If you're like me, to buy the idea, let alone reality can be very intimidating to a mill. I am determined to raise a healthy size food storage and wheat is an important part in this game. I am "store what you eat and eat what you store" is also a fan of the mantra. It 'was immediately clear to me that I need to do some serious investigation to find all the secrets of "grain mills" or "mills" as officially unveil necessarycalled. With the help of Internet research, some hands on research at several nearby houses and several failed attempts in the kitchen, I've come up with a fairly accurate summary of what you need to know.
Types of Wheat Grinders
Manual Wheat Grinder
Pro
Economic It can be used without a power source Small shop
Against
SLOW to grind (mine took 6 minutes to grind a cup of flour) In addition to the very high end models, you can grind a fineFlour Inconvenient (messy and difficult to fit in the large bowl)
KitchenAid Attachments
Pro
Less expensive than an electric grinder Small shop Easy to use and then mix the bread machine in the same
Against
I heard from several sources that these units will break the KitchenAid mixer Not so fast electric grinders to grind as
Electric Wheat Grinders
Pro
Grinds very quickly Useful for many types of cereals, beans, nuts,etc. Just select how coarse or fine grind, and has a wide range
Against
Very expensive, even for low-end models Must use a generator or battery without (if you're a high-end model that comes with a buy hand crank) An ideal device to keep in your kitchen
The prices of wheat grinders
Manual Wheat Grinder
Low: $ 20-30 models do not grind flour, coarse corn meal only, etc. is not very useful. Average: $ 75 - $ 175 is a goodPrice range. Back to Basics grain mill is $ 75. You can grind well enough for the flour, cake flour, but not for the very end. Wonder Junior is grinding to 169 dollars more expensive, but can be used in sweet flour. High: up to $ 400 for the Country Living mill. And 'faster than other hand-grinding and is able to grind fine flour cake.
KitchenAid Attachments
$ 100-120, some are used in a stand mixer.
Electric Wheat Grinders
Low: Under $ 200 for grinders, such as BlendtecGrain Mill. Its drawbacks are it is very noisy and cannot do very coarse grinds.
Medium: 0-0 can get you a great grinder. The two most popular electric grinders are the WonderMill and the NutriMill. In my tests I found the WonderMill to be faster, quieter, cleaner, and easier to store. And priced at 9 it is even cheaper than the NutriMill which is 9.
High: Over 0 is an unnecessary amount to spend in my opinion. There are heavy duty models out there but you can get the job done with the mid-range models.
How To Use Wheat Grinders
Manual Wheat Grinders
Attach wheat grinder to your counter top
Place a bowl underneath
Pour the wheat in the funnel
Turn the crank (for a LONG time)
Wheat will filter into the bowl below
Electric Wheat Grinders
Select how fine or coarse you want to grind
Turn on the machine
Pour the wheat in the top
Wait for it to grind into flour (super fast)
Turn off the machine and pull out your canister of wheat
How To Use Fresh Ground Whole Wheat
Whole wheat bread can be delicious! I have gone through a lot of recipes trying to find the perfect balance of flavor, nutrition, texture, etc. for my wheat bread. Experiment with different recipes and types of wheat until you find what your family prefers. We liked using hard white wheat in a recipe that included gluten and oatmeal.
Pancakes even your kids will love! I took an IHOP corn cakes recipe and simply swapped all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour and it was amazing. My kids ate 3 each at one meal. They are delicious drizzled with honey over top.
Whole wheat oatmeal cookies you can't resist. I haven't tried any of these recipes yet but several of my friends said they prefer whole wheat cookies to regular cookies. Who wouldn't want an excuse to make cookies, hey it's rotating your food storage.
Much much more. I grind up a large Tupperware full of hard white wheat flour and store it in my freezer (it retains the nutrients that way). Whenever I do any baking I replace half or all of the flour called for with my whole wheat flour. If it is as good or better I add that recipe to my food storage recipe binder. It's a great way to experiment until you find what works for you.
My Recommendations
Emergency-Only Usage
If you are planning to use your food storage and wheat grinder only if an emergency situation arises, it is not worth the expense and hassle of buying and storing an electric grinder. At a minimum you should get the Back to Basics Grain Mill but I would highly recommend splurging for the Wonder Junior.
Every-Day Usage
If you plan to "store what you eat and eat what you store" I highly recommend the WonderMill Grain Mill electric grinder. If you are not planning to find an alternative power source for an emergency situation, then eventually pick up a Back to Basics Grain Mill as well. The price of these two combined are still cheaper than high-end electric grinders that have a manual crank option, and the functionality of the WonderMill is better for frequent usage.
