I just ordered more grain... first thoughts on Mockmill 100
Now that I have my Mockmill up and running, I've just ordered more whole grain. As if I need more stuff in my tiny NYC kitchen.
Anyway, the Mockmill has been unpacked and set up on my kitchen counter. I've run the first bit of grain through to clean the machine, and then I ground up the no-name hard red wheat that I found at Bulk Barn in Canada (I should not be permitted in that store without supervision. I was not supervised when I made this purchase).
Setting up the machine is not as straight forward as it would seem. There are some INTERIOR packing pieces that need to be removed from the mill prior to use. The video on the Mockmill site is in German. However, if you watch the video and read the instructions - that have pictures as well - you can figure out how to put the thing together again. It's easy to take apart.
The instructions for using it are straight forward. There is a nice list of what you can process with this mill, and what you should avoid. Basically, anything with a high oil content will gum up the machine - so no sesame seeds and the like. The list includes all the dry spices you can grind up and how to clean the machine afterwards.
Running the machine on the coarsest setting cleans the machine. You can also just the coarseness so that you get grain that is basically cracked into 2 or 3 pieces with a very small amount of dust. If you do not plan to just the machine for a while, the instructions recommend grinding some coarsely ground grain through the machine, but not how much. I will default to a one cup measure for this. Cleaning the machine for the first use suggests "a hand full," so... one cup.
Most grains and spices are added to the hopper before turning on the machine. Amaranth and fenugreek are the exception to that rule.
I ground up about 1.5 cups of mystery hard red wheat and sifted it through a 40 mesh strainer. The resulting flour is a fine powder that does not feel grainy at all.
While I can't wait to try using this grain, according to the information I found on this website, I should let it sit for a bit. So, next week I will use it.
In the mean time, I plan to go to the Indian food store and buy whole spices to grind. My cleaning grain will be white rice which I can then use in something. The mill is strong enough that I think one cup of rice will be sufficient for cleaning the mill, but I'll let you all know after I've tried it.
I'm having so much fun. The last time I had this much fun is when I bought my Magic Mill and was making huge batches of bread with it, videoing the machine in action all the while so I could post it on YouTube (some one from he BBGA asked me to. I was a member for 1 year).
Hadster