Most of the flour I make is Whole Wheat Flour. I purchase the wheat berries in bulk, 25 pound bags or in 5 gallon buckets, (45 #) I have purchased it from Walton Wheat, Wheat Montana and a few local sources.
I have used Hard Red Wheat, Hard White Wheat and Soft White Wheat.
I prefer the Hard White. The Soft White Wheat is for pastries and is not used in bread making.
The hard wheat berries have a long term shelf life. 6+ years.
The soft white wheat berries have a shelf life of about 6 months but can be stored in the freezer for longer storage.
I have three grain mills.
A Kitchen Aid Grain Mill which is an attachment for the Kitchen Aid Mixer, and was my first grain mill purchase. I found out very quickly that it does not make a fine enough flour for me! The one benefit that it does have is the courser settings that allow you to have cracked wheat.
Average Price is 130.00
I also have a Back to Basics Hand Grain Mill which I purchased for emergencies. I have used it twice, one of those times being yesterday to take pictures. It is a simple, reliable hand grain mill.
If you do not expect to make much flour it would be a good fit. It has a clamp that you use to attach it to a counter or table. You put the wheat in a hopper and use a hand crank. It takes about 6 minutes to grind one cup of flour, and it will give you a little work out!
Average Price is 78.00
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The grain mill I depend on is the K-tec Grain Mill. It is very easy to use. You place the top (which has the motor) on the bottom canister and snap into place. You put the wheat in the hopper and turn it on. It grinds up to 24 cups in 8 minutes. It is loud! Some of the other Grain Mills are quieter, but as I mentioned before, 20 plus years later and I still use it on a regular basis, so I see no need to replace it.
Average Price is 179.00
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You can replace white flour in almost any recipe. 1 cup white flour=3/4 cup plus 2 T wheat flour.
Wheat flour breaks down more slowly in your digestive system, gradually increasing its use is a good idea!
I started with replacing 1/4 of the white flour in the recipe with the wheat flour, then with 1/2 and now I use mostly wheat flour.
Wheat flour has 60 percent more fiber and vitamins than the white flour does. It is a good alternative!
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I've never thought about grinding my own flour but now I will look into it. I didn't know the grains are called berries. I wonder why that is?
ReplyDeleteKelly, good question. It is known as the kernel or wheat berry. I like berry better :)
DeleteI grind about 90% of our own flour, we started out back in 2007, my husband started out making bread for health reasons, I jumped on board not long after we got our last grain mill. I do have the Kitchen Aid Grain Mill as well and us that now and then, I never buy oatmeal anymore we roll those ourselves too. Here is a link to my post on mills...http://www.dailyyarnsnmore.com/mid_life_bliss/2009/11/somethings-missing.html
ReplyDeleteI stopped by and read your post. Your comments were shut off for that post so I couldn't leave a comment. Thanks for sharing the link!
DeleteHi Sandra, I have to close comments after a few weeks because of the volume of spam that I get.
DeleteWhat a great thing to do.. Good for you..
ReplyDeleteI would love to do this at some point. Great tips.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this info. So many people don't even realize this is an option! We have been grinding our own wheat for about 15 years and we are terribly spoiled. Store bought bread all taste like card board now...and I find the health benefits incredible. here's another good website for products and good info. www.breadbeckers.com.
ReplyDeletehave a great evening!!! xoxo Shine
Thank you for stopping by and passing on the link!
DeleteI love homemade bread :) And yes, we are spoiled too!
Glad you decided to write this post. I have been looking at grinders. Actually the one for my kitchen-aide. I will be looking up the one you use. I had another lady show me hers and I think it is the same one. It was really loud too!!
DeleteLiz, I have several friends who have different mills. Nutri Mill and Whisper Mill. I think they are all loud, maybe just not as loud as mine :)
DeleteWonderfully informative post. I will be seeing if there are wheat berries in the bulk section at my grocery store this weekend to try this out.
ReplyDeleteLaura, I know that our local grocery stores do not carry wheat. Local Co-ops, bulk stores, or health food stores are more likely. But it doesn't hurt to check!
DeleteThis is so neat! I've always wanted to grind my own wheat. I have used whole wheat flour before and I do like it in certain recipes.
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted to grind my own wheat but always thought it would be so difficult. Thanks for sharing this informative post with us on The Four Seasons Blog Hop~ Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
ReplyDeleteThanks for the detailed info. The equipment is all very affordable. Have you ever tried grinding corn with it? I am going to look into these. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have ground corn with the K-tec and Kitchen Aid.
DeleteI can grind any grain and legume in the electric grinder, as long as it is doesn't have a high moisture content.
Great post as so many folks still buy their bread but would like to learn about grinding their own. I have a Wonder Mill which does a great job for us. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I have sone friends who have a wondermill and really like it.
DeleteSandra,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post!
I had a trial of Amazon Prime and picked up some wheat berries to try grinding my own. I've got a dry blade container for my Vitamix which grinds them nicely--but I wasn't sure if it was cost effective. Wheat berries seem to cost more per pound than whole wheat flour, so I don't see that I'm getting any cost savings for using my own electricity to grind.
I know I am getting a nutrition boost by using freshly ground flour. Just trying to figure out if the nutrition advantages outweigh the perceived increased cost for the unprocessed berry.
I buy my wheat in bulk and pay less than 50 cents a pound for the wheat, so for me it has been cheaper to grind my own flour. Even if the cost were the same I would still grind my own because I think the fresh ground flour is much better.
DeleteMaybe you could find a local co op or other source for your wheat that would make it more cost effective for you?
Thanks for stopping by :)
Sandra,
DeleteLess than 50 cents a pound! That's more than half of what I was finding!
I am clearly shopping in the wrong places--I'll look around here for cheaper wheat berries.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Thank you for sharing which mills you have and which one you like best. It's a big investment and I'm afraid of making a mistake!
ReplyDeleteKathi at Oak Hill Homestead
I love grinding my own wheat! Can't get much fresher than that!
ReplyDeleteI also have a Wondermill and love it. Just did a bunch of popcorn yesterday to make into corn meal for corn bread :) Thanks for sharing this on the Art of Home-Making Mondays! P.S. I purchased the pressure cooker (thanks to your help) and LOVE it!!!
ReplyDelete