How to Grind Different Grains Into Flour

Store-bought flour can leave a lot to be desired. Have you ever researched exactly what happens to turn whole wheat grain into the pale, satin-smooth dust that you buy in those paper cuboids?Nutritionally speaking, it ain’t pretty.

经过粉碎、加热、筛选、漂白、氧化，喷洒政府批准的在加工过程中去除的近似营养物质，并连续储存数周后，白面粉在食物价值方面并没有多大用处。对于那些希望改善饮食、减少生活方式中的消费浪费的人来说，谷物研磨机可能是通向更好的烘焙、更健康的饮食和产生更少浪费的门票。

We have an earlier article that goes much deeper intowhy you should consider grinding your own flour, and you can read it here. But what happens when youget that mill, manual or otherwise, and are ready to go about making flour happen? I realized that talking about the“how” is as important as the “why” in this regard, and would like to share the tips and tricks I’ve learned from five years of grinding my own flour.

The facts about the following grains are my own conclusions for specific grains I’ve milled. I suspect they are universal, but there’s a chance the results may vary if you use a different mill than the Country Living Manual Grain Mill that I use. Regardless, I will describe what it feels like to grind each grain (an important detail when things are done by arm power alone), what kind of flour results, and the characteristics of the end product.

For the few out there who have their own Luddite sort of bent and also grind their own flour, I hope this article helps with your own experimentation and discovery.

The Milling Process

碾磨小麦(或其他谷物)是一个非常简单的过程。拿种子，以某种方式粉碎，收集成粉末。尽管我们用日益现代化的各种房屋来装饰它，但谷物磨坊实现的目标与几个世纪前的马诺斯和米特斯、plumping mills或querns一样。

My manual mill crushes seeds between two milling plates: one static and one rotated by arm power. Based on the proximity of the plates, the resulting powder can be silky fine, as coarse as cornmeal, or so chunky the seeds are just fractured. That level of customization allows you to make any range of bakery from toothsomely tender cupcakes to, heartychewy Vollkornbrot.

And if you find achieving a fine grind to be challenging on the first processing, you can send the flour through the mill a second time on a finer level.

In some older homesteading books I’ve read, you’ll often be instructed to sift and discard the heavier bran and germ, resulting in flour that is the closest approximation to home-ground white flour. I personally don’t understand why you would go through the trouble of grinding your own flour, only to strip it of the most healthful elements. I think these steps are vestiges of inherited expectations, and best ignored. Therefore, I strongly recommend omitting this step and consuming the flour as whole grain, retaining the beneficial oils and nutrients that come from fresh-ground grains in their entirety. The more you work with whole grain flour, the more you’ll understand its nuances, and the less of an “issue” the texture will be in the long run. Your good health will thank you.

7 Types of Whole Grains to Try

So all that said, let’s explore some nuances of different whole grains that you might load into your hopper.

Hard Red Wheat

This is the grain that I grind the most. It is the backbone for the majority of my bakery and is the bulk of the daily sourdough loaves I make through winter. The grains are a rich, caramel brown with a hint of red, and they often have a matte sort of sheen to them.

In the mill, hard red wheat grits through the milling plates with a satisfying grip. Since the seeds are so hard, they feel like they’re fracturing.

Hard red wheat flour contains ample protein, so it can form a springy bread dough all on its own. I prefer this wheat for making leavened bread, various types of flatbread, whole-wheat pasta, and dumpling dough.

Soft White Wheat

Soft white wheat looks positively marshmallowy when compared to hard red wheat. The grains are pale tan, plump, and lack any shine whatsoever.

In the mill, soft white wheat whispers and slithers past the plates with an almost oily feeling. The seeds feel like they’re being smushed, rather than fractured, and the flour output is much slower than with harder grains. You’ll have to do a lot more turns with the flywheel to get flour to flow.

Soft white wheat contains less protein, resulting in a tender, refined crumb. Though I find grinding this wheat to be frustrating, once I finally put my nose to the literal grindstone and power through a few cups, I find it superior for pastries and treats. It makes for good pie crusts, flaky biscuits, and tender pancakes. Take note, though: If you try to use it for stronger doughs such as noodles, you’ll be disappointed.

Rye

Rye grain is a grayish-brown seed, more elongated than wheat, with pointed ends and a slightly malty aroma. It results in bakery that has a distinctively grayish-brown color, often emphasized by the addition of molasses, or in less honest baking, food coloring.

在磨坊里，黑麦研磨得极其缓慢。它的速度和软白小麦一样慢，这意味着你会感觉你比硬红小麦转动的轮子多10倍。然而，紫灰色的粉末通常是丝滑的。

Rye flour acts completely different from wheat flour, resulting in extremely moist, sticky dough. If ever you’ve tried to knead a 100% rye loaf, you’ll understand why most traditional rye breads call for long fermentation and little to no kneading. It clings, cloyingly to skin.

当面包师理解黑麦面粉的细微差别时，它的烘焙效果会非常棒。简单地说，黑麦面粉的化学成分使得它在烘焙后会变成糊状——这是它与小麦粉不同的地方。For those interested, a far more scientific explanation is offered on page 34 of Daniel Wing and Alan Scott’s excellent book“The Bread Builders”). Because of this characteristic, rye adds a moist chewiness to breads. I confess that soaked rye flour is my secret ingredient for chewy, low sugar, whole-grain brownies. Before I made them with rye flour, they always came out chokingly dry. With rye, they are nearly as chewy as their over sugared “normal” counterparts.

Barley

Barley is a pale tan grain, similar in appearance to soft, white wheat. Like white wheat, it slips through the mill. I typically blend a 50:50 mix of barley and hard red wheat when using it for bread flour or any other dough, giving me the health benefits of a multigrain mix without the frustration of slow grinding.

Brown Rice

Brown rice grinds crisply through a mill, cracking apart with the same satisfying snap as hard red wheat. It results in a gritty powder that is excellent for porridge mixes. And if you’re finding yourself shelling out the big bucks for gluten-free brown rice flour, you can grind your own for pennies on the dollar.

Millet

尽管在美国，鸟类对小米的消费可能比人类更多，但小米是一种营养丰富、美味可口的种子，应该出现在更多的餐桌上。小米的种子比你要磨的大多数其他谷物都要小，所以你必须确保盘子比平时更紧。也就是说，它们运行在频谱的较硬的一端，并且很容易通过磨机。

Millet flour contains no gluten, so you’ll need to either add a binder (such as eggs) to your batters and doughs, or mix it with a gluten-containing flour. I personally enjoy adding millet flour to bakery — it caramelizes crusts to a honey-brown and adds a pleasant nuttiness.

Sorghum

Sorghum is a grain that deserves a lot more attention than it gets. Usually labeled as “milo” and used as birdseed or livestock feed (though my chickens seem to hate it), it rarely makes it indoors. But when ground and added to a recipe, it contributes a special sweetness and malt that adds a special something to your finished goods.

Sorghum contains no gluten, so you’ll need to treat it like cornmeal in terms of bread production. Either mix it with a gluten-containing flour, or use eggs as a binder. I’ve also noticed that sorghum has a unique “stickiness” when included in porridge. No matter how gently I cook it, any porridge containing sorghum flour seems to burn to the bottom of the pan. Some traditional African sorghum porridge recipes compensate for this by fermenting the seeds, cooking them whole, then grinding the cooked, hot seeds into a porridge consistency.

General Tips for Grinding Flour

Here are some best practices when it comes to grinding your grains into flour.

Always Give Your Grain a Once-Over Before Filling the Hopper

I assume that most folks grinding their own grain are buying it in bulk, and as with all bulk goods, it is easy for foreign material to ride along with the grains: weed seeds, gravel, or bits of sticks or insects. Of all those possibilities, gravel is the most likely and worst ingredient to accidentally send through the grinder. It makes a horrible gritting sound through the milling plates, may damage the mill, and sends sandy bits into the flour you were processing. After you’ve experienced a very gritty loaf or super sandy pancake, you’ll never want to repeat the ordeal.

Thankfully, it’s easy to screen your grain. Simply measure out the amount you need for the day on a baking sheet one cup at a time. Shake the sheet while scanning, and any alien bits will immediately become apparent. Sorting 4 cups of wheat sounds like a big task, but can be accomplished quickly if you can inspect them in a single layer.

Soak Your Flour the Night Before Baking

全谷物通常比白面粉吸收更多的水分，但速度要慢得多。这意味着，如果你按照传统的白面粉配方和你的家庭面粉混合，它可能在你混合的时候看起来很好，但在你烘焙的时候会太干。

所以，如果你想做煎饼、粥或任何其他潮湿类型的面包店，我强烈建议在前一天晚上把谷物泡在水里。这不仅能使谷物发酵，提高消化率，改善风味，还能使面粉完全水分化，从而得到更有质感的成品。把多余的水倒掉，继续你的食谱。你可能需要改变比例，减少添加液体，或添加更多的新鲜面粉来达到正确的比例，但坚持下去——很快，你就会有自己的秘诀了。

If you don’t have time for an overnight soak, let the dough or batter rest for 15 minutes before cooking or baking it. Then, give it a stir. You’ll likely find that it needs more milk or water to be the right consistency.

Store the Bulk Grain in Food Grade 5-Gallon Buckets With Gamma Seal Lids for Easy Access

I’ve mentioned these lids a few times in my articles, and it’s because I find them so useful. Keeping bulk grains in the paper bags they were shipped in is asking for accidental spills and rodent infestations. Instead, transfer them to a well-labeled fortress made from a food grade 5-gallon bucket that’s fitted with a moisture proof, pest-proof lid. Store your buckets in a convenient back room or closet, and you’ll always have what you need to keep that hopper filled and the gears-a-turning.

Only Grind What You Need for the Day

Freshly ground, whole grain flours are full of healthful oils from the germ of their seeds. These elements are precious, but short-lived. Once ground, they can go rancid in as little as a week, particularly in higher fat seeds such as rye. Though some folks freeze and refrigerate their fresh flour, I find it far more sensible to put my figurative nose to the literal grindstone and go through the “daily grind” for my bakery needs.

Actually Use Your Mill

我知道这听起来像是一个荒谬的结束，但我遇到了四个不同的家庭，他们都承认拥有一个手工磨，但只有一个使用它。我用的磨坊是在eBay上以超级折扣买的，因为它是旧的，但当它到达时，它是崭新的状态，仍然用泡沫塑料包装。I imagine that a lot of folks buy a mill with excellent intentions, but end up putting it in storage when the reality of grinding the entirety of a family’s flour stops being fun.

事实是，磨所有你需要的面粉是一项艰巨的任务。每天都要花时间，有时候当有太多事情要做的时候，感觉真的很累人。但这也不是什么大问题。一旦你认为磨碎一块面包所需的4杯咖啡大约需要15分钟，这就不再是一件苦差事，而是一件正常的事情。当事情变得正常，它们开始以自然的方式融入你的生活。我发现在平静的前一天晚上磨面粉，大大减少了早上的繁忙压力，而且作为奖励，给了我一个完美的机会来记住隔夜泡面粉。

Now, if there are any other peasant-minded folks (like me) who also grind their own flour, I’ll bet you’ve got your own tips, tricks, and experiences to share. Please enrich our community and either share your advice or drop your questions below. We’d love to hear from you.