S/O- What to do w/ a grain mill?

[StrangeTraveller]

(not sure where this should go...feel free to move it)

My MIL bought me a grain mill for our wedding 3 yrs ago. I never used it. I actually went to buy wheat berries this week, but they cost more per lb (I buy bulk) than flour. I make all of our breads and tortillas and such, so I tho't I'd look into it before giving up completely. What I read confused me even more. It said that commercial grains aren't as good for you as freshly milled grains (does that count for my bulk flour in the health food store, too?) and that 12 c of berries turns into 20 c of flour (does that make it cheaper to buy the berries, even tho they are more expensive?). But, then I read stuff about soaking "it" (the grains or the flour??) and that it was harder to make bread with freshly milled flour and that you should add white flour into it. Now I'm all confused. Is it really worth it? Is it going to burn me out on making bread?? :banghead $100-150 would be HUGE for us right now.

[rosesnsnails]

It said that commercial grains aren't as good for you as freshly milled grains (does that count for my bulk flour in the health food store, too?) This is true. You don't know how long the flour has been milled and it starts to deteriorate. Flour just doesn't last long. It starts to become rancid sitting their on the shelf.

12 c of berries turns into 20 c of flour (does that make it cheaper to buy the berries, even tho they are more expensive? I'm trying to find a conversion chart to see if that ratio is correct, but I know that it is something like that for the rice that we mill (we are gluten free).

http://www.bakingdelights.com/2007/05/20/freshly-ground/
http://www.milkandhoneyfarm.com/sales/mill.html

This was the only conversion ratio that I could find:
150 grams (.652 cups) of wheat berry = 1 cup of flour

So for a little over half a cup of wheat berry, you get a cup of flour.

[Forsynthianicki]

My mom has used a grain mill for over 30 years. She buys her wheat from some kind of a co-op in 50lb bags which is much cheaper than paying per lb in the grocery store. You just have to keep the berries cool and dry and they last for a long time. You do get more flour than the grain that you put in but I don't know the ratio for wheat. I know it varies depending on the type of grain you are grinding. When I grind regular white rice, two cups of rice yields just less than three cups of flour. We are gluten free and so we use our mill to grind our own gluten free flours from gluten free grains and beans. It takes a few more minutes but fresh flour really does make a difference in baked goods. All flour can go stale after being milled, especially whole grain flour so just mill what you will use within a short amount of time and store it in the fridge or freezer. At nearly $4 a loaf for good bread, milling your own flour can save money in the long run.

[StrangeTraveller]

At nearly $4 a loaf for good bread, milling your own flour can save money in the long run.

But, I'm making my own bread anyway. The flour is like .59 a lb and thew berries are more like .79-.99/lb. Right now, I've got to keep budget as one of my top priorities. Basically, what I'm doing is the cheapest, easiest healthiest options available. So, store-brand white bread may be the cheapest and easiest, but it's not the healthiest. My bread recipe is simple, so it is easy and cheap to make healthy bread. I'm seeing that milled flour would be healthiest, but would it really be cheaper and easier than with my bulk flour? I don't have a place to store wheat berries, either.

I'm afraid I'll get burned out making bread if it is a pain to make with milled flour. And do I have to mix it with commercial white flour anyway?

:pacing

[Punkie]

What kind of berries were you looking at? Whole Foods carries organic red winter wheat (the kind you use for yeast bread) for around 45 cents/lb. They give a 10% discount if you buy the whole bulk bag (50lbs).

Its certainly not any more difficult to use fresh milled rather than stuff out of a bag, since you just switch on the machine and brush it off when its done. The flour is a lot finer and easier to work with, IMO. I toss mine into my kitchenaid, but it is easy to hand knead as well. I don't need to mix it with commercial flour, although I used to mix the commercial wheat with commercial white because the commercial wheat is too... well, grainy. The home ground stuff is much more soft and fine.

Of course, if you don't want it then I'm sure you wouldn't have any trouble selling it. I know they go really fast on craigslist. IMO commercial flour could never even start to compare to freshly ground though.

[StrangeTraveller]

we don't have a whole foods, just a local cooperative. there were several kinds of berries, but the cheapest was .79, I think. so, if i buy 10 lbs of berries, it will make more flour than if i bought 10 lbs of commercial flour?

do you soak them? what is that all about?

[Mert]

so, if i buy 10 lbs of berries, it will make more flour than if i bought 10 lbs of commercial flour?
Yes, it's almost double but not quite that much. That's been my experience and what I read from a pp as well.


do you soak them? what is that all about?

I think that there are some who soak all their grains before eating them (like folks who follow Maker's Diet and Nourishing Traditions). In the scheme of the world, I think it's a pretty small percentage of folks, and it's certainly not something that you have to do to make bread from fresh ground flour. I've never done it, and I make bread and bagels all the time. ~HTH

[StrangeTraveller]

OK..so it *is* cheaper and almost as easy and lots healthier.

I think part of me was wanting to hear that it was going to be a pain or cost about the same. We could really, really use the money that I could sell it for. Like, exactly that amount is what we needed. :sigh But, if it is healthier for my family and easier on my budget, it'd probably be silly to get rid of it..

[Mert]

It sounds like the system you have is really working for you! Maybe God has other plans for that $$. Sometimes when the $ amounts match up like that, we take a little extra time to ponder and pray about the situation... just to see if it's a "God-incidence".

BTW, do you make all your bread-stuff by hand? I will be thoroughly impressed if you are. I'd be lost without my machine. Even if I don't make a loaf of bread, the machine does all the kneading and rising for me. :shifty

[StrangeTraveller]

BTW, do you make all your bread-stuff by hand? I will be thoroughly impressed if you are. I'd be lost without my machine. Even if I don't make a loaf of bread, the machine does all the kneading and rising for me.

Yeah, I make it by hand, but it's not as impressive as it sounds, I think..LOL..The recipe that I've got is so simple it's ridiculous: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=5716 I just put up pics on my xanga, xanga.com/thecratpack. Tortillas are a pain, but so worth it. My next goal is crackers.

It sounds like the system you have is really working for you! Maybe God has other plans for that $$. Sometimes when the $ amounts match up like that, we take a little extra time to ponder and pray about the situation... just to see if it's a "God-incidence".

I'm gonna talk to DH and really pray about it. :nails

[Mert]

Yeah, I make it by hand, but it's not as impressive as it sounds, I think..LOL..The recipe that I've got is so simple it's ridiculous: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=5716 I just put up pics on my xanga, xanga.com/thecratpack. Tortillas are a pain, but so worth it. My next goal is crackers.

Wow... that's a great recipe!! Your pictures are very nice, too. So, about these crackers... Are you going to use a similar recipe with yeast? So they'd be kinda like saltines? This sounds very interesting to me!!

[StrangeTraveller]

:think I hadn't decided on a recipe yet. I'm hoping for one just as easy :giggle I'd love to have some homemade saltines in labor. DH likes crunchy, flavorful crackers (read: wheat thins), so I might try something like that, too. We're going on vacation Friday, so it'll hafta wait until we get back.

[Blue Savannah]

You might also check any grocery stores in the area that carry bulk foods. I get organic hard white winter wheat (also good for yeast bread, but a "lighter" flavor that my dh doesn't gripe about ;)) at our local Fred Meyer. I paid .45/lb plus 10% off.

[TuneMyHeart]

I personally think fresh flour makes much better tasting bread than store bought. DH never liked my homemade whole wheat bread with store bought flour, but he loves it with fresh flour. It's completely different, IMO. :)

[hink4687]

I'm pretty sure if you soak the grains you can't grind them. I know I was confused about that when I first started grinding wheat too and I think that was the answer I finally got. I would definitely just pray about it...you definitely wouldn't have a hard time selling it that's for sure.

[Amber]

I'm pretty sure if you soak the grains you can't grind them. I know I was confused about that when I first started grinding wheat too and I think that was the answer I finally got. I would definitely just pray about it...you definitely wouldn't have a hard time selling it that's for sure.

I grind the grain first, then soak it overnight before making bread.

I get my wheat berries from Bob's Red Mill, and it is way cheaper than the flour I used to buy.