Continued from here.
MAV in Colorado wrote: “OK, time for a grain mill. Didn’t read the whole thread. Is there a concensus? EM- what is your recommendation? THANKS Country Living mill with accessories and repair parts $475″
My question is on white rice flour. I bought a small amount from my bulk store and used it to make cake. It seems kind of grainy. Is that the texture of rice flour or should I try to grind it finer?
Hi, MAV, I had a complete answer written and somehow wiped it. Argh!
Basically, I made a bad grain mill buy (Back to Basics—save your money) before I really knew how important the decision was. I opined my mistake on the solar power thread, and Will directed me to a site that included a comparison of grind results, cost, physical exertion required, and other metrics. He also recommended the Family Grain Mill as a good buy. After reviewing the chart (check the solar power thread part 4--I think!), I decided to order the FGM. Bought it from www.aaoobfoods.com (no connection with them). They were having a sale at the time, and I was able to get the hand base, grinder, and flaker with KitchenAid adapter for about $170, including s&h. Less than other grain mills, but still a lot of money, so I’m using it regularly and making bread daily to justify it! You can get the hand base and grinder alone (no flaker or KitchenAid adapter) for about $40 less than I paid if my memory serves me.
I’ve tested it many times with different types of grain and am very happy with it. You can adjust the grind, it’s a snap to clean, and it only took me about 5 minutes to grind a cup of wheat manually. In fact, it is so easy to use (not effortless, but relatively easy compared to the Back to Basics) that my 10 y.o. daughter is able to use it comfortably. Bonus is you can grind coffee with it, which, in pandemic, will be my one indulgence. Fresh ground, fresh brewed coffee in my French press.
Both AAOOB and Walton Feed have tons of info on different grinders. Here’s a link to Walton Feed’s grinder page: http://tinyurl.com/yybqg9. Walton reviews lots, but doesn’t sell them all.
Good luck, and happy grinding!
MAV in Colorado: I have the Country Living Grain Mill and it looks like it was built to last for generations - solid heavy metal. Try Frugal Squirrels Online for what I found to be a great price (and they are nice people to buy from too) http://tinyurl.com/d24rg
Thanks Edna for sharing your experiences with the Family Grain Mill. We were making whole wheat bread before anyway, so now we simply get our flour via a little healthy exercise.
A 50 lb sack of wheat makes close to 50 loaves and costs about $8. We are saving quite a bit of money by buying bulk grains, beans, etc.
Here’s the grinder comparison study for those who didn’t see it before.
Edna Mode at 23:24 -
Ditto on the coffee thing. I’ve been looking for a good hand crank coffee grinder for months with no luck. I was set to buy the Family Grain Mill anyway so even better if I can use it to grind coffee too. Thanks!!!
We also purchased the Family Grain Mill and I have nothing but good things to say about it. It seems to be very well designed and attaches easily to the Kitchen Aid. It grinds a beautiful fine flour. The large hopper is a nice feature - it easily holds over 4 cups of grain. Haven’t tried it yet with the hand base.
OKbirdwatcher – at 11:11
The woman at AAOOB who answers all my grain mill questions told me to make sure I run a cup of wheat through the grinder after I grind the coffee to make sure all the oils get cleaned off the burr. Make sure you do the same.
For those who love to grind wheat, go check the Drudge Report. There is an article about wheat being at a 25year low due to the drought in Astralia. You might want to stock up on wheat. It appears this could be a reason for the price to skyrocket. The Drudge Report will take you to the Financial Times. By the way, Australia has stopped all shipments of grain to the east. Just thought you might like to know. gina
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