How to Mill Your Own Flour at Home: A Complete Guide

Milling your own flour is an excellent way to take control of your baking. It ensures you get the highest nutritional value while enjoying the rich, fresh flavors of whole grains. Unlike store-bought flour, which can sit on shelves for months, fresh flour retains essential nutrients. It offers a taste that transforms homemade bread, pastries, and other baked goods. If you’re considering home milling, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know! From choosing the best grain mill to understanding different types of grains.

Why Mill Your Own Flour?

There are several reasons why home bakers choose to mill their own flour:

Health Benefits of Learning to Mill Your Own Flour

If I were going to make just one change to improve the health of my family, it would be switching to fresh milled, whole grain flour. Our culture has begun to think of flour as an empty calorie. And it’s kind of true when we’re consuming store-bought all-purpose flour. Store-bought flour, especially white flour and all-purpose flour, undergoes processing that strips away much of its nutritional value.

Freshly milled flour, on the other hand, retains essential nutrients. This includes fiber, vitamins, and minerals found in the wheat berry. It’s so not an empty calorie! Fresh milled flour

Better Flavor and Texture

Fresh flour has a fuller, more robust taste. Whether you’re making whole grain bread, rye bread, pasta, or pastries, fresh-milled flour enhances the flavor and texture of your baked goods.

Switching your family over to fresh milled, whole-wheat flour can be a bit of an adjustment. We’ve gotten so used to the light taste of white flour, and the way it performs. Without a doubt, whole wheat flour creates an end product that has a heartier taste and is denser. This can take some time to get used to but is so worth it!

Longer Shelf Life for Grains

Whole wheat berries and other grains have a long shelf life when stored in airtight containers at room temperature. Milling your own wheat means you can store grains in bulk and only mill what you need, ensuring freshness without the risk of flour going rancid.

Understanding the Wheat Berry: Three Essential Parts

A wheat berry consists of three main parts, each playing a crucial role in the nutritional value and texture of the flour:

1. The Bran – The outer layer of the wheat berry is rich in fiber, antioxidants, and B vitamins. It adds a hearty texture and nutty flavor to whole grain flour. When removed, as in white flour, much of the fiber and nutrients are lost.
2. The Germ – The nutrient-dense core of the wheat berry contains essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. The germ provides a boost of nutrition but also shortens the shelf life of freshly milled flour due to its natural oils.
3. The Endosperm – This is the largest portion of the wheat berry and primarily consists of starch and protein. White flour is made almost entirely from the endosperm, which is why it has a softer texture but lacks the nutrients found in whole grain flour.

By milling your own flour, you retain all three components, ensuring the maximum nutritional value in every cup of flour.

Freshly Milled Flour vs. Store-Bought Flour

The primary difference between store-bought wheat flour and freshly milled flour is how the wheat berry is processed. Commercially milled flour is often refined to extend its shelf life. During this process, the germ and bran are removed, leaving only the endosperm. While this increases the flour’s stability and prevents it from going rancid, it also strips away valuable nutrients and fiber.

How Store-Bought Whole Wheat Flour Is Made

Unlike home-milled whole grain flour, store-bought whole wheat flour is often made by refining white flour and then adding the bran back in. This process does not restore all the original nutrients of the wheat berry, as the germ is still removed to extend shelf life. Without the germ, store-bought whole wheat flour lacks the full range of vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats found in freshly milled flour. While it still offers more fiber than white flour, it does not provide the same nutritional benefits as truly whole grain flour made at home.

Freshly milled flour, on the other hand, contains all parts of the wheat berry, providing better nutritional value and flavor. However, because the germ contains natural oils, freshly milled flour has a shorter shelf life and should be used quickly or stored in airtight containers to preserve freshness.

Choosing the Best Grain Mill to Mill Your Own Flour

There are several types of flour mills available for home use. Each has its own pros and cons:

Electric Mills

I’ve been using an electric grain mil for almost a decade now, and it’s the hardest working piece of equipment in my kitchen. Electric mills, such as the Nutrimill Harvest Series and The Nutrimill Classic Grain Mill, are a great option for home bakers who need to produce fresh flour quickly and efficiently. They require little effort and can grind larger quantities of grain into fine flour, making them ideal for those who bake frequently. I love that I can keep my mill handy on my counter and easily grind a little flour for a batch of whole wheat pancakes, or enough for six loaves of bread.

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The other advantage of electric mills is that they can grind wheat into a very fine flour that creates softer bread and more tender pastries! One way to encourage your whole wheat flour to perform more like the white flour we’re so familiar with, is to grind it as finely as possible. The smaller pieces of bran are more palatable and create a lighter texture.

Hand Mills

Hand mills are a great choice for those who prefer a more traditional approach. They require physical effort but allow you to grind your own grains without electricity. These mills are often used for small batches or emergency preparedness.

Coffee Grinder or Food Processor

If you’re milling flour for the first time and aren’t ready to invest in a dedicated flour mill, you can use a coffee grinder or a food processor. While these methods won’t produce the same fine flour as a commercial flour mill, they are a great way to experiment with home milling.

Choosing the Right Grains for Milling

When selecting grains, consider what type of flour you want to produce. Here are some popular options:

Wheat Varieties

• Hard Red Wheat: High protein content, perfect for bread flour.
• Hard White Wheat: This is my personal favorite, and what I use almost exclusively. Milder in flavor, it’s easy to use and very versatile
• Soft White Wheat: Lower protein, ideal for pastries and cakes. If you want to keep a second type of wheat on hand, it’s a good idea to have a hard wheat for breads and a softer wheat for pastry.
• Durum Wheat: Used for pasta-making.

Ancient Grains and Alternative Flours

• Einkorn: One of the oldest cultivated grains, einkorn has a rich, nutty flavor and a lower gluten content, making it easier to digest while still producing delicious baked goods. It can be tricky to make bread with but is a good option if you are dealing with gluten sensitivities.
• Kamut: Known for its buttery flavor and high protein content, kamut flour is excellent for making hearty breads and pastas.
• Spelt: A versatile ancient grain with a slightly sweet and nutty taste, spelt flour is a great alternative for those looking to avoid modern wheat but still enjoy the benefits of whole grain flour. I love using spelt for pie crust and other pastries.
• Rye Berries: Used to make rye flour for rye bread.
• Rice Flour: A gluten-free option for baking.
• Other Alternative Flours: You can also mill quinoa, millet, and other ancient grains to create different types of grains for your recipes.

The Milling Process

Milling your own wheat is simple once you get the hang of it. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Select Your Grain: Choose your favorite grains from local sources, grocery stores, health food stores, or a local farmer.
2. Measure Your Grains: A cup of wheat berries yields about 1.5 cups of flour. However, the most accurate way to measure your berries is to use a scale. For example, if you need 240 grams of flour for a recipe, you will measure out 240 grams of wheat berries and simply run them through the mill. You will always end up with the same weight of flour as the weight of berries that you start with!
3. Set Up Your Mill: Whether you’re using an electric mill, hand mill, or another method, adjust the settings for the desired fineness. For the most part, I prefer a very fine flour for a softer end product and always grind my wheat on the finest setting.
4. Start Milling: Feed the grains into the mill and collect your freshly milled flour in a bowl.
5. Store the Flour: Use an airtight container to preserve freshness. Fresh-milled flour is best used immediately but can be stored at room temperature for short periods.

Buying Wheat Berries and Milling in Bulk

If you plan to mill flour regularly, purchasing wheat berries in bulk is the best option. Many home bakers buy pounds of wheat berries from sources like Amish stores, Azure Standard, or other health food stores. Storing grains in gallon buckets ensures they last a long time without losing their nutritional value.

Sifting Your Freshly Milled Flour to Make it More Like White Flour

Every now and then I want to bake something that’s lighter and fluffier and more like something that’s been made with white flour. Sunday morning biscuits, or an artisan pizza crust, or even a birthday cake! Sifting your freshly milled flour is a way to remove a good portion of the bran so that you can bake lighter pastries, or even a loaf of sourdough with a better gluten structure!

Read all about sifting your freshly milled flour HERE.

Conclusion

Milling your own flour is a rewarding process that gives you complete control over the quality and freshness of your ingredients. By choosing whole grains, storing them properly, and milling them as needed, you’ll enjoy healthier, more flavorful baked goods while saving money in the long run. Happy baking!

Whole Wheat Recipes with Fresh Milled Flour