent adjustment than the versions with use three thumbscrews on the sides .  Another drawback is that they almost never come with the original hopper - you can buy that from the maker, though it is about $50, and takes up quite a bit of room.   I have made my own, but it takes a lot more fuss to make the attachment from the mil to a bag or hopper than for many other mills.  The last 5 that sold on ebay went from $100 to $175,  the only one current listed is at an outrageous price,  it has the hopper, but they apparently lost the top, which has a mesh and foam.  

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

and have a WonderMill and a Nutrimill and both do everything I need them to do and more.

MonkeyDaddy's picture
MonkeyDaddy

I haven't seen fine-ground durum around here, but I can find the coarser semolina-grind in 1 lb. bags in several stores.  Could I take the coarse stuff and grind it finer in one of these machines, or do you have to use whole grains from the start?

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

Monkey,   AFAIK,   the only one that will not allow you to regrind is the Lee.  The feed mechanism drops whole grains from the hopper into the milling chamber, and when the milling chamber has enough it that the motor slows down, the opening closes a little and no more whole berries can come in until those berries have been ground and the motor speeds up.  If you used coarse ground, the mechanism could allow too much coarse flour into the milling chamber and the machine can overheat.  That being said, you can regrind in the Lee as long as you put small amounts into the hopper,  wait for the machine to process them and when you hear the motor speed up,  add a small amount more.   Most of the other machines usually a totally different feed mechanism,  so you can run through coarse ground flour, or even run the berries through at a coarse setting, then regrind at a finer setting.   There is no need to do that with most motorized mills,  but I have done it once or twice when I ground them at a coarse setting by mistake.  

dobie's picture
dobie

MonkeyDaddy

As far as the WMJr goes, yes. I have at times sifted the bran out for a regrind and it works quite well. I would suspect any 'stone' mill should be able to do the same, but I don't know for sure.

Looking back at your OP, I have never attempted to grind from whole dried corn with it, but I will shortly and get back to you.

dobie

dobie's picture
dobie

MonkeyDaddy

When I was out to the store I picked up a bag of what is called 'Cracked Corn'. I guess it's cracked, but it looks pretty close to whole grain corn. Long kernels, maybe cracked in half, but no more.

So I ground it thru the WMJr, and it did just fine. In fact, very easily so. I will have to back off my grind fineness to get it coarse enough to match the fine stone ground corn I usually buy (Indian Head, if that's available).

I haven't baked with it yet, but it looks quite good and was quite easy.

dobie

cib's picture
cib

Is retsel customer service that bad? 

 

I'm giving their convertible mill s strong look but their service sounds rough.

Gail_NK's picture
Gail_NK

I highly recommend you explore the Country Living mill further. I've gotten to know Jack Jenkins - maker of Country Living mills - and he's an amazing man! Here's a bit more about the company: http://www.goodfoodworld.com/2011/11/one-small-companys-local-food-economy/.