June 7, 2017 - 5:08am
Hi from Newcastle, Australia
Hi everyone. I'm Michelle from Newcastle Australia. I attended a fantastic sourdough class in November last year and have been baking bread ever since. My Diamant hand mill arrive today (on my Birthday). I admit, it looks a bit scary, but I'm looking forward to giving it a go once my husband has mad a base and stand for it. Anyone got one that has any tips for a beginner miller???
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That's a serious commitment for a new baker! Good for you! I hope you get a lot of enjoyment from your Diamant.
There is at least one TFLer who uses a Diamant: Pat Roth. Her TFL handle is proth5. I'm not sure that she visits TFL all that frequently these days but you could try sending her a message.
Oh, and welcome to The Fresh Loaf! I look forward to hearing about your experiences.
Paul
Ha ha...yes, that's the philosophy...given it came from overseas, it actually cost us $1440 AUD. I did a fair bit of research first and both my husband and I were set on a manual hand mill (don't ask me why), so we decided to go the whole hog and get this. I did delegate the milling to him though :)
I have a Wondermill Jr. hand mill, and really like it. I've settled into a bit of a routine with it. It is always set up in the workshop and always has some grain in it, ready to mill whenever I (hubby also does a bit) have some time or am passing by. I've got a bit of a rotation as I mill Red Fife, Kamut, spelt, hull-less barley, soft white wheat and rye, as well as occasionally a bit of malt or some other specialty item (like remilling durum semolina to make finer durum flour).
I also keep small plastic containers for all of the grains I mill and put the unmilled bits (left in the auger after most of the rest of the grain has passed through the stones) into these containers and sit them on the appropriate sack of grain. When I'm ready to mill that particular grain again the unmilled bits from the last time are the first things to go into the hopper. Less waste that way!
Sounds like a great system. Mu husband is going to build a permanent stand/base for ours, so it will be a permanent fixture. I am really looking forward to experimenting with different grains and finding uses for the flour for things other than bread.
Welcome Zoe from Perth in the West hope you enjoy your time with this diverse worldwide group of Bakers. Your mill sounds great we look forward to seeing some of your results.
kind regards Derek