Good Grain Mill
I have a viking 7qt mixer and was going to get the grain mill attachment for it. I wanted to see if anyone has used it and get their feedback. I have never milled my own flour before but reading some of the posts on here makes me think that Im mising out. So... A few questions...
1. Asside from the Viking Mixer Attahcment, what Grain Mills do you recommend?
2. What kind of grain (wheats, corn etc) is recemmended?
3. I understand that I need to only mill what I'll be using that day, and that it is a good idea to stroe the unused (milled) grain in the freezer if possible. Any other things that I sould be aware of, from a storage perspective?
4. I have found a source for "Golden Wheat" that is charging $9.00 for 50lb. is this a good deal? Is Golden Wheat a soft or hard wheat?
I know that I'm Nick the new guy here but any input would be appreciated....
Thanks,
Pat
I use the Nutrimill. Haven't had it very long yet, but am very happy with it. I mill organic red hard wheat berries for my "staple", a whole wheat bread with Flax seed, Chia seed and Date Fines in it. I make that bread about twice a week. The mill will take just about anything, as long as it's not oily seeds.I can buy the wheat berries at our local co-op for 90 cents a pound or, if I happen to drive past the farm (which I will be next week), pick it up there for 68 cents a pound (in a 25 pound bag). Since I buy more at a time than would fit in my freezer, I bought a couple of buckets and Gamma Lids from the place I bought the grain mill from. If you have any old FOOD-GRADE five or six gallon bucket, you can just order the lids to make an airtight container. I just keep the buckets in the basement.
Don't know about "Golden Wheat", but someone else will be able to help, I'm sure.
If I were you, look for some smaller quantities first, find one or two grains you like, and then buy in bulk (assuming you can store it appropriately).
Hope this helps,
Stephan
JQ wrote:
"I chose the WonderMill because according to the reviews I read it is neater in the kitchen in that it doesn't leave your kitchen coated with fine layer of flour."
I don't have a WonderMill, so I can't compare it to my Nutrimill, but what I CAN tell you is that I DO NOT have "a kitchen coated with a fine layer of flour".
I also read some of those reviews and came to the conclusion that the people with the dust problems are not using the Nutrimill correctly, or their mill is not operating as intended (and should therefore be inspected).
I usually mill 2 pounds of Red Hard Spring Berries at a time, and have no issues whatsoever with flour dust.
Just thought I should mention it.
Stephan
I'm a sucker for stone-ground wheat, so if I was going to get a new mill, I'd get either a KoMo Fidibus 21, a Retsel Mil-Rite, or a Retsel Grister Convertible.
It's a lot like asking what kind of car to buy. You're going to get highly subjective opinions.
You can find a comparison of the most popular brands here:
http://www.breadtopia.com/2010/06/30/grain-mill-review/
Don't want to be accused of posting misinformation, so I guess this is really more of a question itself, but:
Disregard. Guess I better do some (more) research.
I've used a Blendtec Kitchen Mill or K-Tec mill for 2 months and like the unit very much. Price is $180 compared to $260 for a Nutrimill and about $250 for a Wonder mill. Speed is about 1 lb per minute and temperature is about the same as the other two mills. The unit is still new so I can't speak as to longevity. The flour setting is essentially fine to very fine.
FF
Well I thought I would add my two cents worth. I also have a nutrimill and it has been working for me beautifully for several years now. I haven't had any issues with flour dust at all. It is handy to be able to turn the unit off and on while it is full of grain. Another thing to consider is the nurtrimill has a lifetime warranty which you don't see that often these days.
I have used the mill for all sorts of grains, rice, popcorn. Making corn bread from freshly milled popcorn is a real treat. The mill is being used constantly and it preforms faithfully and beautifully. I couldn't ask for anything better.
As far as storing wheat I don't get too crazy about it. I was telling the farmer I was getting my wheat from about storing the grain in 5 gallon pails with gamma lids and he kind of shot me down about it. He said that grain needs to breath??? So all I do now is keep the grain in the grain bags and store them inside one of those big plastic bins. It has a lid but it isn't air tight. I keep the bin in the basement where it is cool.
great responces so far folks... I really appreciate it.
It sounds like no one has any experience with the attachment type mills and I'd rather not spend the $150.00 only to turn around and spend $250.00 later on. I'll still need to save up for it but I'll certianly be going down that road.
I'd like to set up a grain bin in the basement or maybe somehing in the freezer. I have a decent sized chest freezer that I'd be able to use 1/2 of for grain storage.
I still need to get a beter feel fro what kind of grains to use and all of that but I'm learning alot from y'all...
Thanks so very much...
It's funny... I have been into cooking all my life. As I get older I am more drawn to baking. I have been doing white breads and italian style breads for a couple of years now and get frustrated with my whole wheat results. I'm hoping that this will give me more controll over my results...
I learned to make light loaves of 100% whole wheat using King Arthur flour (for its consistency), using the epoxy method from Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads book, and working with a single bread recipe until I had it where I wanted it. I moved on to grinding wheat because the taste improvement is significant as is the nutritional benefit. Earlier, I had borrowed a friends grinder and some of her wheat berries and loved the resulting bread.
Finding whole grains without having to sell one of my kids was a little tougher. I looked at Bread Beckers, local Co-Ops and searched the internet. I was going with either of two co-ops in my area when I found a local supplier of whole grains. A lady nearby has a store on her property where she sells a large variety of grains and seeds (homemade soaps, breads, etc...). The wheatberries are red (gold or bronze?) Montana berries (high protein) and come in 60 lb sacks and sell for $45 ($0.75/lb before tax). She uses this product for her breads. That's about the same as King Arthur whole wheat flour here. The price was comparable to a Co-Op price and much more convenient.
I have a grain mill attachment for my Kitchen Aid and I have used it for years. You can get anything from fine grind to cracked grain, and anything in between. I now also own a Nutrimill which I use for the majority of my grinding. It's quicker to grind larger quantities of flour with it. I have not had problems with dust.
The downside of the Kitchen Aid is that I could only grind about a pound at a time. I babied it to make it easy on the motor, sending the grain through twice. First, to crack it, and then again to make fine flour, and it makes very nice flour. Then I would wait about 20-30 minutes to let the motor cool before making bread with it.
If I could only have one of my mills, it would be the KA, since the Nutrimill only grinds flour, and can't do coarse grinds. I used the KA for about twenty years for all our grinding needs for our family of six, so it can be done!
I have information regarding the Nutrimill and newly listed Country Living grain mill wihch can be operated either manually or with electricity. I also am now selling the Magic Mill Electrolux DLX mixers. check them out here www.organicwheatproducts.com