Wheat grinders - advice?

LadyRuby · Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 8:33 am Post subject: Wheat grinders - advice?

Any suggestions on where to get a wheat grinder, what kind to get, etc.? Any also where to get wheat berries?

Thanks!

skyemoor · Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 8:39 am Post subject: Re: Wheat grinders - advice?

For an excellent review of grain mills, see;

~~http://waltonfeed.com/self/grinders.html~~ No longer there.

Other comparisons:
http://www.internet-grocer.net/grinders.htm
http://www.nutritionlifestyles.com/grainmillcomparison.htm
http://kodiakhealth.com/catalog/default.php/cPath/25_36

We purchased the Country Living Mill, as we didn't want to be disappointed with a less-than-adequate grinder; we also wanted on that could be motorized. We've made many loaves of bread so far with much success, so I would recommend it based on our experience.

Another choice might be the Family Grain Mill, which costs less while having similar performance. If one wants to switch to electric, it requires a complete changeout of the main assembly (to my understanding). UPDATE: There is a configuration available the changes back and forth from electric to manual.
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LadyRuby · Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:10 am Post subject: Re: Wheat grinders - advice?

Thanks! Those look great, but do you (or anyone else) know of a fairly good, cheaper grinder? Like in the $30 or so range? I'd also like it to be manual, I most likely won't use it a whole lot, just occasionally, but would also like it in case of emergency.

marika · Coal Joined: Jan 05, 2006 Posts: 8

I use my Krups coffee grinder. It was maybe $15. It has about a 1/3 cup capacity so it takes several grindings to make enough for a 2 lb loaf of bread.

I get wheat berries in bulk from the local independent grocer. He stocks several kinds from $0.59-$0.79/lb. You can probably find them for a lot less if you buy them in big bags .

frankthetank · Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:26 am Post subject: Re: Wheat grinders - advice?

Marika~Any way to post some pics of what the wheat looks like AFTER the grinding???? That would be awesome!

You could look @ the Corona grain mill, but i've read bad things about it. Almost have to spend a little and get something that'll last the next 30years. It sucks though, because i can buy bread flour for 10lbs@1.79 and make a lot of homemade, delicous pizzas!

I'm also VERY interested in this subject, so anyone that can recommend, fire away!

marika · Coal Joined: Jan 05, 2006 Posts: 8

I don't have any pics but it can be used to grind berries as coarsely or finely as one desires. I can grind the berries so fine that the result is indistinguishable from commercial flours, but it takes time--maybe 10 minutes with 5-6 batches total, limited by what fits in the grinder, for 4 cups of flour to make a 2-lb loaf.

I also use my coffee grinder for grinding flax seeds.

pip · Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:07 pm Post subject: Re: Wheat grinders - advice?

WisJim · Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:39 pm Post subject: Re: Wheat grinders - advice?

We have a Marathon Uni-Mill that we got for $25 or so at a garage sale some years ago. It is in an enclosed wooden box that sits on the counter. Before we found it, we had bought a new Diamont, based on recommendations from friends, and were considering motorizing it as the boys were growing up and no longer thought it was great fun to spend a half hour grinding wheat into flour. We had a Corona years ago, and found it too hard to use to grind enough to make large batches of bread. We did keep a Corona style grinder that has the steel burrs instead of stones, to use for grinding peanuts or other oily or sticky items.

frankthetank · Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:48 pm Post subject: Re: Wheat grinders - advice?

That Krups method is tempting......very tempting!

I've been on the lookout @ the local junk/thrift place for a grinder, but they never seem to have anything like that. Plenty of $.30 knives, however!

erl · Intermediate Crude Joined: Mar 21, 2005 Posts: 795

Shannymara · Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:05 pm Post subject: Re: Wheat grinders - advice?

I love, LOVE my Country Living mill. I did a lot of research and decided it wasn't worth it to get a cheaper one unless that's literally all you can afford. I'm not exactly rolling in $$ but this was one purchase I felt needed to be quality, since our lives may depend on it someday. It is hard work grinding grain. I've done it several times and made some fantastic bread, but even with the Country Living mill using the leverage bar attachment I worked up a sweat and had to take some breaks just to grind 4 cups of flour, which took about 20 minutes.

I bought my organic wheat at Whole Foods, but you can probably get it from a co-op or something cheaper. Now that I'm out of Austin I've found a good co-op that delivers to my town once a month, and a good locally owned health food store in Tyler that sells grain. Best would be to buy direct from a farmer, but I haven't found one yet.

oowolf · Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 5:06 pm Post subject: Re: Wheat grinders - advice?

ebay. I got a massive "Arcade" grinder made circa 1930's for $11 + $12 shipping. It's almost as good as a Country Living mill (it has bushings, not bearings). Be patient. And make sure you know the condition of used equipment before bidding.

bobaloo · Heavy Crude Joined: Oct 14, 2004 Posts: 485

Shanymara, one thing you might want to try is grinding in two passes. I set the burrs quite coarse so it's just cracing the grains into chunks and run my wheat through in just a few seconds, it's fast and easy. Then I take that, dump it back in the hopper, tighten up the burrs and grind it into flour. I've found that for me it's much easier and faster than trying to do it in one pass.

BTW, the Corona is designed as a corn grinder, they're very popular all over Central and South America for grinding corn meal, they work fine for that but they're lousy for something as fine as wheat flour. I've got a few of the Coronas put away, pick them up for next to nothing at garage sales and thrift stores, because part of my stores is a lot of whole corn. I store it in 55 gallon drums, it keeps almost forever and it's incredibly cheap in bulk.

Another possibillity to watch for in grinders is antique stores and garage sales. A couple of years ago I picked up a late 1800's corn grinder, it's about 3' tall and 100 pounds, works incredibly well and will last forever, all cast iron and steel. Paid $30 for it at a garage sale of some antique type people who had been using it for a decoration. I also picked up a Country Living mill at a pawn shop for $150 last year, they had no idea of what it was.

Garage sales, pawn shops, thrift stores and Goodwill, the preppers way of life!

Shannymara · Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2006 10:05 pm Post subject: Re: Wheat grinders - advice?

Elfstrom · Tar Sands Joined: Mar 09, 2005 Posts: 53 Location: Toronto

For Canadians reading this thread, the following store was advertised in Alive magazine: Bio Supply Ltd, Victoria BC.

They sell oat flakers, grain mills, fermentation crocks, sprouters and more. I haven't bought anything from them yet so can't say one way or the other what their service is like.