Why I Mill My Own Flour

Years ago, I was on a mission to find the most nutritious, whole foods for our meals. I went down a rabbit hole and at the end decided whole grains were one of the most important foods we can eat! I want to share with you, in depth, why I mill my own flour, and what you need to get started on this path!

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To be honest, my love of freshly milled flour has been renewed of late. 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 have 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!

I think it is important to say that all-purpose flour is 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 store bought whole wheat flour, 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.

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!

What you need to get started milling your own flour:

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 grain mill and wheat berries. Here is the grain mill I use: https://collabs.shop/rxide2

The wheat berries I use: https://amzn.to/3P3JoqO They are packaged in a mylar bag and have a very long shelf life. These berries are very clean and of the highest quality.

A grain mill is definitely an investment. However, in the long run, it will be well worth it.

Wheat berries that 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.

The type of wheat berry you choose to use is up to you. I recommend when first starting out, buy hard white wheat and hard red wheat. You can combine them 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!

I hope this post will get you thinking about this super healthy food!

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.