Grain Mill Recommendations

[GardenWeasel]

I bought myself a Miracle Flour Mill for Christmas and I love it. Just used it to grind some dent corn I grew for the chickens because they just picked it up and spit it out. Not anymore, I mixed it with cooked pintos and they scarfed it up. It worked so well I am ordering flour corn for us to plant this year. I never knew they removed the germ from store bought cornmeal. Dang, even the organic ones.

 

[EllenDee]

I have Country Living Grain Milll - I was amazed at how fine the flour was, I was expecting it to be much coarser!!! I am very happy with it, but have not have much chance to actually make bread from the flour yet.

For me, the availability of spare parts & longevity of the mill was really important - but then I am in another country where I can't always rely on replacement and repair. Also, the ability to attach the manual mill to a motor seemed really good - I don't expect to actually use it, but in an emergency it would be possible to hook it up to the treadle sewing machine...

 

[VickiLynn]

I got the Family Grain Mill earlier this year - http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/family_grain_mills.aspx - I really didn't want to spend a lot of money because my DH is picky, and I wasn't at all sure how he would deal with too much whole grain. I was told that this one requires two grinds (through once, and then again) to get fine flour, but I took the chance. Well ... I am very pleased with it. I can get fine flour, with one grinding, and also make it coarser as needed, up to cracked grains. The taste is fantastic - I would not have believed the difference between store bought and fresh ground. Even picky DH is able to handle more of the fresh ground. I did spend the extra money for an adapter to run this off my Kitchenaid, and rather wish I had saved my money. The directions say not to stop and start with grain in the mill - and the two times I have used it with the Kitchenaid it has jammed, and I have had to take everything apart (not difficult, but annoying), and start again with the mill empty. (Both times were with soaked and dried grain, so perhaps there was still too much moisture). At any rate, I tend now just to do it by hand - it takes about 5-6 minutes to make a fine flour from one cup of grain. But thats OK - kind of like weeding, I just let my mind go off on other subjects. And with hand grinding it doesn't matter if one starts and stops, so I can do it between doing other things. I think that had I known before buying it that we would like the results as well as we do I might have gone for a more expensive (read: easier/faster grinding) model, but I have to say that I am actually very pleased with this one, and can recommend it without reservation. The only caveat is that they do not recommend that one grind popcorn, but I think that many grinders aren't able for that, and really, why would I want to? Cornmeal is made from a different kind of corn.
We were talking about this just this evening; my DH tends to poo-poo my SS efforts (when talking with me), but this evening we were at my brother's for dinner, and he was saying how nice the fresh bread from the home ground flour was. And my brother said: "5-6 minutes? That's not much, compared to hand grinding coffee!"

Im looking for my first grain mill, and am wondering if you are still happy with your Family Grain Mill. I have a KA and a Bosch, so would get an adaptor for one of them, but I like the idea of being able to use it without electricity, too. From the pictures Ive seen, it looks like nothing is enclosed. Does that cause a lot of dust? And how long does it take to grind? I make 6 loaves at a time so need about 15 cups of flour.

I recently discovered I can buy Wheat Montana Prairie Gold wheat berries at Walmart (25# bags). I had been buying the flour, but its not always available. This is a bit backwards, but Im now the proud owner of 75# of wheat berries, and need to find a grinder. The Nutrimill looks tempting, too, but a bigger investment for something Im not sure about So, do you still like your Family Grain Mill? Would you buy it again?

 

[TanksHill]

I have to pipe in on this one. I have been scouring CL for over a year looking for a grain mill. I too wanted a hand mill, just in case. But the other day I came across an add labeled "wheat grinder". Good thing I was just browsing because I always search for "mills".

Anyways, I got an old Magic Mill. It's a giant loud dinosaur of a mill but works amazing. It is a straight shaft and supposedly can be turned by hand. I have not tried it yet.

Anyways, my point is that I just kinda kept my eyes open and was flexible with the mill I got.

It was 50.00 bucks. I was so happy. They sell on e bay for several hundred dollars.

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