Milling Own Flowers?

[VydorScope]

In anohter thread some one said...

I mill my own flours other than potato and tapioca. The expense of the mill is offset very quickly by the savings on the flours.

And I have have seen alot of you say this... so this leads to the questions...

1) HOw do you mill your own flowers?

2) What do you need to do it?

3) Where do you find un-milled flours?

THose kinds of things....

[GlutenFreeGirlie]

You can find whole grains for sale in many places online and in grocery stores. I use Bob's Red Mill brand, but that's my personal preference. They sell a variety of beans and seeds which can be ground into flours- and they are safe for us because they produce them seperately!! You can find flour mills online as well, or in your local kitchen-type stores. I use a hand mill, but they make electric mills as well.

[VydorScope]

HOw hard is it to do? Any specific brands of mills you can recomend?

[plantime]

I am reading this thread with much interest. Exactly what is a mill, is it small enough for a small kitchen? I don't mind milling my own flours at all, I just need to know how to do it.

[VydorScope]

I am reading this thread with much interest. Exactly what is a mill, is it small enough for a small kitchen? I don't mind milling my own flours at all, I just need to know how to do it.

From what I can tell reading elsewhere (this thread not getting much help here ) a "flour mill" is a grinder that you load whole grains in to and grind in to flower. They raing in pricne from aroun 25-35$ to well over $500... and I have no clue why the huge range, or what to look for in a mill.

[plantime]

I will post again on this thread to keep it at the front of the recent posts list! If anyone out there knows the answers, please tell us!

[plantime]

OK, I google home flour mills, and got a website that has pictures. One of the mills, which retails for $40, is also a coffee grinder. I bought a coffee grinder at Wal Mart for $13, and use it to grind my flax seeds. Can I also use it to grind my bean flours? It only does a small amount at a time, but I only use a small amount at a time! Could we also use a food processor for grinding flours?

[CateK]

When I first became gluten-free I tried to use my breadmaker to make gluten-free breads and it did not work out at all. After some research I sold the breadmaker at a yardsale and bought a KitchenAide Professional Stand Mixer. A big investment but well worth it to me and my family.

Attachments can be ordered for the mixer including a grainmill. This is on my Birthday wishlist but if I don't get it then, I will probably buy it myself.

You can also order a pasta maker, a meat grinder/sausage stuffer and a bunch of other stuff for this mixer.

I have ground flax seeds (and spices) in my coffee grinder and it works well. I would imagine you could grind small amounts of whole or cracked grains to get flour in it as well.

[tarnalberry]

From what I understand from reading around here and other sites, grain mills vary as widely as cars - and that includes having different purposes. While an inexpensive, small mill (really just a coffee grinder) may work for some items, it may not hold up to the more difficult to grind items, particularly without overheating. But if you're not going to grind those, it doesn't much matter. But they can't do very much at a time, so if you're making a recipe that calls for two cups of flour, you might be grinding half the day! I don't recall which items are toughest on grinders - I want to say a number of beans - but I know there are others out there with a mill (and some on the delphi list, I believe). Keep googling, you'll find what you're looking for. ;-)

[cdford]

I appear to be the "resident expert" on this one since I milled my own flours long before becoming gluten-free. Here is some pertinent info.

A grain mill is a smaller version of what the large mills use to break up the grains into flour. The ones we discuss here are generally electric and sit on the countertop. You can get manual ones for when you do not have electricity, but they tend to make a courser flour and take much longer and much more effort. This is very different from your food processor or coffee mill. You will also need a smaller coffee/spice grinder mill (about $20) if you plan to use the more oily or moist grains such as flax. Do not try to mill these in the larger grain mill as it will clog the mechanism.

Once the mill is plugged into the wall outlet, just follow the instructions in the manual. For instance, mine says to turn the mill on before adding the grains. I measure out the amount I need for my mix and then pour it into the running mill. Many mills will make about 8 to 10 cups at a time. That is plenty for a couple of weeks worth of gluten-free bread making. Most mills have a fine-ness adjustment that allows you to use different size grains and mill to different levels of softness.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE A GRAIN THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY USED WITH GLUTEN GRAINS AS THEY CANNOT BE CLEANED THOROUGHLY ENOUGH!

It takes about five minutes to mill enough grain for seven to ten loaves of bread. One of the primary benefits (other than cost) is that you get the entire grain with all of its nutrition.

You can purchase the grains from several different sources. Check both prices and shipping/handling costs. Some sources will give a significant break in s/h if you purchase large quantities. You might want to also verify with the source that they are careful of cross contamination issues when filling containers. If there is a home school convention in your state, see if one of the vendors such as Breadbeckers will be there. You can save far more than the small entry fee by purchasing on site and not paying any s/h. They can also often give demonstrations and seminars on why this is a positive thing to do.

Buy a larger amount at a time to save on s/h costs. If you purchase a five gallon bucket of a grain, be sure that the bucket comes with a screw off lid or purchase one to go on the bucket. That will ensure easy accessiblity and keep the grain dry as well. Separately purchased lids can be reused later. The buckets are also great for everything from washing the car to soaking the filters from the hot tubs once the grain is gone.

Some grains are more easily milled than others. I mill rice, amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat. I do not attempt tapioca or potato. It is easier to buy a bucket of them. I also use a small coffee/spice grinder to mill flax seed to add protein and flavor to the breads.

I will be happy to answer any further questions. I know I had a gazillion of them when I first got started.

Other resources:

www.breadbeckers.com (mills, info, and grains)

Bob's Red mill (grains and some info)

I am sure there are others, these are just the two I use. Do a search and you should get a lot of info (a quick Google of "grain mill" brought up almost 900,000).

[plantime]

Thank you, Donna, for all of those wonderful answers, and the links!

[VydorScope]

Yes thank you for this info, looks like the mills are way out of my reachable price for now though....

[plantime]

My birthday is next month, I think I'll tell my husband I want one of the cheaper ones for my gift!

[ockham]

The electric "mill" sounds interesting but my own (limited) research suggested that a standard blender could also be used to make flour.

Since this sounded more useful than a coffee grinder I went out and bought one last week . . . and YES it does work with flaxseed.

My question now is: Will the blender also work with harder grains and dried beans (e.g. chick peas) or will these damage the blender?

Has anyone tried?

[cdford]

The best way to assess your blender's capabilities is to read the manual for your specific product. Where flours are concerned, texture is an issue. You may have to work with it a little to get it to mill fine enough for a smooth flour.

I understand that the initial investment for a mill is a tough one for many of us. We have found that it is a good investment in the longer term (one year or so). If you keep track of your spending for tax purposes, it should not take long to verify how much you are already spending for flours and mixes so that you can make a real comparison. If you are open to using a credit card, you might consider paying it off using your savings over your current purchases.

[mopsie]

Hi,

I don't think a blender will make a fine enough flour, and it would be very tedious to get enough flour to do anything with. I bought a Whisper Mill about 10 months ago, and I think it may already have paid for itself. as I do a lot of baking and gluten free flours are VERY expensive in my neck of the woods. I also have a Magic Mill that is 22 years old but I still use it for wheat for the rest of the family.

[cdford]

I also use a Whisper Mill and have found it to be durable and well worth the investment if you can do it, especially if you bake a lot or have a large family. I was not familiar enough with blenders to make a bold statement, but I do not think it will mill fine enough either.

Do not hesitate to ask questions even if you think they are trivial. This process is new to most of us and the only way to learn is to ask. Be patient. It is summer and I feel much better so we do more. That means I don't get on this site every night in the middle of the night. I will answer your questions as they come up as soon as I see them.