Why You Should Mill Your Own Flour From Wheat Berries

if you mill your own, you KNOW what is in it.

Most, if not all purchased flours (including organic) have various things added to them. Way back when, maybe in the fifties, governments in North America and most (if not all) “civilized” countries, decided that many folks were nutrient deficient in Iron, some B vitamins, and some other stuff. Laws were passed that these then must by law be added to flour. Thinking was, stuff those nutrients in. Laws still in effect today, etc.

Problem is (as I see it). ..those nutrients were determined on basis of that loaf of bread (way back) being a major part of the daily food. Sometimes all the daily food. Levels of nutrients, were assessed on that basis. Maybe that was the case, maybe not. But not so much these days. Imagine the toxic overload of say Iron, if the amounts were ingested today were likely many times what is “safe”. (the body really has no easy way to get rid of excess iron, and problems occur). Today, folks who eat bread, very unlikely they eat one slice, a day…Say toast for breakfast, sandwhich for lunch, bun with supper….Iron levels were determined way back likely based on one or two slices. Then, of course, keep in mind, that iron is in cereals, anything which uses bought flour, etc…Big overload.

If you can, make your own. Healthier.

………………………………………………..Azodicarbonamide………………………………………….
is a flour bleaching agent and dough conditioner use in the USA in commercial breads.
It is also called “the Yoga mat chemical” as it is used in foam plastics.
Most all other countries have Banned It for use in or around food. The USA of course has not.
Subway stopped putting it in their bread. McDonalds did not, along with many other businesses.
The additive can cause allergies and asthma etc to flair up.
We humans are so soft that many of us cannot fathom a healthier bread with a bit of substance. It must be soft and white with no flavor and little life source.
So why would it be good to make your own bread?

I nearly bought a hand powered mill a couple of years ago. Then again, about 6 months ago I researched and came to the same conclusion on which one to buy. I’m embaresed to admit, I didn’t buy one then either.

Amazon had the wondermill Jr. but wanted $500 plus for it. Searched online and finally found one for 225. It arrived yesterday. My procrastination cost me approx. $50 for not buying it back when. I hurt my leg, trying to kick my own a$$. (not really)

I’m sure there is a learning curve. It’s still sitting in the garage, in the box. A couple of days sitting in front of the window should kill any cooties. Sometimes I’m such a dim bulb!!!!!!!!

So glad I bought my old school hand crank grinder and wheat berries a few years ago. I’m not much of a cook…but I can follow instructions. There is a sense of ease knowing it is there if I need it

Ken, good article especially when I clicked on the recipe and read the comments from 1 year ago with no mention of corona virus, oh how good we had it back then.😶

We have wheat berries stored from the LDS Online Store. We also have a Wonder Jr. and a hand-crank grain mill. We have a bread machine. If I want a sandwich loaf, I will use my USA pan. I got the one with the lid that slides on for even cooking. Beans and rice, along with a loaf of bread is good eatin’.

DH tells me today there is NO unbleached flour available at 3-4 different local stores……so GLAD we have our own buckets of wheat and a hand mill….guess our planning is about to pay off. YAY

Been hand grinding Wheat Berries for a few years.
I’m done, I bought a nice Commercial Duty mill today (through Ken’s amazon link of course).
Getting wayyyyy to old for that manual work as much.
But YESSSSS going to keep the old-un, JIC we get fried with an EMP.

BTW, once ya had fresh ground, ya wont go back. Sour Dough with fresh ground, a SLAB of REAL butter and a smothering of homemade Apricot Jam OMG
Then wash it down with a nice cup of Ginger Tea…….. Any Questions?

Answering the question in the title of “why?”:

Answer: Because it tastes sooooo good!

We made 2 loaves of Ezekiel Bread using hand ground ingredients, such as wheat, spelt, beans, millet, barley and more. It makes a hearty and delicious bread that seems like a meal all in itself! In our household it doesn’t last long.

I have a horse of a hand mill — it’s the Country Living Mill. It’s cast iron and mounted on our island.
The mill used to be available via Lehman’s, but no longer. Now you order direct from countrylivinggrainmills dot com. Lehman’s has other mills but I don’t know anything about other brands.

I was given an electric mill by the owner of an organic food place where I’d buy my 50# bags of wheat berries. It was sooo noisy that I gave it to my mom. lol I like the quiet grinding sound of my hand mill. It’s an awesome machine.

I’ve made bread for decades and a few years ago, I followed Ken’s advise and got the Zojirushi bread machine (via Amazon) — it makes rectangular loaves. I’ve given that machine a crazy workout, and been very pleased with it.

In our new world, I think that most of us will be making our own breads. It’s exciting to make something ‘from scratch’ that’s so basic, yet so nutritious and aromatic.

I usually use my Nutrimill for grinding. Although I did purchase a Country Living Grain Mill for back up last year (and so glad I did). Also, although I have hard red wheat stocked on hand, I prefer the hard white wheat for bread. I also finally purchased Soft White Wheat for baking this past year. OMGosh! It is wonderful for baked goods!

For bread I am a total fan of Jim Lahey’s recipe and book “My Bread.” Old world style, mix up the night before, bake in the morning. Uses only 1/4 teaspoon of yeast. Fantastic!

He also has “The Sullivan Street Bakery” cookbook. Deliciousness. Sigh. I’ll be in the kitchen now……..

I have used a kitchen aid grain grinder attachment for decades. It’s stainless steel, has a turn knob for grade and it is easy to use. For peasant bread, which we like, one trip thru the grinder and it’s done. For finer flour I have to put it thru two or three times depending on the grade of flour I want. Wondermills are truly wonderful, but could never afford to get one.

Love my Grain Maker made in Montana.

We now have a hand grinder produced out of Utah, picked it up during Christmas time from flour mill. Had been looking at it for years, but finances did not allow the purchase. We have an electric grinder which works well but I take it out side to run, it is loud. Sounds like a jet engine preparing to take off, so I also wear an ear noise cancelling head set. The fine flour mist that comes off this machine is better done outside, easier clean up…lol. NO cleaning up, let mother nature take care of that for me.

Use the flour for making cookies when time allows.

My wife has been milling our own flour for years… that along with a nice bread machine keep us in yummy, yummy carbs all the time. It really does make a difference.

So we bought the junior wonder mill. We took Ison’s advice and used our credit card to fill in the gaps. We put it together and got it going. After grinding the 1 pound throw away wheat berries, we decided to try a loaf of bread. 3 days later we finally had enough for a loaf of French bread! It was real good. We then packed it up and stored it away for when the electric is off. We use our vitamix for quick loaves of bread and we don’t have to wait 3 days to grind enough for a loaf.

Home ground whole wheat raisin bread for breakfast. It will really stick with you. (And add a few pound)

Once you’ve got your mill and wheat add oats, rye berries and dent or flint corn to your grain supply. Oat groats lightly toasted then milled into a very coarse meal will cook up into the best oat porridge you’ve ever had. Rye makes one of the most vigorous starters for use when commercial yeast isn’t available. Cornbread made with freshly milled corn and wheat is its own reward.

Being a “Southern Boy” we don’t eat much wheat bread. Now Corn Bread or Biscuits? yup!