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a homeschooling mom of four who used to blog about food, has a book about sourdough, and who is now walking through the grief of losing my dad.
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The Best Sourdough Glazed Donuts

Though it seems daunting and expensive to grind your own flour, in the long run it is more cost effective and nutritious to do so. Find out how!

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There are many reasons to grind your own flour for baking at home. At first I thought it was too expensive, but I quickly learned that it saves a lot of money. But to be honest, it was the health benefits that won me over.

Whole grains have many nutrients available inside of them. I talk in my classes about these grains being “locked up.” The nutrients aren’t absorbed into the body until you soak or sprout your grains (ahem . . . natural yeast) which unlocks all that they have to offer.

It’s important to get the most out of those whole grains by soaking them or using a sourdough/natural yeast starter. But for now, I want to talk about the grains/flours themselves.

When commercial flours are made, they are subject to a lot of pressure, heat, and some additives to ensure the quality of the flour remains high. As soon as a grain is cracked and exposed to air, the oils inside of the bran will begin to oxidize and can quickly go rancid. Because of this fact, commercial flours remove the bran, taking with it most of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

The flour left from removing those vital parts of the grain is less likely to go bad quickly, but at a great cost. When you mill your own flour it retains all of those nutrients and it’s always fresh! The taste and smell of freshly ground flour is something you have to experience to appreciate.

Aside from nutritional value, grinding your own flour truly is more cost effective. The initial investment in a good mill will set you back, but it will make up for itself quickly. Wheat berries are much less expensive than flour, last longer (up to 30 years in storage), and take up less space. For every cup of wheat berries, you produce 1 1/2 c flour.

If you aren’t fortunate enough to be close to a local farm that will sell you wheat berries, there are a couple of options. One of my favorite sources for bulk grains online is Azure Standard. They have an amazing selection for awesome prices, and source non-GMO and organic foods that are delivered all across the country!

You can also find bulk organic and non-gmo grains of all kinds at Pleasant Hill Grain. They carry a wide selection. I love that they have dent corn (what is used for cornmeal) as well as popcorn, which I am picky about, and it’s hard to find the good stuff in a grocery store.

I recently received a Komo Classic Electric Grain Mill from Pleasant Hill Grain. For the past couple of years I have been using an old mill that my sister-in-law gave me and it was great. But we had to store it in the shop at our farm due to its size and the mess it created!

The first time I used the Komo Mill I was swooning!  It’s incredibly simple to use – turn it on, add your grain to the beautiful wooden hopper, and adjust the coarseness of your flour! It isn’t as loud as I was expecting either, which was a nice surprise.

I love how fresh flour is warm and smells sweet. This mill allows me to grind flour quickly any time I want to make bread or feed my starter, or to grind a bit more to store in the freezer. It fits in my cupboard or sits on top because it’s so gorgeous that I want to look at it constantly!

In reality, I am drawn to the simplicity and beauty of this machine. It’s well thought-out, does the job wonderfully, and will last me a very long time.

My kids are loving their new job of helping me grind our wheat. I can’t keep their little fingers out of that warm flour coming straight from the mill – they love the taste!

I will be going into more depth about grains over the next couple of months and I can’t wait to experiment with grinding my own cornmeal for cornbread this fall!

What type of grain would you like to learn more about? Leave a comment below! 

 

Comments +

  1. Holly W says:

    That is a beautiful mill! I too love the smell of fresh flour – it’s one of my favorite smells and reminds me of growing up since my mom was often grinding wheat to make bread. I have been grinding my own wheat for years but have never tried grinding any other type of grain. Whatever you post, I’ll gladly read about.

  2. Mindi says:

    Great post! I also have an old grinder and would love to switch over to a new one- this one on your post looks great! When I’m ready to switch over I’ll definitely try this one.

  3. Caylee says:

    Great post Kelsey. I need you to come up here and do a class!❤️ That grain mill is so cute – I need one!

  4. Emily Courage says:

    I was just given a recipe for Einkorn flour crackers, which include some essential oil seasonings. This would be the perfect prep tool for those tasty treats!

  5. Brittany Monson says:

    What kinds of grains are your favorite?

  6. Jackie says:

    This is all new info for me so I would like to learn more about wheat and maybe flax!

  7. Jonny J says:

    I’m not a terrific baker, but I’m a professional at eating baked goods. I couldn’t believe how quiet that thing was on your Instagram story!

  8. Li says:

    It IS cute!! Sounds wonderful… especially the scent of warm wheat!!
    I want one. ??

  9. Bree says:

    I don’t have any idea about how this all works but I’d love to learn!! Teach me your ways!!

  10. Shelly says:

    Ok so we need to chat! I’d love to have you come over sometime (and bring your beautiful new machine) and teach me and a few friends what you know! I’m so intrigued.

  11. Melanie Secretan says:

    Awesome post! Sadly I have never ground my own flour, but I have been wanting to learn for years! I would LOVE to attend a class if you have one next time you are in southern Alberta.

  12. Sharon says:

    My mom used to grind our wheat. It’s such a nostalgic thing for me and I’ve wanted to do so but had too many questions, including is the expense worth it. You answered all my questions and who wouldn’t want to grind their own flour with such a gorgeous mill!!! Thank you!

  13. Jen Poulin says:

    Great post!!! I have wheat berries in my food storage and they need to be ground up for yummy bread!! Your pics are so beautiful… They inspire me to get baking!

  14. Brittany says:

    Oh I loooooove that mill! I’m using one I found at a garage sale and I have to grind everything on the back porch ? It’s so loud and messy! But I feel good knowing we are getting good nutrients! Can’t wait for future posts about grinding wheat! I’ve never even thought about doing corn meal??!

    • Kelsey says:

      Yes! I was given some organic local dent corn last year and have been dying to try it out!

  15. Kennedy says:

    When you talked about how newly ground flour is warm it brought back so many memories! It really does smell amazing too! That wheat grinder is honestly stunning, I would not mind having it on my counter ONE BIT and I hate things on my counter. I am in love with it. I would love hearing more about what grains specifically you use and definitely all about cornmeal!

  16. Cindy G says:

    I’ve never ground wheat because I don’t bake. Yeast scares me. But I well remember my mom grinding the wheat and the smell truly is wonderful. Every time you post, though, I get closer to thinking I should learn how to make bread. Maybe by the time I’m 50!

  17. Darcy says:

    What about bones? Does it grind your bones to make my bread?

  18. Heather says:

    Wheat bread from fresh ground floor is unmatched. I love most grains but I don’t use them as much because it isn’t convenient. You should teach a class just on grains.

  19. Shauna Jensen says:

    I really want this!! Great post Kels.

  20. Kenzie says:

    Nolan would love this so much, he’s my wheat grinder and it’s quite a chore with our old grinder and all the cleanup after!! This looks heavenly and beautiful!

  21. Celena says:

    Kels, this looks like an awesome mill! Caylee sent me your link. I would leave this on my kitchen counter anytime, its appearance bid awesome! I have a new job I can give my kids!
    Thanks for your information! I hope your family is doing well!

  22. I think that grinding wheat as a family would be such a fun activity. My kids are always asking me ways that they could help around the kitchen, so I’ll have to start doing. If not I’m sure that I could look online for wheat or different types of grain.

    • Kelsey says:

      Yes the places I linked are great resources for grain online. Azure standard and pleasant hill grain!

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about me

Hey, I'm Kels!

a homeschooling mom of four who used to blog about food, has a book about sourdough, and who is now walking through the grief of losing my dad.

I have lots of recipes and resources, but now it's just about me being real, walking through the messy and beautiful parts of life.

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