flour mill recomendations

[Oregon Blues]

Under $120? Maybe you can find a used one.

I use The Kitchen Mill by Blendtec. It's electric and cost a lot more than $120.

I use it to make gluten free flour, which costs a packet if bought commercially. I can't buy rice flour ground fine enough to not be gritty, but my mill grinds it beautifully fine. Because of the cost of gluten free flour, my mill paid for itself very quickly. However, wheat flour is really cheap, so your only benefit is the much better taste when you grind your own.

I suggest that you not waste your money on any mill that will not grind fine enough with one pass. Chunky wheat flour would be pretty much unusable. If the mill won't grind fine on the first pass, it isn't going to get any better by sending the flour through again. The stones are set where they are set. They will grind so fine and no finer.

If the only thing you will ever grind is wheat, wheat is soft, small, and easy to grind, so a cheaper mill will do the job. If you ever plan to grind anything larger and tougher (like dried corn) you will need a mill with more power and stronger construction.

Your flour mill is not the place to try to save money.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

For a manual mill that can make flour in one pass that is relatively inexpensive I would suggest the Family Grain Mill.

You can find it here (among many other suppliers): http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/family_grain_mills.aspx

It comes in at $140 plus shipping which puts it pretty close to your needs. It's been around for a while and has a proven track record if you don't abuse it.

And if you get tired of cranking it you can order the motor to do it for you. One of the few mills around that really can be used either way.

 

[Niss]

Thanks for all the recomendations and advice! I do see the atvantages of the electric mills, but at this time I'm leaning toward the $140 Family Grain Mill. That said, if I can convince my husband whole grain is better flavor wise and nutritionally (he just doesn't like it, and not sifting the first batch I made in the food processor didn't help), we might invest in the Nutimill down the road. We've been doing alot of projects around the house and money is very tight at this point. I have a window guy coming today and the Husband has torn all the shingle siding off the front of the house in preperation to insulate and reside with 1/2 logs...sooo, that now HAS TO GET DONE...the two big picture windows in front leak a ton of air so we've wanted to do this for a long time, I guess I just need to be glad he has momentum! (He just finished rebulding our long neglected back steps and painting that porch).

 

[A.T. Hagan]

If he doesn't like the flavor of whole wheat then try using a 50/50 red and white wheat mix or even 100% white wheat. The bread comes out much lighter in color and taste. My family has settled on a 50/50 blend of hard red and hard white wheat as a compromise between the kids and my wife and I. Works for us.

Home milled flour acts differently in the bread making than even store bought whole wheat flour. Good bread can be made, but you have to work with it for a time to develop a method that works for you.