I am in the market to buy a new grain mill. Actually, I have been for the last few years, but I think I am finally going to take the plunge and buy one! During my research on phytic acid, I was once again reminded of the importance of freshly ground flour. Store bought flour has lost a lot of it’s nutritional value, according to my understanding, plus lost most if not all of it’s phytase (the enzyme that breaks down phytic acid). My grain grinder is just not cutting it right now, so I am going to have to buy a new one. So, in light of this decision, I thought I would share my own experience with grain mills (limited at this point) and ask for your stories as well.
My experience with the Jupiter Grain Mill (I believe now called the Family Grain Mill).
I have a Jupiter grain mill which was recommend in Nourishing Traditions. About four of us bought this mill together, and I don’t think any of us have been happy with them. Our flour is just too coarse! On the plus side, they do grind very quietly and do a coarse mill for hot cereals. It keeps the flour very cool so that you don’t lose nutrients (or unstable phytase) and the steel burs it uses to grind with are replaceable. All great things. But even after putting the flour through the grinder twice (one of the only grinders you can do this with), I would have coarse flour. Plus putting the flour through twice took way too long. This has been a very frustrating situation! One company who sells them admits that it doesn’t grind as fine as other grinders and that it doesn’t work well for pastry flour. All information I wish I had known before I bought mine.
What I am looking for in a Grinder
A grinder that grinds “cool” so that I don’t lose nutrients and heat sensitive phytase
A grinder that grinds at least somewhat quietly would be nice.
A grinder that grinds fine enough flour for baked goods
A multi-purpose grinder would also be nice (i.e. one that would grind hot cereal size as well as fine flour).
As I have researched different options, one that I keep coming back to is the KoMo (or Wolfgang Mill). It’s supposed to grind very fine flour as well as coarse (multi-purpose). In fact, I believe it’s won awards for it’s fine flour. And it is also supposed to be a lot quieter than the more common grain grinders such as Wondermill or Nutrimill. I also like the fact that unlike the modern impact mills (which most grinders are), this one uses millstones- following a more traditional method of milling. I have read unbacked claims that the impact mills grind is an “unnatural” way to grind making flour that is bad for us. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I do like the more traditional ways of grinding grains as a preference. They also look beautiful! This grinder is fairly new to the US market, but has been very popular in Germany where it originated. Because it’s newer to our market, it’s harder to find reviews of it.
It doesn’t grind as quickly at the Nutrimill, however, which is another (very popular) grinder I have considered. If I was going to buy an impact grinder, this is probably the one I would purchase. The Nutrimill has a huge hopper (where you pour the grains in) so you don’t have to keep refilling it, gets much coarser grinds than most impact mills as well as super fine flour, and while not as quiet as the KoMo, is it quieter than some of the other impact mills. But despite the many advantages of the Nutrimill I am leaning towards the KoMo. When talking to a company who sold both grinders, I was told that they both grind at low enough temperatures to preserve nutrients.
It looks like I am some decisions ahead of me! Meanwhile, I would love to hear your experience with grain mills!
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LeAnna
My Mom has had a Whisper Mill for years (and years) and while I don’t believe it grinds cool (I remember the flour being warm, though not hot, and letting it cool before we bagged it up) it has been a work horse! I’d say it was fairly quiet for a mill, too.
Katie
My mom has the Whisper Mill too. I’m borrowing one right now. Funny name for a machine that is so loud. I remember the first time she used it the cat freaked out and jumped up and attached herself to the screen door! Poor thing. 🙂 The flour dose come out warm up not hot. I love how fast it is and being able to set it to how course you want your grain to be.
elaine
ha ha – I agree the Whisper Mill isn’t exactly a whisper. But compared to whatever I had before my current Whisper Mill it is MUCH quieter (more quiet??). We had to take our previous mill outside to use because it was so obnoxiously loud indoors and when I was pregnant I would have my husband grind the grains for fear of injuring the fetus’ developing ears!! It truly was like an airplane taking off. So, I appreciate how “quiet” our Whisper Mill is. And, I have been pleased with it’s performance in every way. It is very easy to use and clean up is a breeze.
virginia
I understand the whisper isn’t manufactured anymore and there is no support for it. I have had mine for about 15 years and it has worked wonderfully, but it doesn’t grind cereal , just flour. I was just reading a recommendation for the The Nutrimill Grain Mill as a replacement for the whisper mill. The name is funny but my sis has a different brand and she has to grind in the garage because hers sounds like a jet plane engine! very Loud!
Linda Osmond
One more vote for the Whispermill. It is true that it is no longer being sold under that name, as the company went bankrupt. But it was bought out and an identical machine is now being made under the name of Wondermill. So, you can still get parts from the new company, and they will service the Whispermills to an extent or give a discount if you need a new machine. Ditto that the flour is warm, and I don’t know what temp it would take to destroy the nutrients. I would be glad to put a thermometer in my flour next time I grind, though, to get an idea, if that would be helpful to know. One thing I know is that this mill will grind very small grains, that I guess many mills won’t, for example: quionoa and teff (gluten-free grains). I have loved my mill, and it has given me no problems. For a coarse grind, I use a hand mill that I have. I was actually thinking that it was called the Family Grain Mill, but I could be mistaken. It’s been a while since I purchased it..1999 (Y2K), I believe. 🙂 Oh, and I found out why the Whispermill is much quieter than many other mills. When ours needed to be dismantled, it was found to have layers of foam inside, made from the same foam that is used as the circular filter on the flour lid. So, if you can figure out a way to buffer the sound on another type of machine with foam, that might help with the loud noise issue.
Lisa Chalfant
I have a Wolfgang Mill and I love it. It is loud but it looks pretty (wood) and it does a great job of grinding my grains.
KimiHarris
Awesome! I am glad to find someone who actually owns this mill. Do you feel that it grinds fine? And it’s interesting that you think it’s loud. Have you compared it to the impact mills in regard to noise? It’s supposed to be not as loud as that.
lynnpaulus
I just researched mills for my daughter as a wedding gift. We all agreed the Wolfgang Mill seemed to be the best out there. The price is up there but with the cool grind and coarse to fine options it really fits the bill. My whisper mill is quieter than my friends jet engine grinder(don’t remember the name) and has survived it by about 7 years. Works like a dream but does produce warmer flour and explodes the grains rather than grinds them. I can’t wait to hear how my daughters Wolfgang compares!
There is nothing to compare to fresh ground grains!!!
Jennifer
I own this mill and I love it. It is loud, but I can grind a fine grain for flour and a very course oatmeal as well. A friend of mine from Austria has had this mill for 15+ years and it still works beautifully. My only concern is that the stones used to grind the flour are not granite they are a composite that includes aluminum… hmmm. Because of this I tried the Whisper Mill but was disappointed with the “course” grind option, which wasn’t really course at all, as well as the temperature of the flour. Also, if you turn the machine off mid-grind you can break the mill, not good for me. As far as noise, the Whisper Mill was a bit quieter, but not much. Both were pretty loud. I don’t think this can be avoided really. But it has become a sound of comfort in our house. Someone is making something delicious and healthy when the mill is on. 🙂
Heidi
I bought a Retsel Mill-Rite mill about 4 years ago and have been very happy with it. It is pretty quiet and claims to be the quietest mill on the market. It also grinds wheat as fine as you’d like. To adjust the courseness, you simply turn a knob. It is also a low-temperature grinder.
I think we paid around $375-$450 for it but it is extremely sturdy (like a tank!) and I’ve had no problems with it. I really like that it is self-cleaning.
One downside is that you can’t re-grind flour. Also, if you opt for the millstones, you can’t grind certain grains like corn or small nuts because they will plug up the stones. However you can buy a stainless steel attachment at a later time if you find you need it.
Their website is: http://www.retsel.com
KimiHarris
Thanks for sharing! I will check them out! 🙂
Angela
I have had my Retsel for over 10 years now. I’ll second what Heidi said: it’s quiet and grinds at a low-temp.
It is extremely sturday and when I bought it it came with both sets of grinding stores: stone and stainless steel. I’ve enjoyed it and like the fact that if anything breaks parts are available on their website…not that I’ve ever needed to do that…and it comes with a 10 year warrenty.
It is, however, quite the investment.
Veronica Medina
I also have a Retsel and love it. I’ve owned it for eleven years and it works just great. I can grind super fine flour or coarse, whatever I happen to need at the moment. I have both the stones and metal burrs. The burrs are used to grind more oily grain which would clog up the stones.
My only complaint is customer service. I love my grain mill so much that I highly recommended it to my friend who ordered one in March. She received her mill four days ago, nearly six months after ordering it. The only contact she received from the company was an email in July saying that a part had been backordered. I had a similar experience when I ordered a replacement switch and some grain (you can order grain from their site if your machine is still under warranty). After a couple of weeks, I called to check on the order and it hadn’t been shipped. A couple of weeks later, it had still not been shipped so I called again. Both times the girl said it would be shipped soon. My credit card was never charged and I never received my order.
Cara
I have a Country Living Grain Mill and I love it. You can adjust the coarseness, and it has a lifetime warranty and is made in the US- two more plusses.
courtney
I would love to hear more about your experience with the Country Living Grain Mill as it is my first choice… just haven’t quite taken the plunge and ordered it! How often do you grind and how much flour at a time? Do you bake bread more than once a week? Do you do the grinding or do your kids? (if you have any) Basically, my biggest concern is that it will be so labor intensive that I won’t end up using it…any insight you have would be greatly appreciated.
Diana@Spain in Iowa
Hi Kimi,
I have a Nutrimill and really like it. I can adjust the settings from fine to course. The fine is super as it grinds my berries to powder. I don’t usually set mine at fine, and it still grinds great. The downside, it is loud! So, I have to grind after the babies wake or right before they go to bed. It’s working out for our family 🙂 I have also heard great things about the Wolfgang Mill. If you do purchase that I would love to read a review about it. Best wishes.
Susan
I agree about the Nutrimill. I bought one in March and love it. It is definitely loud, although a couple reviews said the decibel level was a tad bit softer than the other electric mills. I haven’t noticed a huge difference between the fine & coarse grain settings, but it’s enough that the texture of my bread comes out different depending on the setting. I use hard red wheat for baking bread, but I use soft white wheat for pastries, because it seems to end up much finer than the hard red. I do a mix of both for all-purpose flour, and so far I’ve had great success with all of these.
Pamela
Nutri Mill Grain Mill @ http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/index.aspx#Nutrimill good price, excellent service. We’ve been very happy with it. Grinds super fine. Yes noisy but not as noisy as most claim it to be. Any mill is going to noisy, there’s no getting away from that. But my very most favorite mill is our Lee Mill – not in production anymore as far as I can find. It’s a stone mill and ground the finest flour ever and still does. It’s noisy also. It’s a noise I can put up with in exchange for quality fresh flour.
AH, I just googled the Lee……here is some info on it @ The Fresh Loaf
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/keyword/lee-flour-mill We have had ours for around 35 years now and it just keeps going.
Mary Kathryn
I have a blend-tec kitchen mill and I love it!! It has different options for how finely or coarse you want to grind. I don’t know how it compares. It is loud but if I have babies sleeping then I just take it in the garage to use. The flour is warm once ground but I don’t know how you could avoid that with an electric motor.
Sandy Munroe
I’d love to see what people say. Those are the same two grinders I’ve come down to as well and am leaning on KoMo because it seems more well made and all the other reasons you mentioned. However it doesn’t have a lifetime warranty like the Nutri-mill and yet is more expensive than a nutri mill. That’s the only downfall I’ve really seen. I would hate to drop the big bucks and three-five years later have to to buy a new one. I’d like to see what you end up buying. Keep us posted!
Living Less Mom
I have had the nutrimill for about 2 years and I love it. It does make noise but it hasn’t been a big deal. I definitely can’t speak to the difference of impact milling vs. more traditional methods but I can tell you that I have not had 1 single problem with the nutrimill and it has worked really great for us!
The Mom
I have a Wondermill. It is certainly not quiet, but not as loud as I had feared. There are 3 settings for grinding fine, regular and coarse. I’ve always used the regular setting and it turns out much like store bought flour, but with lots of extra bran. It gets a bit warm, but not too bad. I really like it!
kmillecam
I bought a Wondermill this year and I have liked it just fine. The flour comes out warm but not hot. The only minus is that you can’t put the grain in until after you start the mill, or the stones get stuck. But I am used to it and it doesn’t bother me.
Tina
Oh my, did this bring back memeories….
All I remember is that it was a hand grinder, a farmer gave me a bag of wheat and I ground it…by handcranking that bugger.
Then I proceeded to make….
bricks.
I felt like a Hebrew child back in Moses’ day!
I have learned much from that mistake…they were quite solid, probably could have built something out of them, but you definetly wouldn’t have been eating them!
Since then, I buy fresh ground at our local store. It just works out better for me 🙂
I will be reading which one you choose…maybe I would try it again…maybe…
Mandi
I have a Nutri-Mill and I really like it. I like all the different settings for the flour, from fine to coarse- lots of options. It is super loud. But we really don’t mind that. The one thing I do mind is that the finer I grind, the more “flour haze” spews from the machine. Besides that, it has been great.
And…not to make anyone jealous, but I found mine at a hardware store that was clearancing them. I bought 3 at $50 each!!! Can you believe that? Oh, the other 2 were for friends. I didn’t buy 3 for me! I was so excited to find them so cheap. I had been wanting one for so long, so this was definitely a blessing!
Brandy Afterthoughts
What would be great is if someone could sell phytase and we could just add a teaspoon to our flour. Many enzymes are available over the counter (such as digestive enzymes)…this would be a great service to those of us who cannot afford a grain mill.
Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama
I use my Vita-mix. The flour can get warm, depending on how long you grind it, but not really hot. The length of time and amount of flour in it also affects the size. It can grind ANY amount you want, really. If you want fine flour, fill it to the 2-cup mark or slightly above and grind about one minute. Using smaller amounts of lesser times results in coarser grinds. I have been happy with it, love that it’s a multi-purpose machine, and have found no need for a separate grain mill.
Sonya
We also have a vita-mix, love it! We keep our grain in the freezer before grinding it and they come out cool as a cucumber.
Ryan
We also have a Vita-mix, though I would tend to disagree that it makes good flour. We actually purchased a cheap hand-crank Victorio at an Amish shop for about $50 and the quality of our bread products have increased dramatically. It just uses a steel bur for grinding and is a very simple inexpensive system. It is actually adjustable as well for a more coarse grind. I don’t use this function much so I can’t say anything about it. It is cheap, and looks cheap, but it was an improvement over what we were using. I’m afraid, if you really want a quiet grind, a hand-crank grinder is the way to go unless you have a strong aversion to doing it. In that class of products, I believe the Country Living Mill is supposed to be one of the finest in its class, but it is around $400. The particularly neat thing about it is that you can hook it up to a stationary bike and use it like a flywheel which alleviates all the arm work.
Jen @ Oh no! I really do need to eat my vegetables!
I have access to my mom’s Bosch mixer that also has a grinding attachment. My mom loves it – one machine that processes, grinds, kneads, and purees. The flour isn’t fine enough to do pastry, but she grind grain for flour and makes wonderful bread. It is fairly loud, but she can still be on the phone with me when it’s running. I don’t really think the flour is warmed at all, but I do wish the grind was a little finer. However, I’ve used it successfully in baked goods (and cookies 🙂
I look forward to seeing everyone’s reviews. I don’t know whether I want to get a multi-function Bosch or a separate grain mill.
Heather
We had both a Bosch food processor (which I adored and literally killed with use after 7 years of daily use) and Bosch grain mill. I leant the grain mill out as we quit using it. It was too loud, the grain got very hot, it couldn’t do most nuts/beans (I used it for grinding garbonzo beans and had to babysit it to make sure it kept grinding), AND it threw flour into the air as it ground so I had to either put a bag over the whole thing or do it outside so we could breath. As much as I loved my food processor I wouldn’t recommend the grain mill.
Raye Ann
I have a K-Tec that I use for my gluten grains for some members of the family. It is not as adjustable as my Nutri-Mill that I use for Gluten Free flours. I also seem to be able to get a finer flour from the Nurti-mill. It is loud but not as loud as the K-Tec. The catch on the K-Tec forms a seal when grind and makes it difficult to remove the grinder from the catch. I can also grind larger items like dried sprouted beans for Ezekiel breads or Gluten Free breads in the Nurti-Mill.
Heather
I have an older electric mill that grinds with millstones, that I bought off of ebay for $40 six or seven years ago, and we’ve been happy with it. There’s a knob that allows you to adjust the space between the stones, thereby adjusting the grind. It’s noisy, but you can’t grind things quietly–that’s just the nature of grinding. mine is basically this (may even be this brand, but I forget, and we are in the midst of a cross-country move, with everything in storage)
http://cgi.ebay.com/MILL-MIX-FLOUR-GRINDER-BREAD-BEER-CEREAL-Maker-/200524316890?pt=Small_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item2eb02e40da
Whatever you buy, ebay is a good place to check for the best deal.
Dani
I have a Whispermill that I bought from an authorized refurb dealer on Ebay, for right at $200 if I remember correctly; the trick is that there is no more lifetime warranty on the refurb, but 1 year. He also sold extra parts, so you can get an extra tub and/or lid, which I did, and I LOVE, because I like to grind alot of sprouted and then freeze it to use at a moment’s notice (stew thickeners, etc.), but sometimes I want warm flour for sourdough, so I like to have two tubs. I did mess up one time and thought I had ruined the grinder when I lost track of how much grain I put in the hopper (I have to “baby” grinding sprouted flours along… maybe too much static or something, but it just stops falling into the grinding chamber if they’re not trickling in), and filled the receiving bin beyond its capacity to the point that the poor thing shut itself off. Well, after much panicking, I took tub off the machine, knocked out the excess flour from the exit tube, dumped out the extra grains in the hopper, and hit the reset button on the bottom, and VOILA! The baby is still kickin’! It does have a dial for coarse to fine grinds, and I find that it does grind fairly fine; furthermore (and maybe I’m not supposed to do this, but ignorance didn’t seem to cause any problems), I HAVE double-ground my flour, since a direct-to-fine grind seems to take forever sometimes. I just grind it on coarse, then run it back through on fine, and it’s been… FINE! LOL
Anyway, this is my first grinder, and someday I would like to get a stone-grinder–maybe even a manual grinder. I have visions of hooking it up to a bicycle in anticipation of power outages…
Jen Richard
This is great timing for me to read. We have narrowed down our choices between Retzel and the Komo mills. We currently use our vitamix to grind our grain, but it grinds to coarse for bread flour. And I think it gets too hot to preserve all the nutrients.
Susan
Hi Kimi,
I have quite a grain mill story!! This took place over a period of 8 years and we had the first mill the longest. We started with a K-Tec at the recommendation of the only person that I knew who used a grain mill. She was so sold on them, she used to be a dealer. It ground wonderfully fine flour but it was horribly loud and had plastic clips to secure the motor onto the flour bin–I am NOT rough with my equipment but these clips broke off at least twice while I had the mill. The company always replaced the unit for me but I would be without a mill for about a month at a time while it was off being fixed/replaced. We would take the mill outside to grind grain b/c it was so loud and it also blew flour everywhere. We decided to go with a Whisper Mill. We didn’t really like that it took up so much room on the counter, it was still loud and rather cumbersome to deal with. My sister was wanting to buy one so I sold mine to her. Then we went with a Nutri-Mill. I don’t know if we had a lemon or what but it took about 15 minutes to grind 4 cups of flour. The company we got it from quickly replaced it but then our replacement just stopped working after a month….again, it was declared a lemon but by then, we had cold feet and didn’t want to go back with that brand again. We tried the Country Living mill—we have 5 boys and thought it won’t be hard to get flour ground with all of this muscle power (we live on a farm and have boys who are used to hard work.) Again, I don’t know if we had a lemon but we ALL worked up a sweat trying to grind flour for ONE batch of bread!! FINALLY, we found the Wolfgang and I LOVE IT!!!!! I can’t say enough about it. It is so beautiful that it stays on the counter all of the time, it doesn’t blow flour dust, it is loud but not unbearably so—and I think it is quieter than any other that we tried except the Country Living mill. It uses stones to grind instead of impact. The flour is cool when it comes out of the spout, the mill is adjustable to grind fine flour up to coarse ground grits. Because the flour comes out a spout into an open bowl, I can go ahead and start using the flour immediately, rather than waiting until all of the grain is ground. I have had it now for 3 or 4 years and haven’t had the first problem with it. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me. I don’t think you would be disappointed in a Wolfgang!!
Susan
We also have a manual mill for back up–power outages and such. We’ve only used it a couple of times but it is nice to know that we have it. It is the Family Grain mill and it works fairly well. For bread, I do run my flour through twice and I would still like for it to be a little finer but it will do. It does grind nice grits. It is fairly inexpensive and is nice to have “just in case.”
Audrey
We’ve had a Wolfgang mill for 7 years now and we’ve been mostly happy with it. However, I believe it warms to flour too much, can get gummy when milling large batches of grain and it is loud. I did some research for a friend recently and discovered the Retsel grain mill, it is currently my top choice for my next grain mill.
Angela
I have found that if the grain has too much moisture or I have the stones set too close together then occasionally the Retsel will “gum up”–but I simply get a container to catch the grain, open the stones to let the grain through, reset the stones and run some corn through and it self-cleans. If I dehydrate my grains first (for making sprouted grain flour) then there is no problem at all. Don’t know if that would work on the Wolfgang or not.
Regina
Have you considered an All Grain Mill? http://www.allgrainmills.com/ I haven’t purchased mine yet but am about to do that. After looking into many different brands, this one looked best for what I need.
Bekah
I have the K-Tech Kitchen Mill. It works well, but is SUPER LOUD. Whisper Mill is so quiet in comparison. I also bought the Family Grain Mill and was surprised at how slowly it grinds and how coarse it is. I’m not impressed with it, but I’m keeping it as a back up since I do have the manual crank as well.
Mindy
I have a KoMo Fibidus 21 that I’ve only had for a couple of weeks, but so far, I love it! It grinds much finer than the FGM(borrowed one from a friend) and is relatively quiet (not silent, by any means, but MUCH quieter than my blender, for instance). I was a little worried about the slow speed, but it has not been a problem at all. I measure the grain, put it in the top, put the bowl underneath and by the time I have my other ingredients out, it’s done. I haven’t tried to grind more than 2 or 3 cups, yet, but that’s quick enough that I’m not too worried about big batches. I’m not too worried about it not lasting very long – it’s a pretty simple, so not much to break. It has a 6 yr warranty, which seems long enough. I bought mine from Pleasant Hill Grain http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/ and was very happy with their price and service, as well. I agonized about this decision for a VERY long time (3 yrs, off and on) and so far I’m pleased that I made the right choice for me.
mary
i got last years the komo mill from beautycentereurope. the had the best price and i think , its the best grinder , you can get
Kelly @ A Full Table
I have only had experience with the Nutrimill. It IS super duper loud, but I have been so very pleased with it. I can grind the wheat very fine for bread, or coarse for cream of wheat.
From what I read, it grinds cooler than everything else out there (though that could have changed since I have done my research). It also grinds more at a time than most out there which is a huge plus for our family.
michelle
I had the Whisper Mill for about 10 years and recently replaced it with the Nutrimill. I am pretty unhappy with the Nutrimill. My bread, which I have been baking for 10 years is not turning out since the switch in grain mills. The only thing I can figure out is the grind is not as fine, no matter how ‘fine’ I adjust it. The finer I go the longer it takes to grind. I am pretty sure it takes much longer than the Whisper Mill, which by the way, I think is still made, just renamed??
Anyway, wish I had my Whisper Mill back.
Julie
I have had a Retsel mill since 1980–we got it just before the birth of our second child. It is working as well as it did the day we got it. It’s heavy, it’s strong, it’s pretty quiet. I was very tickled that someone else mentioned their Retsel. I have never met anyone else besides me who has one! Exciting. You can grind other grains with it, but you have to get different grinding attachments for them.
Melissa
I love your website. Thank you! Though it doesn’t meet your criteria, I wanted to toss out the idea of a blend-tec 0r vitamax blender to grind grains. I love it, but it’s a one (loud, non-size variable) speed. Very multipurpose….. Wish i’d known about it before i got my juicer and grain mill…..
Michele
I have a Vita Mix and bought the optional dry container to use it to grind my grain with. I love it. It grinds the grain pretty fine, but is not quiet or cool. The heat issue is somewhat mitigated by storing the wheat (or whatever grain) in the freezer and taking it out when you want to grind it. I also love that it is a comparable price to other grinders but you get a Vita Mix which can do so many more things! On the low setting, I can grind coarse for cereal and I can also make my own “powdered” sugar from Rapadura and arrowroot powder.
Alyssa
I concur! The Vitamix rocks for versatility. I use the dry container for wheatberries, flax and coffee, etc. I use the wet container for smoothies, homemade peanut butter, soup, sauce, etc. If you are gonna spend hundreds, this appliance replaces SO too many to count.
Evelyn
Does anyone know anything about the Schnitzer grain mill sold by LifeGrains?
That’s the one I was hoping to buy.
Kedesh
We have had a Whisper Mill for about 10 years and find it fabulous. The flour does come out warm. I can grind millet, rice, wheat, buckwheat, etc and choose how fine I want it. Highly recommend it. x
Linda Teaman
I bought the grain mill attachment to my KitchenAide mixer. It was rather inexpensive and I wanted to see if grinding my own grains was what I wanted to do. It’s a metal grinder and it works but it takes a long time to grind and it comes out sort of fast and I had to cover the whole thing with foil so it wouldn’t bounce out all over the place.
To grind grains for pancakes I just use the blender. I blend 2 cups of grains the day before add 2+cups of buttermilk and soak it til the next morning. Then I blend it again with a little more liquid and put it in a bowl and add the other ingredients– eggs etc… That works really well and tastes great of course.
Dana
I have a NutriMill that I purchased 2 years ago. I love it- find it very loud but does a wonderful job grinding fine flour-not so much with different textures. The large grain hopper is great as well. The flour definitely comes out quite warm-but not hot- especially when grinding large batches.
I only used it regulary the first six months because I have since found a source for sprouted flour that I buy in bulk and with five kids it is a big time saver.
JFYI: I am selling the mill as it has been sitting in storage for a long time now – I keep thinking I may need it but it’s been a year and a half now. I have not put it on ebay yet so if anyone is interested please feel free to email me. ( the best offer over $125 plus shipping takes it)
Lisa Guinn
I also use a Vitamix. I bought a reconditioned one and haven’t had any problems with heat. I freeze my grains and only grind a few cups at a time, thats just my comfort level with keeping an eye on the grind size. Plus, I use it to knead the dough along with juicing, making smoothies, using it instead of a food processor etc… Not a day goes by that I don’t use it for something! I love it!
Lee Burdett
I have had Nutrimill for about 5 years. I was curious about the heat issue and have stuck an instant read thermometer in the flour asap after milling and it is never over about 100 degrees so I figure that is ok. I finally killed my first Nutrimill – grinding a lot of rye and spelt and Ezekiel mix – those are really too moist to grind back to back without a little hard red or white to clean things out – and the whole thing ground to a halt. Customer service was great, send me a replacement very quickly. I’m more careful now and although still do rye and spelt for sourdough I clean it out with something drier. I also use it almost exclusively on the coarsest setting – figure it runs through the quickest so the flour stays coolest – and I always soak, ferment, or sourdough leaven so the texture is great in spite of the coarse grind.
Downside – always having to wear ear plugs!
Kirsten
I have an All-Grain mill. Its motor is designed to run continuously. It uses stones, and my flour comes out quite warm. I am not sure if that means it is a hot temperature grind, or if warm is cool when it comes to grinding. The company says it is a low temperature mill. It has quite a range from coarse to fine, and it really does get very fine. It is not recommended to do oily seeds in. Here’s mine: http://kirstene.livejournal.com/601139.html, and here’s the All-Grain web site. http://www.allgrainmills.com/ I was fortunate to receive mine as a hand-me-down. It looks like they have redesigned the milling bucket since the 30 year old one I had. It looks like it’s a better fit for less dust in the kitchen. I think they’re pretty spendy, and built to last.
Kirsten
Oh, I should say they do excellent customer support for the All-Grain mill. Mine had been in storage and after its first use from the long hiatus, the stones wouldn’t turn. Its switch turned itself off so that the inexperienced user wouldn’t burn anything up by leaving it on in an inoperative condition. My dad opened the mill up, called the company, and got walked through putting it back together and how to seal the part that finally gave out after 20 years of dry storage. They didn’t charge him anything. It runs like a dream. My little girls think it is loud, but I don’t find it to be all that bad, they just turn the TV up in the next room. It mills its hopper (4 cups on the fine setting) in about 10-15 minutes. So I can usually mill 2 quarts before everyone has had enough for the day.
Lori
My Whispe Mill is loud and shrill, won’t grind coarse enough for corn meal, can’t grind popcorn, gets fairly warm, had to take apart twice to un-jam it, and now a small amount of flour seems to be sifting out under the attached hopper above the motor, which is worrisome. In spite of these things, I like it and get the feeling most all the mills have similar issues.
Like Lee’s comment that when soaked, a fine grind is not necessary. Very helpful point. Also liked idea to freeze whole grains before grinding.
…and in multitude of counselors there is safety…
JenniferB
I love reading these reviews! While I realize you are looking at electric models, I thought I’d throw this out there. Plus, maybe someone can help me out. I received the Grain Mill Flour Grinder Compact for Christmas one year, and I find it very frustrating. This model is a hand crank that attaches to your counter. I’m not too cranky about cranking. 😉 But my counters have those humped rounded edges that used to be popular, making it very hard to attach it to them. Then as I crank the bolt seems to loosen and I go from a very fine flour to a course almost pebbly consistency. :/ The bolt is how you attach the handle AND how you select your grade. I’ve only used it to make pizza because I’m still trying to get my bread right with regular flour. I wondered if anyone has any tips for using a hand crank? I’ve pondered switching to an electric. However, I feel I should be using the hand crank more before I can justify trading up to my hubby. Right now I’m at once every 6 months, yikes! I’d really love to use it more and I’d love any input. I’ll plan on bookmarking this post so when I do ask hubs he can read them too. 😀
Barbara Grant
I have the Family Grain Mill made by Jupiter. I like it a lot. I set it on the finest setting. This is fine for most things. If I want it finer, I just dump it back in and grind twice. I bought mine from Pleasant Hill Grain.
Jeana
We have a Wondermill Junior Delux. If you’re going for a hand-crank mill, I think it’s the best one out there. It has stone and steel burrs, and it can grind as coarse or fine as you like. It just takes more work to make it more fine. Unlike the electric mills, it can grind oily nuts and seeds as well. We use it a lot for ground flax. It can supposedly do nuts, but I tried using almonds, and it didn’t go well. It does heat up some if you grind a lot at once (more than about a cup), and it does take a good amount of energy, but my husband likes to grind flour for his upper body exercise instead of going to the gym to lift weights. (Our family values exercising in ways that get something done and saves gas/electricity/money.) If you look up online, you can buy a motor that attaches to it to motorize it, but you should know that doing so voids the warranty, so proceed at your own risk.
Katie
I have a K-Tec that my brother gave me. It’s the only grinder I’ve ever owned. It’s loud, but it grinds very
Katie
Oops… I was saying — it grinds very fine. The coarsest setting isn’t very coarse, though.
I’m really enjoying reading about all the other mills out there.
Elizabeth @ Cowlitz Locavorian
I use a Vitamix that I bought for fifty cents at a veteran’s rummage sale! The flour does get hot — refrigerating it works. But what I often do instead is grind a big batch — grind 2 cups for a minute, dump them to cool, grind 2 more cups, then I run everything through a second time to get it finer.
I also sift my flour, just shaking it through a sifter into a mixing bowl…I get about less than a tablespoon of “grits” textured broken grains for every two or three cups. I just keep throwing the grits back into the grinder with the next 2 cups of flour. Then when I am all done I save whatever grits are left in a little jar for sprinkling onto a baker’s peel.
The Vitamix will also grind corn or nuts and soaked nixtamal to make masa There is NOTHING like fresh ground corn meal! So sweet and good.
But it is VERY VERY noisy.
MARY TAN
has anyone tried to grind using the champion juicer with grain grinder attachment?
courtney
I have the champion juicer with grain grinder….someone gave us the juicer and the grain attachment was within our budget. (around 40$ at the time) I had great aspirations of making all our bread when we got it, but unfortunately, it does not do a fine grind AT ALL! Consequently, I gave up on bread as the grind was so course and have been on the market for a new grain mill… until I can get a new one, I use it to make muffins and occasionally cookies, but actually prefer to do the blender batter method for our pancakes and waffles. All to say, I am grateful to have had ‘something’ to grind with, but definitely wouldn’t recommend it.
Cathy
I have 2 Wondermills. We raise our own grains and sell to CSA’s and markets. The first mill blew up and died, (I was grinding all day, I had an order for 185 plus pounds) because of the time crunch I was in I located and purchased the second Wondermill and sent the first one back. They replaced the motor and now we have His and Her models. It is loud but works like a charm. We grind more than the average family might. Our next purchase will be a Meadow Mill.
Melanie
Honestly, I really like our Vitamix. It does really well in grinding our grain as long as you do it right! I usually do 2-3 cups of frozen red winter wheatberries. It does get it very fine. Yes, it is loud, but I figure I can handle up to a minute of loudness! ;o) I don’t do more flour than that to give the motor a chance to cool down. Maybe I’m babying it, but it’s costly. It is definitely worth the money though… I’ve done so many things with the Vitamix! What’s so great about it rather than any other blender is the fact that it cuts through the cellular walls of foods’ nutrition that we ourselves can’t even get to even by cooking it, much less eating it raw! In other words we get the whole food nutrition. It unleashes a fresh flavor that we love! So if it can do that with food, I would think it’s doing that with grains as well. :o) I could be wrong, but I love my Vitamix anyway! Check out the many uses of the Vitamix on vitamix.com. :o) Hope this helps! :o)
Iris
I have a Jupiter mill, bought in Germany with to milling attachments and a roller. One of those milling attachments has stones for milling, the other one steel so that is more suitable for oily grains and nuts and seeds. I hardly use the steel one, always the stone one and it works fine, although I can’t compare. The only problem I have with it, is that I need to put a stick in it once in a while when it is grinding to let the grinding go on, so I can’t put it somewhere and do something else elsewhere while grinding, this is annoying because of the noise it makes.
For me the flour is fine enough. Do you have the steel or the stone one?
Lisa
We have a Retsel Mill-Rite as well. I believe we got ours in 1990 and it still works beautifully! The mill isn’t pretty, but it is heavy-duty, grinds with stones, and is low speed. You can control the coarseness of the flour by tightening the stones. I’ve read that the flour actually is flaked–it’s a beautiful texture. I’ve used ours for hard wheat and soft (making a pastry flour), but I’ve also ground brown rice, corn, buckwheat, rye, etc.
Another commentor mentioned that damp grain can cause the stones to get gummy–I have had the stones gum up on occasion as well, but running a grain like rice through, will clean them up. Another wonderful feature is that it comes with a long handle so you can manually grind grain if necessary.
We would never want to try another mill–this one is awesome!!
Thank you for your wonderful blog, Kimi. I love to check in to find recipes and to learn more about healthy living!
Michelle Hink
I have a Wolfgang and it is great. My husband did a lot of research and we decided we definitely wanted a stone mill instead of an impact mill. They are quieter and smaller. Plus, grain from an impact mill is broken down differently so that it absorbs a lot of water and so your baked things tend to be heavier. I can get the finest of flour, and I can grind extremely coarse grains (like cracked wheat). I think it is pretty fast, though it does have a small hopper (several cups). It is more expensive, but according to what we read on the internet it lasts longer and is more durable. So if you are going to use it a lot, it will be worth it in the long run. I like the fact that it takes up very little counterspace, looks nice and I can get a variety of flours from it.