I got a Family Grain Mill!

[Emerald]

I remember when I first got my mill. So much fun. But it does take time to learn to learn how to use the flour. Sure, you can make a lot of things with fresh flour (pancakes, pastry, biscuits, cookies, etc) but I've found that bread tends to be quite dense if I don't age the flour several weeks.

Now you can grind up anything. We had indian flat bread made with ground green split peas the other night. And pudding made with rice flour is a big hit, too.

I've wanted to try grinding beans into flour for some little hush puppie type dumpling things that I had at a restaurant once. but do you run them thru dry or do you cook them and dry and then run thru? I've not tried it yet.
and one of my daughters friend has Celiac and I want to maybe make some fresh rice flours and other flours for her(but now thinking about that she probably would have to have a dedicated grinder so no cross contamination.. :/ )

 

[ORChick]

I have the hand crank mill, plus the Kitchen Aide adapter; have had them for a couple of years, and am very happy with the way it works. I hesitated for a long while, as DH has never been terribly fond of my homemade whole wheat bread. Turns out it was the flour from the market, and not my bread at all! Freshly ground hard white wheat is something else entirely from even the better wh. wheat, already ground flour. I also have soft white wheat berries, as well as spelt, rye, and corn. Be aware that the Family Grain Mill instructions say not to grind popcorn, as it is too hard; but regular field corn is fine.

Thanks for the review! I have hard white wheat berries and depending on how much I need at a time I have also been known to put them thru my extra coffee grinder.. but I have a huge old porkett grinder that I got at flea market for $25. It works great but since it won't hook up to anything in the house I end up out on the deck with one of the kids holding the bowl haha..
And on all whole wheat for bread, I found that if I make the dough the night before and just sit it in the fridge or even out on the counter in winter(we don't heat all of the house haha.. so the kitchen is cold in the winter) it rises much higher. probably better gluten strands or something techy like that.
I guess I never figured out what to do with ground popcorn so not too worried.. I bought a stainless steel whirley pop type popper and we go thru the popcorn as popcorn. but I have put popped popcorn thru my food processor and mixed it with bread crumbs(I was low one night) and coated pork chops with it and that is a nice flavor.

I think some people grind popcorn to avoid GMO cornmeal. I gather that, though most corn these days is either straight up GMO corn, or contaminated by wind drift, popcorn is less likely to be (or, at least, that seems to be the perception). I bought a bag of organic dent corn a year or so ago, and use that. For all I know it is also contaminated, but its the best I can do, as I haven't room to grow my own (and that is no guarantee either anymore).
I have also found that a long rise for bread does good things to he final loaf; one of the reasons why sourdough can be so good, as a long rise is unavoidable

 

[baymule]

OH YEAH! OH YEAH!!! I GOT MY OVEN!!! I HAD IT INSTALLED!!! :bun

 

[frustratedearthmother]

AWESOME! Congrats!

 

[Emerald]

Whoo HOO!! and YAY! nothing like a new oven/stove!

 

[Hinotori]

Oh my that looks so good!

 

[Wannabefree]

That looks gooooood! Glad you got your new oven!

 

[baymule]

It WAS good! I milled hard white wheat, and used quinoa, oatmeal and cornmeal in the bread. I spread strawberry fig preserves on it and feasted! I am very well pleased with my Family Grain Mill and will put it to good use. Last night I made pot pie with leftover pork roast, lime chess pie, and made the crust for both with 2 cups store bought white flour and 1 cup of my milled white wheat flour. Yummy! And the crust was flaky and had a "crunchy" texture.

 

[KnittyGritty]

Baymule, thanks for posting this about the grain mill you bought. I had kind of decided on the Blendtec, but was uncomfortable about it being only electric. I looked at the Family Grain Mill and saw that they have a manual hand grinder, so I've decided to get that, with the option of later getting the motor attachment if I feel it's needed. I don't use flour on a daily basis; I mainly use it to make sourdough once or twice a month, so I think I can afford the time it will take to hand-grind several cups of flour. Thanks for steering me in the right direction!

 

[baymule]

Baymule, thanks for posting this about the grain mill you bought. I had kind of decided on the Blendtec, but was uncomfortable about it being only electric. I looked at the Family Grain Mill and saw that they have a manual hand grinder, so I've decided to get that, with the option of later getting the motor attachment if I feel it's needed. I don't use flour on a daily basis; I mainly use it to make sourdough once or twice a month, so I think I can afford the time it will take to hand-grind several cups of flour. Thanks for steering me in the right direction!

If you buy the motor attachment, the hand crank comes with it! So you can use the motor and if the power goes off, you have the hand crank as a backup. We get hurricanes here and are without power for 1-3 weeks at a time. Bread is the first thing to fly off the shelf, so being able to make my own comes in handy. of course, my oven is electric, but flour tortillas over a backyard fire or bbq pit are delicious!