Why I Mill My Own Flour | Home-Milled is Better

There are many reasons why I mill my own flour. The health benefits, the flavor, and the cost effectiveness all top the list.

Years ago, I was on a mission to find the most nutritious, whole foods for our meals. Store-bought flour or commercial flour is not very healthy at all, I found out in my research.

I went down a rabbit hole and at the end decided whole grains were one of the most important foods we can eat!

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To be honest, my love of fresh ground flour has been renewed of late. I have actually been using fresh flour by milling my own grains for years.

While grinding your own grain for fresh milled flour has a learning curve, it is totally worth the time and investment.

I purchased a book all about milling your own flour and learned things I had no idea about.

With this new found knowledge, I started doing more research and realized there was a lot I hadn’t found before when I first started the milling process.

I wasn’t eating enough bread??

Recently, I learned that I definitely have not been eating enough whole grains throughout my day.

I only have 2-3 servings a day and for a woman that is under the recommended amount.

What I have found when I increase my intake of whole grains is that my tummy feels much better, I feel full longer after meals, and my energy increases.

I know, I know, for years now bread has been villainized, however, when made properly with freshly milled whole grain flour, bread is actually one of the healthiest foods out there!

Not only are whole grains more filling, they are vital in a well balanced diet and adding them to my diet has been a game changer.

All Purpose Flour Problems

I think it is important to say that all purpose flour and bread flour are fairly new in our world.

The problem with it is that to make it shelf stable, all of the beneficial parts of the wheat berry are removed.

Essentially, you are only getting starch and gluten with white flour.

Imagine all of the fiber, oil, and nutrients just being removed. It doesn’t make sense.

For whole wheat flour from the grocery store, it starts out as all-purpose flour and they add a bit of the bran and germ back in.

Meaning, it’s still not as healthy as flour that has been milled fresh and used right away.

Bread in the Bible

I started my research and was quickly led to the Bible on the matter. Let’s remember, Jesus said, “I am the BREAD of life”.

This statement alone should tell us that bread is not a bad thing.

There are so many references in the bible about bread. It was a staple food that was held at a high level of importance.

There is a reference that you should never take a man’s millstone as surety, because then you would be taking his livelihood.

Bread was that important!

With this in mind, my next part of the research focused on how foods were prepared and what foods were eaten most in the Bible.

I found it so fascinating how they made their daily breads. There were times it was necessary to eat unleavened bread and there were times they ate leavened bread.

Different types of old yeast

I wanted to find out what their leavening agents were. Obviously, they didn’t have active dry yeast, yet. But, did they use Sourdough?

After a lot of research, I was able to find out a few different sources of yeast in ancient times.

First, there was a foamy substance called Barm. It would be on the top of something that was fermenting.

For example, in the process of making Ale, there would be barm on top of the vat. They would skim this off and use it as a leavener for their breads.

Next, they would take a small amount of flour and water and sit it aside for a few days to ferment.

They would mix up their dough and take a small piece off for the next batch of bread.

This small piece would be kept in a salt jar or an airtight container until it was time to mix up the next batch and they would continue this on and on.

I was just amazed at how they were able to figure out these sources of yeast. The Egyptians were said to believe that yeast was magic!

Let’s talk about Grain Mills

If you found all of this information interesting, you may be thinking, ” how do I get started milling my own flour?”

I’m glad you asked! You only need 2 things. A flour mill and wheat berries. Here is the grain mill I use: Nutrimill Classic Grain Mill

There are a few options when it comes to grain mills. One of my favorite types of grain mill is the Electric Implact Mill.

Manual Grain Mill

Hand mills are grain mills that are hand cranked. They require a lot of muscle to grind enough wheat berries to make flour.

However, they work well. They do not create the finest flour, but will do in a power outage or an off grid setting.

Electric Mill

There are 2 different types of electric mills: Stone Mill and Impact Mill.

I have use all of these options. In my opinion, the best grain mill option for a beginner is an Impact Mill.

The reason being is that they are incredibly easy to operate and make consistently fine flour for the best whole grain bread.

Let’s talk about Wheat Berries

There are basically 2 kinds of whole wheat berries: Hard and Soft. With these different types of grains come different applications.

Hard Wheat

Hard wheat is the best option for yeasted or sourdough breads. It is higher in protein and lower in moisture.

In this category, you have hard white and hard red.

There are also heritage and ancient hard wheat varieties.

Using ancient wheat is a bit different than using modern wheat, however they do offer even more health benefits.

Soft Wheat

Using soft wheat is better for pastries, biscuits, and pie crusts. Soft white wheat is great in these applications.

You can also get soft red wheat for a heartier fresh-milled flour.

Where to get whole wheat berries and how to store them

These are the wheat berries I use: Wheat Berries

They are packaged in a mylar bag and have a very long shelf life. These berries are very clean and of the highest quality.

If possible get organic grains.

Also, if you have access to local farmers wheat, that would an amazing choice!

Wheat berries are perfect for long-term storage.

If are stored properly can last up to 30 years! Which makes it a great pantry staple that you can stock up on.

At any given time, I have about 100 pounds of wheat berries on hand.

I recommend when first starting out, buy hard white wheat and hard red wheat.

You can combine wheat berries to make the most delicious loaves of bread!

Bread made with freshly milled flour is anything but bland! It is absolutely delicious and full of great nutrition!

In closing, I want to encourage you to do your own research. If you find that milling your own flour is something that interests you, my advice is just get started.

If all you have is a coffee grinder, start grinding and adding this fresh flour to your baked goods.

I think you will find the taste is amazing and you will start feeling the benefits right away.

Our health is directly linked to our diet.

So, doesn’t it make sense to eat the most healthy foods available?

I think so and I hope I have convinced you to look further into this.