Re: flour mill recommendations

[Guest guest]

Sharon,

I own 2 flour mills and have seen several others in operation. I have very

definite opinions, bu so does everyone, so take mho with a grain of salt.

I have had a Retsel Mill-Rite for over 10 years. It is a motorized stone

mill. You pour grain into a hopper (like a funnel) and the grain feeds into

the space between the stones and your flour comes out. It is a workhorse.

I've used it about every other day for 10 years. It is relatively quiet -

just the hum of the motor. It is slow and the flour comes out cool. It is

truly self-cleaning in that you just mill and empty whatever you caught the

flour in and that's it. You can adjust the knob for fine flour all the way

to cracked grain by turning the screw knob that holds the 2 stones together

to loosen them. You can buy optional steel burrs if you want to grind beans

or oily things like corn that might glaze the stones. The Restsel costs

about $450 + shipping and is available for purchase from the manufacturer.

They have a website.

The WhisperMill is a recent acquisition due to the large volumes of flour I

mill for co-op members. It does *not* " whisper " . It sounds like a muffled

jet engine - not nearly as loud and ear-piercing as the Magic Mill or K Tec

but still *loud*. The Whispermill is fast - you can mill a pound of flour

in a manner of seconds. Though it does have a flour fineness setting dial,

it really varies very little. It produces a fine flour and is not able to

produce cracked grains. You can only grind 8 cups of wheat at a time before

emptying flour canister. You can mill beans and corn. The WhisperMill is

advertised as " self-cleaning " and the inner mill microchamber is, but after

using the self-cleaning Retsel, I wouldn't call the Whisper that. You have

to wash the canister, the lid with the feed tube, the separator cup inside

the lid with the feed tube and the foam filter after use. I really like the

WhisperMill for its speed and its fineness of flour. It has a lifetime

warranty and usually excellent customer support. The price is OK at

$199.95, too. I may be able to get you a fairly decent price on a

WhisperMill from a friend of mine. Let me know if you want me to check on

it.

The K-Tec mill and Magic Mill (discontinued and now Ultra Mill is sold, I

think) are both fine at flour milling. They are very loud and can tend to

be dusty. If you use one, please wear ear protector muff things like the

airline workers do and *never* mill around children. Friends that own these

type of mills usually take them outside. They also have canisters that need

to be emptied.

Hth, ine

[Guest guest]

I like my Family Grain mill, which mills at a low temperature, is

adjustable from flour to cracked grains, and has a hand-powered

option. It sells for about $235, Radiant life has them.

Willa

[Guest guest]

Carolyn,

I have a KitchenAid and if you grind enough flour to make a 2 loaf ww bread

recipe in the KitchenAid (ie 6 cups) you'd have to wait for the mixer to

cool after grinding the wheat before making the bread. I guess if you're

going to soak your flour, that isn't a problem. The hopper is very small

and you have to refill it a few times.

If you want to produce small amounts of flour, the KA would work fine.

However, it is slow and may not produce as fine a flour as some stand alone

mills.

If you plan to grind larger amounts of flour on a regular basis, a stand

alone mill is worth it. If I had to do without all kitchen appliances but

one, I'd keep my mill. But we use a lot of fresh flour for bread, pancakes,

muffins, etc.

Grinding fresh flour really doesn't take much time at all. I make the

amount I need for the recipe I'm making. It just adds one more step. I

rarely store flour. If I do, I keep it in ziploc bags in the freezer until

use. You should freeze or refrigerate fresh whole wheat flour to prevent it

going rancid. I do have friends who grind a lot of wheat at a time and

store it in the freezer for month long use.

I use Bronze Chief, a high gluten hard red wheat, for most of my

breadmaking. I also have a Soft White Wheat for pancakes, cookies, and

pastry applications. I keep Rye, Oat Groats, White Buckwheat, a Seven Grain

Mix, Spelt, Kamut, and Prairie Gold, a high gluten hard white wheat, on hand

for occasional use in various recipes. I store most of my grains in

foodgrade buckets in various sizes. I like the 1 and 2 gallon size for

grains I don't use as often.

Let me know if you want more specifics. ine

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm not Carolyn, but I want to say thanks for that good info, especially about

the KA mixer part. That wouldn't have occurred to me...at all....:-) I just got

the grinder attachment a couple of weeks ago and haven't tried it out yet. Good

tip!

Sharon in Vermont

----- Original Message -----

From: Food From Afar

Sent: Monday, February 04, 2002 5:28 PM

Subject: RE: flour mill recommendations

Carolyn,

I have a KitchenAid and if you grind enough flour to make a 2 loaf ww bread

recipe in the KitchenAid (ie 6 cups) you'd have to wait for the mixer to

cool after grinding the wheat before making the bread. I guess if you're

going to soak your flour, that isn't a problem. The hopper is very small

and you have to refill it a few times.

If you want to produce small amounts of flour, the KA would work fine.

However, it is slow and may not produce as fine a flour as some stand alone

mills.

If you plan to grind larger amounts of flour on a regular basis, a stand

alone mill is worth it. If I had to do without all kitchen appliances but

one, I'd keep my mill. But we use a lot of fresh flour for bread, pancakes,

muffins, etc.

Grinding fresh flour really doesn't take much time at all. I make the

amount I need for the recipe I'm making. It just adds one more step. I

rarely store flour. If I do, I keep it in ziploc bags in the freezer until

use. You should freeze or refrigerate fresh whole wheat flour to prevent it

going rancid. I do have friends who grind a lot of wheat at a time and

store it in the freezer for month long use.

I use Bronze Chief, a high gluten hard red wheat, for most of my

breadmaking. I also have a Soft White Wheat for pancakes, cookies, and

pastry applications. I keep Rye, Oat Groats, White Buckwheat, a Seven Grain

Mix, Spelt, Kamut, and Prairie Gold, a high gluten hard white wheat, on hand

for occasional use in various recipes. I store most of my grains in

foodgrade buckets in various sizes. I like the 1 and 2 gallon size for

grains I don't use as often.

Let me know if you want more specifics. ine

[Guest guest]

I love my Family Grain Mill (got it from Radiant

Life). It uses a Jupiter motor, which is what Sally

recommends in NT. It's not exactly quiet, but it's

not earsplitting, I don't find it uncomfortable to

stand right next to it, although it would be hard to

have a conversation unless you moved a few feet away.

If you need it silent you can use the hand-crank base.

It's a steel burr, adjusts from fine flour to cracked

grains, keeps the temp low, and can grind oily seeds.

I haven't had it very long, so I can't comment on its

durability, but I appreciate well-built tools and this

one seems very solid to me.

Aubin

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Could anyone make a recommendation for a brand and

source of a flour mill from your experience or what

you've heard? Any ideas would be appreciated.

***I would also love an answer to this, but specifically I am interested in

opinions on the grain mill attachment that Kitchen Aid offers (attaches to most

of their standing mixers). Maybe there has been a discussion of this already,

and I should check the archives?

Also, for those that grind their own grains, what basic tips do you have?

Like, how do you get organized enough and find the time etc?? :-) How long can

you store your own grains that have been milled?

Thanks

Carolyn

[Guest guest]

I have a Magic Mill and everyone is right. It is very loud. I bought it 15

years ago and will probably use it till it dies. As far as finding the time, I

try to write down all our meals once a month. So the night before I look at my

list so I know if I have to soak grains, get something out of the freezer, etc.

I also have emergency meals ready in the freezer. I do try to grind extra flour

too and throw that in the freezer for later use.

Shari

----- Original Message -----

From: Carolyn Gutman-Dey

Sent: Monday, February 04, 2002 7:32 PM

Subject: Re: flour mill recommendations

Could anyone make a recommendation for a brand and

source of a flour mill from your experience or what

you've heard? Any ideas would be appreciated.

***I would also love an answer to this, but specifically I am interested in

opinions on the grain mill attachment that Kitchen Aid offers (attaches to most

of their standing mixers). Maybe there has been a discussion of this already,

and I should check the archives?

Also, for those that grind their own grains, what basic tips do you have?

Like, how do you get organized enough and find the time etc?? :-) How long can

you store your own grains that have been milled?

Thanks

Carolyn

[Guest guest]

Hi, Carolyn,

I buy most of my grains either directly from the grower (like Wheat Montana

Farms) or through our co-op. If I did buy whole grains from bins at a

health food store, I would be very careful to freeze the grain for at least

72 hours before storing at room temp.

Most whole grains will keep for years at room temp if stored correctly (ie

no/little exposure to oxygen/humidity and properly sealed to keep critters

out.) I buy a year's supply of wheat at a time for breadmaking. I store it

in airtight buckets with oxygen absorbers in them. Other grains I buy bag

by bag and replace as I use them up. Some last longer than others.

Whenever I purchase grain or grain products, I freeze them for a minimum of

3 days. Then I remove them from their original packaging and store in

airtight buckets or in ziploc bags. I have never had a grain bug problem

using this method. Grains are tremendously resilient and as long as the

outer hull is not broken will store a long time with little loss of

nutrients. There are some grains, like hulled barley or brown rice, that

should be refrigerated or frozen to prevent rancidity during long-term

storage. Hull-less barley, a variety bred to grow without the hard

indigestible hull, however can be stored at room temp.

ine

[Guest guest]

ine,

Thanks very much for your detailed response! One question: you are storing

your whole grains at room temp. correct? Do you buy them bulk (in bins) and how

often? I mean, how fresh do they grains need to be and how do you tell -- if

they are in bins, not dated etc? I assume you just go to a store that has a

good turnover.

Thanks

Carolyn

[Guest guest]

I heard that the flour is coarse and it is also pretty messy.

>From: " Carolyn Gutman-Dey " <cgd@...>

>Reply-

>< >

>Subject: Re: flour mill recommendations

>Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 01:32:33 -0000

>

>Could anyone make a recommendation for a brand and

>source of a flour mill from your experience or what

>you've heard? Any ideas would be appreciated.

> ***I would also love an answer to this, but specifically I am

>interested in opinions on the grain mill attachment that Kitchen Aid offers

>(attaches to most of their standing mixers). Maybe there has been a

>discussion of this already, and I should check the archives?

>

> Also, for those that grind their own grains, what basic tips do you

>have? Like, how do you get organized enough and find the time etc?? :-)

>How long can you store your own grains that have been milled?

>

> Thanks

> Carolyn

>

>

>

>

>