Choosing the best grain mill to grind your own flour at home can be tricky. What should you look for? It’s my opinion that every kitchen should experience the benefits and flavor of grinding your own fresh-milled flour. And to do that, you need to make sure you’re choosing the best flour mill for your house.
Pingle supply professional and honest service.
This post was previously written to go along with Pioneering Today Podcast episode #64 (which you can listen to below) but has since been updated with my podcast interview with Bonnie from GrainMaker (episode #458).
Why I Love Grinding Grains
Flour milled at home is healthier and fresher, plus it makes me feel like a true pioneer woman.
Do you ever wonder about the flour you purchase from the store? While I’ve been baking our own bread for almost a year and a half now, I’ve been using store-bought flour. I know our bread is now preservative-free, but what about the flour, the main ingredient?
My desire is to be as self-sustainable as possible. I also believe it’s the healthiest way to live. I started researching the benefits of grinding your own flour at home, and let me tell ya, there’s a ton of nutrition we’re missing out on (I won’t even mention the flavor) by not grinding our own flour.
How to Choose the Best Grain Mill
When you grind it at home, you’re leaving in all the nutrition. It will store for about three days at room temperature, or you can store the ground flour in the freezer for up to six months.
When you grind a whole wheat berry (it looks like a piece of grain, not a berry), you grind the bran and germ into your flour. Because the germ has oil in it, the flour can turn rancid, so it’s removed in commercial flour to be shelf-stable.
However, most of your fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are in the bran and germ.
Disclosure: I received my Wondermill and Mockmill for free over ten years ago, regardless, this is my honest opinion of all the grain mills I’ve owned or tried.
Manual or Electric Mill?
Your first decision is to decide if a manual grain mill or an electric grain mill is the right fit for you. There are some pros and cons to each (more on that below).
For my quick picks on each, keep reading:
Best Manual Grain Mill
If you’re looking for a manual grain mill, there are a lot more options than there used to be. GrainMaker has multiple options varying in both size and cost.
There are also options like this Wondermill Deluxe Hand Grain Mill on Amazon that mounts to the counter. A third option for a manual grain mill is the Victorio Hand Operated Mill.
Manual grain mills are a great way to increase your resiliency and still be able to grind grain when the power is out. Thankfully, we now have a more powerful generator that allows me to use my electric mill, even when the power is out, but I still like the peace of mind knowing I can use a hand-crank mill when I need to.
Wheat berries, when stored correctly, are shelf-stable for years. So having a way to grind them into flour is a fantastic way to be prepared.
Pros vs. Cons
Best Electric Grain Mill
I used a Wondermill for years, but about ten years ago, I received a stone burr Mockmill 100 and you guys, I can’t believe the difference.
It’s sooo much quieter, no parts to hook together, and the ability to adjust the grind goes beyond any mill I’ve seen.
Not only can you grind flour, but you can grind all your gluten-free flours, vegetables (yes, vegetables into powders), spices and more. With one mill! Plus, it makes the finest whole wheat pastry flour.
Once you have your grain mill, be sure to check out this post to learn how to bake with fresh flour.
Pros vs. Cons
Mockmill, Blendtech, GrainMaker or Wondermill?
I’ve had my Mockmill100 for many years now. It’s much quieter than both the Blendtech and the Wondermill and it doesn’t jump around on the counter while it’s grinding.
Plus it’s a tabletop electric stone grain mill for home use with a slim profile that fits under most upper cabinets.
However, it was very important to me to also have a grain mill that I could use when/if the power goes out. That’s why I’m a happy owner of both a Mockmill and a GrainMaker hand-crank mill.
Cost
Mockmill
First, the initial price of a home flour mill isn’t cheap, so be prepared to spend between $300-$800, depending on the model.
However, Mockmill also has a KitchenAid attachment that has a lower price point (just over $200). It won’t grind as much flour at a time, but it’s a great option if you just can’t quite swing the countertop version quite yet.
BlendTech
The BlendTech models come in just under the Mockmill at about $269 (at the time of this posting). There are fewer options when it comes to BlendTech, and the construction of the design left something to be desired (in my opinion).
Nutramill
The NutraMill is very comparable to the Mockmill, priced between $300-$400 for their models. They do have two options, but no KitchenAid attachment option at this time.
GrainMaker
GrainMaker is 100% made in the USA! It’s a hand-crank mills that varies in price from $500-$ (though I doubt many of us will need The Workhorse model). Bonnie shared in the podcast interview that the GrainMaker mills can actually be motor powered, or even set up to be powered by a bicycle!
Warranty vs. Guarantee: Bonnie shared the difference between a warranty (which is for a limited-time) and GrainMaker’s Heirloom Lifetime Guarantee (which covers every part of the mill for life, even if the mill is handed down to the next generation!). That’s a pretty big selling point in my book!
Why a Stone Mill is Better
The burrs. These are what grinds the food into flour and are probably the most important part of your mill. There are 3 different types of burrs on the market, steel, cast iron and stone.
Steel and cast iron burrs do a decent job (this is what my old Wondermill had and what the GrainMaker hand-crank mills have) but you can’t get as fine a grind and they tend to heat up, causing the flour to come out hot (which some believe impacts the nutrition value).
The Mockmill is the only model I know of that has stone burrs, which is another reason it’s at the top of my recommendations.
Conclusion
A grain mill is a spendy kitchen appliance. I like to view it as an investment, not just in your kitchen, but in your and your family’s health.
If you use it often, the mill will eventually pay for itself. Wheat berries are much less expensive to buy than ground flour. Furthermore, a cup of wheat berries yields approximately 1 1/4 cups flour.
Wheat berries store much longer than bags of flour, increasing our food storage.
But there is a learning curve! Ask me how many loaves of bread turned out rock hard when I first started. That’s why I’m sharing the tips I’ve learned to use fresh ground flour to convert your favorite recipes and get delicious food, every time.
There you have it, how to choose the best grain mill to grind your own flour at home. Which one did you go with?
More Posts You May Enjoy
Milling fresh flour at home allows you to enjoy the superior flavor, nutrition, and freshness of whole grains compared to store-bought flour. This guide covers the essentials of milling flour, including equipment, grain selection, milling process, storage, and tips for success. Bookmark it or Print it out so you can have it handy in the kitchen.
Why Fresh Milled Flour
When I tell others I mill my own flour, they either look at me like I have three heads or I am living in the stone ages haha. I do live in the country and have a farm but we can’t grow wheat here in Florida. If we could, I definitely would be growing it! After many years of being sick, I turned to fresh milled flour. My gut was a wreck and lacking so much nutrition. Contrary to what is being said (even with functional doctors), real wheat straight from the field is so good for us.
• Nutrition: Fresh milled flour retains the grain’s bran, germ, and endosperm, preserving vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats that degrade in commercial flour. I’ll discuss more on the nutrition of real wheat down below.
• Flavor: Whole grain flour has a nutty, robust taste.
• Customization: Control grain blends, texture, and freshness.
The Kernel of Wheat
Sometimes called the wheat berry, the kernel is the seed from which the wheat plant grows. Basically, each tiny seed contains three distinct parts that are separated during the milling process to produce flour.
Endosperm
The endosperm comprises about 83 percent of the kernel weight and is the source of white flour. The endosperm contains the greatest share of protein, carbohydrates and iron, as well as the major B-vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin and thiamine. It is also a source of soluble fiber.
Bran
Bran makes up about fourteen and a half percent of the kernel weight. It is included in whole wheat flour and can also be bought separately. The bran contains a small amount of protein, large quantities of the three major B-vitamins, trace minerals and dietary fiber — primarily insoluble.
Germ
Germ is about two and a half percent of the kernel weight. The germ is the embryo — or sprouting section — of the seed, often separated from flour in milling because the fat content (10 percent) limits flour’s shelf-life. The germ contains minimal quantities of high quality protein and a greater share of B-complex vitamins and trace minerals. Wheat germ can be purchased separately at stores and is part of whole wheat flour.
Whole Grains vs. Refined Grains
Whole Grain Benefits
- Whole grains offer a “complete package” of health benefits, unlike refined grains, which are stripped of valuable nutrients in the refining process.
- As stated above, all whole grain kernels contain three parts: the bran, germ, and endosperm. Each section houses health-promoting nutrients. The bran is the fiber-rich outer layer that supplies B vitamins, iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are natural chemical compounds in plants that have been researched for their role in disease prevention. The germ is the core of the seed where growth occurs; it is rich in healthy fats, vitamin E, B vitamins, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. The endosperm is the interior layer that holds carbohydrates, protein, and small amounts of some B vitamins and minerals.
These components have various effects on our bodies:
- Bran and fiber slow the breakdown of starch into glucose—thus maintaining a steady blood sugar rather than causing sharp spikes.
- Fiber helps lower cholesterol as well as move waste through the digestive tract.
- Fiber may also help prevent the formation of small blood clots that can trigger heart attacks or strokes.
- Phytochemicals and essential minerals such as magnesium, selenium and copper found in whole grains may protect against some cancers.
Refined Grains
The invention of industrialized roller mills in the late 19th century changed the way we process grains. Commercial milling strips away the bran and germ and leaves only the soft, easy-to-digest endosperm. Without the fibrous bran, the grain is easier to chew. The germ is removed because of its fat content, which can limit the shelf life of processed wheat products. The resulting highly processed grains are much lower in nutritional quality. Refining wheat creates fluffy flour that makes light, airy breads and pastries, but the process strips away more than half of wheat’s B vitamins, 90 percent of the vitamin E, and virtually all of the fiber. Although some nutrients may be added back by fortification, other health-promoting components of whole grains such as phytochemicals cannot be replaced.
Do you ever buy flour that says “Enriched” Flour? Well, don’t. The word enriched just means they have added synthetic forms of the nutrients back into the flour. The millers did this because people were getting sick from having a B1 (Thiamine) deficiency called Beriberi. That was an illness that affected both the cardiovascular and nervous system. Pellagra, a vitamin B3 (Niacin) deficiency, was a horrible skin disease. Specifically, they both lead to death back then. This all started happening in the early ’s when the millers decided to remove the bran and the germ from the flour. It was and still is sold to pet and livestock feed companies for an ingredient in feed.
We shouldn’t be consuming altered food. Eating real food like fresh fruits, vegetables, grass-fed meat and nutrient dense grains (straight from the field), is what God gave us to consume. This is why I started milling my own flour 14 years ago. Wheat is a near perfect food.
Choosing Grains
Wheat
Hard Red/White Wheat: High protein (12-15%), ideal for bread.
Soft Wheat: Lower protein (6-10%), best for pastries, cakes, etc.
Durum: For pasta or semolina.
Non-Wheat Options
Rye: Dense, tangy flavor for sourdough.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Wheat Flour Milling Plant.
Spelt: Nutty, slightly sweet, easier to digest.
Corn: For cornbread or tortillas.
Oats: For baking or oatmeal (hull-less varieties).
Buckwheat: Easier to digest, earthy flavor.
The above pages are taken from my ebook: Make Simple Sourdough Bread (using freshly-milled flour)
Sourcing
Accordingly, buy from local farms, co-ops, or reputable suppliers (e.g., Azure Standard, Guardian Grains, Sunrise Flour Mill, BreadBecker’s). Ensure grains are clean and free of debris or mold. I always buy organic/non-gmo grains. I even ask the farmer/company to make sure they are:
1. No Tillage: tillage breaks down the fungal network in the soil which is essential for raising fully self sustaining plants.
2. No Fertilizers either organic or synthetic.
3. No Seed Treatments
4. No GMO
5. No Insecticide
6. No Fungicide
7. No pre-harvest desicant
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Milling Your Own Flour
Fresh Milled Flour Recipes
Here are a few recipes that have fresh milled flour in them. The breads I used hard white wheat and/or khorasan and the cakes I used fresh milled soft white wheat. Type “Wheat” in the search bar (to the right of this post) and you’ll find all kinds of recipes I make with fresh milled flour.
Basic Whole Wheat Bread
Lemon Blueberry Cake
Homemade Bagels
Super Moist Carrot Cake
Watch The Video: Milling Your Own Flour
This video tutorial is an interactive class I taught a few years ago to some locals in my community. I hope it’s helpful!
Storage
Whole Grains: Store in airtight food grade containers in a cool, dry, dark place (e.g., pantry or basement). Never store your grain buckets in the garage or a shed as they will attract bugs. Use this lid to prevent pantry bugs. Grains, left whole and intact, will last indefinitely. In fact, whole grains are the only whole food that does not have to be processed in any way before being stored. Some grain suppliers use either carbon dioxide or nitrogen gas when packing grains in buckets. This will ensure that the packaged grains are bug-free.
Fresh Flour: Contains oils from the germ, so it spoils faster than commercial flour. Just like an apple or an avocado turns brown, fresh milled flour goes through an oxidation process starting 48 hours after it’s milled. Mill your flour fresh every time you want to bake something. Alternately, you can mill the flour and freeze it for up to 14 days. This will ensure it retains the nutrients. Bring to room temperature before baking. Note the milling date and grain type on each container.
Where To Buy Grains
I have been a co-op leader for BreadBecker’s since . We order 3x a year. If you ever get a chance to visit their store, I highly encourage you to go. It’s in Woodstock, GA and you’ll spend hours in there browsing through all of their goodies. If you are local to me, send me an at [ protected] for more information on joining our co-op.
Because I bake year-round, sometimes I run out of my grains. I have found a few companies that I trust to fill in the gap until my next order is ready to arrive through BreadBecker’s. I have researched all of them and they meet my standards. All organic, non-gmo, no glyphosate, no fertilizers, and no pesticides. These family owned companies even have fresh milled flour. More about this down below.
Azure Standard – They sell 5lb bags to 50lb bags. Azure Standard also is a big organic grocery store and they deliver to a town near me every month. I hardly go to the big box grocery stores anymore.
Sunrise Flour Mill – (receive 20% off, no code needed)
Guardian Grains – (receive 15% off, enter code: lhsimpleliving)
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Which Grain Mill To Use
There’s a few grain mills I recommend. First, you have to decide if you would like an electric or manual one. I personally have an electric one but the manual one is on my list to buy. What if you had a power outage for a few days? I know for a fact I’d be lost without homemade bread lol.
Electric Grain Mills – I have the Wondermill and I’ve owned it for 13 years now. It works great and I have no complaints about it. Unfortunately, it is sold out everywhere. I received this Harvest Mill (Use code: LHSIMPLELIVING for $20 off) recently that I’m really loving so far. I’ve had it for a few months and I am really enjoying it. Alternately, I found this Stainless Steel Grain Mill that gets great reviews and ships quickly.
Manual Grain Mills – I know of two manual mills. The reviews are really good on both of them. The Country Living Manual Mill and the Wondermill Jr. are the two I recommend for manual mills. The Country Living Mill is the only hand-operated grinder on the market that utilizes two industrial-grade ball bearings. Many grinders use only one large bushing. Still, the Country Living Mill has two sealed ball bearings that are spaced apart. This increases the stability of the drive shaft and reduces bearing strain.
The WonderMill Junior (I have this one) produces more flour per handle revolution than the Country Living Grain Mill. It does this for half the price too. The Wonder Junior gives you more options. It can mill several types of grains, nuts into nut butters, coffee, flax, and many other items. These are not possible in more expensive grain mills. Plus, it’s a good arm workout haha.
Can I Buy Fresh Milled Flour
You can, but you need to know a few things before you do. If you have a friend that mill’s their own flour, you can go pick up a bag from them the same day it’s milled. Just plan on either baking with it that day or freezing it.
There are some millers who use a Unifine Mill. It processes the entire bran, germ, and endosperm of the grain into a nutritious, whole-grain flour in one step. Instead of crushing or cutting the grain, the Unifine process uses a high-speed rotor with a single-pass impact system to instantly pulverize the kernels of grains, never subjecting them to the high temperatures common in regular grain milling. Using the entire grain without any heat means the valuable nutrients of ancient grains are retained, so the whole grain flours have longer shelf-life, better flavor, and more nutrition. In fact, Unifine flours are packed with many times the nutritional value than commercial roller-milled flours and stone ground flours — they contain almost four times as much dietary fiber, more than twice as much potassium, and three times as much magnesium.
Keep Reading
With the Unifine Milling process, the result is a texture lighter than traditional wheat flour, but with all the benefits of the whole grain and its natural oils. Unifine flours are ideal for fine-textured breads. Note that Unifine flours require a little more liquid than other flours, because the oil molecules remain intact.
Here are some of my favorite places to buy flour. Why am I buying flour if I mill my own? Basically, if we are going on a trip, instead of bringing my mill and grains, I just buy a 5lbs bag of flour and take it with me. It’s just as good as me milling it and it retains all the nutrition. Easy peasy.
Azure Standard – They sell 5lb bags to 50lb bags. Azure Standard also is a big organic grocery store and they deliver to a town near me every month. I hardly go to the big box grocery stores anymore.
Guardian Grains – (receive 15% off, enter code: lhsimpleliving)
Sunrise Flour Mill – (receive 20% off, no code needed)
What to Do When You Are Traveling
I always try my best to bring something that contains my flour in it for me to snack on when we are traveling. I love a good restaurant but I will pay for it when I get home if all I do is eat out. Being prepared keeps me satisfied. My go-to is making dinner rolls or hamburger buns and freeze them. They are perfect to just eat as a snack or I’ll serve them with something I’m making for dinner that night. We love staying in air bnb’s, allowing us to prepare our own meals. If you stay at a hotel and eat their breakfast, just bring a roll and make an egg sandwich with it.
Tips For Success
Start Small: Mill only what you need for a recipe to ensure freshness.
Experiment with Blends: Combine grains (e.g., 70% hard wheat, 30% rye) for unique flavors. My favorite loaf bread recipe is 50% hard white wheat and 50% khorasan.
Adjust Recipes: Learn how to substitute all-purpose flour with fresh milled flour in your favorite recipes. Type “FLOUR” in the search bar on my website for all kinds of recipes using fresh milled flour.
Baking Tip: Make sure your yeast is fresh. When you combine it with water, it should be nice and bubbly. This is my favorite yeast I use.
Maintenance: Regularly check your mill for wear, especially burrs or stones, and follow manufacturer cleaning guidelines.
Sourcing Local Grains: If you’re in a rural area, connect with local farmers or grain co-ops for fresh, regional grains.
Closing
I hope you found this beginner’s guide helpful and you feel encouraged to start milling your own flour. Even if you aren’t ready to take the plunge, keep this guide handy and start with the fresh milled companies I shared with you. I know you will be starting your journey into real whole wheat nutrition soon and your family will love it. Tag me over on Instagram when you start making bread. I’d love to see how you are doing. You can also me at [ protected] if you have any questions.
Resources:
https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w/w.pdf
https://nutritionsource.hsps.harvard.edu/whatshouldieat/wholegrains
The history and processes of milling
Wang J, Chatzidimitriou E, Wood L, Hasanalieva G, Markelou E, Iversen PO, Seal C, Baranski M, Vigar V, Ernst L, Willson A, Thapa M, Barkla BJ, Leifert C, Rempelos L. Effect of wheat species (Triticum aestivum vs T. spelta), farming system (organic vs conventional) and flour type (wholegrain vs white) on composition of wheat flour – Results of a retail survey in the UK and Germany – 2. Antioxidant activity, and phenolic and mineral content. Food Chem X. May 4;6:. doi: 10./j.fochx... PMID: ; PMCID: PMC.
www.wholegrainscouncil.org
The Essential Home-Ground Flour book by Sue Becker
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