Are you:

• Just starting out?
• Riddled with questions?
• Confused by techniques?
• Need help troubleshooting?

One option is to come to a class.  On line or in the actual kitchen – we offer classes to help you get hands on, real time assistance with your whole grain questions and more.

Another options (while you’re waiting for the next local or online class notice) is to read through our Baking & Grains FAQs.  Here you will find questions that have been sent in by others and they may have been asking advice for  the same whole grain topic!

Hope you enJOY learning more about and using good wholesome whole grains. We’re here to help!

Whole grains are an excellent dietary vehicle for delivering health-promoting nutrients that you body needs.  These substances are found mainly in the bran and germ of the grain kernel.  Thus, milling and baking with whole grains, like wheat, rye and oats, ensures that you get all the vital nutrients that are essential for wellness.

By milling whole grains and baking your own whole grain food, you’re using all three parts of the grain: the bran, the germ and the endosperm. On the other hand, refined flour only utilizes the carbohydrate-rich endosperm.  The bran contains fiber and trace minerals such as calcium and magnesium.  The germ imparts essential fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins B and E. Whole grains are capable of reducing cholesterol levels and Type II diabetes. Your risks of cardio-vascular diseases and colon cancer are also significantly reduced.

Tips for Milling Your Whole Wheat Grains

Here are a few critical tips to gain the most from milling your whole wheat grains:

• Use wheat berries. Hulled whole wheat kernels are referred to as wheat berries. Purchase them from grain stores by the pound, depending on how much flour you intend to mill.

• Flour measurements. A pound of wheat berries will give you approximately 4½ cups of flour. Whereas a cup of the same will produce about 1¾ cups of flour. Excess wheat berries can be stored indefinitely at room temperature.

• Current flour use. Mill only as much of the wheat berries as necessary to make flour for immediate use. The oil content in the milled whole grain flour will turn rancid within 72 hours and does not keep well in the fridge.

• Soak whole wheat grain flour overnight. Soaking the flour overnight will neutralize phytic acid, an anti-nutrient, in the grain. Phytic acid, found in the bran, will bond with minerals like magnesium, calcium and iron, preventing their absorption in the digestive system. It then passes through the gastro-intestinal tract and is expelled from the body as waste.

The numerous practical implications of milling and baking with whole grains emphasize benefits to your health and wellness. You can reduce the risks associated with major diseases by harnessing the nourishing goodness of whole grains. Follow the tips for milling perfect whole wheat grains and keep healthy!

Grinder? Mill? Berry? Kernel?

Options abound when talking about what a whole grain is actually called. Some people call them berries, other folks call them kernels and still some of the whole grain foods are actually seeds. Not unlike the tiny jewel being called different names, what people call the apparatus that turns it in to whole grain flour also differs greatly yet means the same thing.

Terms used to describe a mill are often confusing. An electric grain mill is also called an electric grain grinder. An electric grain mill or electric grain grinder uses a steel burr rather than stone grind. A manual mill or a hand grinder is the same thing. It is one that requires no electricity but manual power to grind grain.

If you are interested in the freshest whole wheat flour (and other whole grain flours) you can get then you are likely looking in to home milling. No matter which one you call it, mill or grinder, investing in a home mill is the surest and more economical means to adding whole grain foods to your family’s diet.

For more information in comparison and grain mill reviews and finding grain mills for sale go to: http://www.comparegrainmills.com

You can also give us a call at Millers Grain House at 828.536.4988 and someone will be happy to answer your questions.

Nutrimill Grain Mill

In 2004, I bought our very first grain mill  and began a lifelong passion for freshly milled grains! Given my current state of domestic dysfunction, I was very unsure of what I was getting into and  doubted that I could even accomplish this task of home milling, but the features of the Nutrmill soon gave me the confidence to home mill our grains fresh and daily right in my kitchen. As a beginner, I chose the Nutrimill for a few very specific features.

The Nutrimill is very user friendly. It is compact in form and (thankfully) quite idiot proof. The grain hopper extender (which allows for a large quantities to be loaded without refilling) proved a step saver. The flour hopper can be removed with ease and the  indicators of YES or NO help me to avoid making a huge mess (when I read them as I should). The design of the machine keeps it from being an eye-soar if I leave it out of the cupboard.  After learning some of the particulars of the Nutrimill I learned to dust the rim inside with flour for easy lid removal and to listen for the change in motor sound to hear when the milling process was almost finished. The lifetime warranty and company support are both very impressive.

I highly recommend the Nutrimill for anyone who considers him/herself a novice in this journey in home milling.  If you’re starting to learn the skills needed for whole grain, fresh flour baking  the Nutrimill gives you the ease and convenience that is just about as easy as buying unhealthy, bags of flour. It gives you the benefits of the freshly milled whole grain in minutes. The speed and consistent outcome helps to make this a stable addition for a healthy kitchen.

It is likely that you will want to store quinoa in an airtight container and keep it refrigerated, because of its higher fat content. You will want to rinse Quinoa out very well in a fine meshed sieve or cheese cloth or rinse it at least three times in a bowl because it comes with a coating of a natural substance called saponin that can taste quite bitter if not removed by rinsing.

Quinoa cooks more quickly than most other whole grains and is ready to eat in roughly fifteen to twenty minutes. Quinoa prepared on its own makes a great side dish or it can be cooked with a little olive oil or butter and onion to make a pilaf. It’s also great in salads or as dressed up as a warm breakfast cereal. We like to add them to veggie wraps to boost the protein intake from a low fat source of whole grains.

Photo from Health Food Nation

Photo from The Quinoa Corparation

Couscous (pronounced kuskus or kooskoos) is a typical North African food that has become popular in many countries. Couscous is often confused with being a grain, but in fact is more of a pasta and not a whole grain at all. The couscous granules are made by rolling and shaping moistened semolina wheat, the same wheat from which most dry pastas are made. It is then coated them with finely ground wheat flour to assist in the tiny granules of pasta to keep from sticking.

Traditional couscous requires considerable preparation time and is usually steamed. In many places, a more-processed, quick-cook couscous is available and is particularly valued for its short preparation time. Couscous is traditionally served under a meat or vegetable stew. It can also be eaten alone, flavored or plain, warm or cold, or as a side dish.

If you thought you were eating a whole grain product (such as rice) when eating couscous, perhaps making the transition to millet will be of interests.  Millet is a whole grain, low in gluten and high in protein. When soaked overnight and then boiled (the same duration as couscous) it has a very similar end product as couscous, but all the benefits of whole grain and bonus benefits of protein. Use soaked millet exactly as you would instant couscous. It too can be flavored with stock or juice in the boiling and makes a fantastic side dish or main course with additions.

For more information on different whole grains and free recipes, please join our newsletter!

Best Blessings!

The Millers own and operate Millers Grain House which offers Chemical Free and Organic Grains, Grain Mills, Bread Machines, Grain buckets, Bosch Mixers, the NutriMill, instructional tutorials, recipes and more.

Play with your food!

Sure there are some hard and fast ones like: Yeast breads need yeast. Too much salt is pretty gross. But for many ‘rules’ there are acceptations.

Take things like altitude and humidity into consideration. A loaf of bread baked at 3500 feet above sea level will not be the same as one baked AT sea level. Tweak a recipe.

Most recipes are written for sea level and adjusted for differing altitudes. Don’t let that keep you in a box though, break out of the rules of recipes and tweak. Just keep good notes (that’s my downfall, I often play but forget what I did when it worked!).

Have fun. Learn by playing with your food.
Just be prepared to be VERY creative if it doesn’t work out and not waste it by tossing it in the trash.

Best Blessings and enJOY learning more!
Donna

If you already read Part One of this tip, then you may or may not have peaked the curiosity of former nay-sayers. You may still need more explanation for why you are thinking of or currently milling at home. After all, inquiring minds want to know.

The second tip to answering the questions of why you bother to mill at home is the benefits of cost and storage. Sure, we can buy ‘whole wheat bread’ at the store. Sure, ‘dead bagged flour’ lasts for a good while. Are these reasons to dismiss home milling all together? Hardly! In fact, look closer and you can see why milling at home is better.

Health benefits aside, which is the MOST important one in my opinion, storage and cost come up on the convenience end of considering milling at home. The ‘whole wheat’ loaf of bread we can buy in the store is not only made of old, processed whole wheat, but by the government regulations only has to be at least 51% – or mostly whole wheat – to be labeled as such. I digress, this is also a health reason. The cost of said loaf is approximately $2.29. A home milled, fresh WHOLE GRAIN flour, loaf of bread costs me about $.75 to make and that is using all organic (a bit pricier) grains and sugar. Also, I know what is exactly in that loaf!

Storage is the other thought. Admittedly, my fresh baked loaf does NOT last as long , not due to shelf-life but that we eat it so fast (no one in the house can resist cutting into a warm loaf when they smell it), but the grains last for years! ‘Dead bagged flour’ can’t say that. Either weevils, mites or simply staleness can render a dead bag of flour useless in mere months. The Creator made a perfect protection for that grain, the husk. There have been grains found in pyramids that were over 4000 years old that when planted, they grew just as they were intended. How’s that for storage. Just keep the grains in a sturdy container and from getting wet and you can store them for years. I don’t think you will be needing them in 4000 years though.

Best Blessings!
Donna Miller

http://www.millersgrainhouse.com/store

The Wonder Mill

Here is a breakdown of wheat types and which recipe to use them:

~ HARD wheat is best for breads and items that require high rising.
~ SOFT wheat is best for pastries and flat breads such as pancakes, tortillas and biscuits.
~ Both types can be mixed equally to make a light texture for all purpose flour.

Color effects the flavor of the flour not the consistancy:

~ REDS will have a more ‘nutty’ (to me it’s almost a bitter) flavor.
~ WHITES are usually just lighter tan or almost golden and have a smoother taste.
~ Both can be mixed equally to make a deliciously light bread without a bitter result.

Muffins, pancakes, cookies and biscuits can all be made from blending types and colors.
Loaf breads have the best result by using a HARD (either color) type only. It contains the most gluten for the rise of yeast bread.

Happy Milling!!
Best Blessings,
Donna Miller, Owner of MILLERS GRAIN HOUSE

Level off at the top to measure correctly!

Measure correctly to avoid excess flour after grinding.

One of the BIGGEST reasons for grinding grains is the immediate release of all those nutrients. If you end up with a cup or more of flour just sitting there, oxidizing, dying and loosing nutrients…it not only wastes precious fresh flour – it defeats the purpose. A good rule of thumb to follow is: Grains usually produce half again as much as you put in the mill. For example: 2 cups of grain will produce approximately 3 cups of flour. Write the amount of grain next to your recipe once you have perfected it. Waste not want not!