# For those of you who grind your own flour



## Lydia (Dec 1, 2009)

What mill do you use? What do you like about it? What do you not like about it? What all have you used it for?


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

Nutrimill
Love it
I have ground hard red, soft ,rye wheat, beans of all sorts, legumes, and all into a very fine flour. 

The only thing I do not like is the ear piercing whine the mill makes when I am grinding flour. WOW it's loud.

If I had it to do over? I'd buy it again AND the Country Living Mill. You can hook that up to a stationary bike, and as fast as you can peddle, you can grind wheat


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

I just bought/got a vitalmil from pleasant hill grains. It was a bit over a hundred and has been pumping out the flour (I am having too much fun )....wheat, corn, rice, beans...
It wont work out for a survival situation, but suits me right nice now.
another HT member ordered one, and I copied her plan


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## ajaxlucy (Jul 18, 2004)

I use my VitaMix, which I like because it is so versatile. I've used it for flour, applesauce, soup, sauces, tomato juice, and ice cream.


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## CarolynRenee (Jan 30, 2008)

We have a Nutrimill electric grinder and a Country Living grain mill.

I use the Nutrimill on a weekly basis for grinding wheat and popcorn for cornmeal. Noisy it is, but it does a good job. You can also set it for a coarse or fine grind.

Before I got the Nutrimill, I'd use the CL grain mill. When I started using whole grain flour on a weekly basis, I grew lazy & wanted an electric mill. It did a good job on the wheat & oat groats. We don't have the attachment for the popcorn or larger grains / beans though & I wish we did....it's on the "to buy list". If you're going to use it frequently, you'll want to permanantly mount it to your countertop though. You'll also give your arm muscles a teriffic workout! The CL mill is basically our SHTF mill now that I got the electric one.

I'm very happy with both, but really can't compare them to others as they are the only ones I've ever used.


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## Marcia in MT (May 11, 2002)

I also use a Vitamix, and I love it. Very versatile machine, and makes very nice flour. I use the tip that says to freeze the grain before you grind it, so that it won't heat up as it gets ground.


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## nandmsmom (Mar 3, 2006)

I have a Wondermill. When I was researching, it was the one with the highest rating. It's certainly loud, but does a fabulous job. There are 3 settings, coarse, regular and a fine setting.


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## Lydia (Dec 1, 2009)

Wow, the Country Living grain mill is nearly $300! For a manual mill, that seems like a hefty price.

I had no idea you could do so much with a mill! Ice cream? Wow. 

So why should I buy a mill that's anywhere from $100-$300 instead of something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/grinder-HEAVY-DUTY-manual-adjustable-soybeans/dp/B0038NTONK


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

> So why should I buy a mill that's anywhere from $100-$300 instead of something like this:
> http://www.amazon.com/grinder-HEAVY-.../dp/B0038NTONK


You will be cranking for HOURS on that thing, wearing your shoulder out, and it will never give you the fine 'store like' flour that a Nutrimill can give you. 
You get what you pay for!


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## Goldie (Feb 18, 2009)

I agree with Laura Zone 5. Get both the Nutrimill and the Country Living if you can. Very good investment!


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## Ms.Lilly (Jun 23, 2008)

I have the Country Living Mill and absolutly love it!!!! We spent the extra money and added a motor to ours so I can use mine either way. The Country Living mill will pretty much grind up anything you give it- corn, beans, rice, grains......

Check out their website, we bought a blemished one for a discount and to this day we still can't firgure out where the blemish on ours is. Also their customer service was outstanding and best of all it is made in the USA!

http://www.countrylivinggrainmills.com/

Lillian


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## NCLee (Aug 4, 2009)

Lydia said:


> So why should I buy a mill that's anywhere from $100-$300 instead of something like this:
> http://www.amazon.com/grinder-HEAVY-DUTY-manual-adjustable-soybeans/dp/B0038NTONK


I have the same mill, bought under another brand name. It's fine for cracking corn for chicken feed. But, I couldn't get fine enough grind to make cornmeal. I also wanted a mill to grind dried beans for bean flour. Same problem as with cracking corn. Even if I ran either one through the mill several times, the grind was just too coarse. 

I've been looking at the Back to Basics mill. That's getting mixed reviews. Some folks swear by it, while other's swear at it. Wish I could afford a high end mill, like Country Living. But, the budget won't allow it right now. Thus, the reason for giving serious thought to the Back to Basics. Especially, since I may never use it, to any material extent, unless TSHTF.

Lee


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## rxkeith (Apr 13, 2009)

vitamix with a blade for grinding wheat berries. works good, and fast.


keith


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## highlandview (Feb 15, 2007)

I have a country living grain mill. The texture I get isn't quite as fine as I would like it to be. I've used the flour for pizza and bread.


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## Linkovich (Apr 17, 2009)

Lydia said:


> Wow, the Country Living grain mill is nearly $300! For a manual mill, that seems like a hefty price.
> 
> I had no idea you could do so much with a mill! Ice cream? Wow.
> 
> ...


I have this mill at home. I was given to me as a gift, but i'm not overly impressed with it. It's very had to get to stay on the countertop (as there's a curve on the bottom that keeps it moving around) and the flour is no where near fine enough to be used for bread. It makes more of a cracked wheat than anything. When I use it, I grind the wheat down, then I transfer it to a coffee grinder to make it finer. I wouldn't reccommend this, though it may be useful in the furture for some meals, as it is not electric...

I like the vitalmill! Most flour mills i've seen come close to $400 here, so $100, even with shipping is nice for my budget!


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## n2saving (Apr 9, 2010)

Lydia said:


> So why should I buy a mill that's anywhere from $100-$300 instead of something like this:
> http://www.amazon.com/grinder-HEAVY-DUTY-manual-adjustable-soybeans/dp/B0038NTONK


I have a Nutri Mill and am very pleased with it. I did get the manual one you asked about first. It works to grind up things, but you need to run it through two or three times and it will still not be flour fine. It works for grinding nuts or oily seeds that you can not grind in the Nutri Mill.


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## MOgal (Jul 27, 2002)

We've had a Retsel Mil-Rite since 1982. It's sturdy, quiet, and will grind from a fine powder to a cracked cereal. We've done wheat, rice, rye, field corn (not popcorn), and various dried beans. I'm sure there have been other grains I've ground in it but in 28 years, I probably forgot something. It is motorized but has a handle you can use for manual grinding. We have not tried that as we don't want to disconnect the motor from the grinding head. 

I'd buy another without hesitation.


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## Michele of MI (Jul 8, 2009)

I have a Lehmans Best Mill. We use it a lot. It will grind fine and coarse. It is fairly inexpensive as far as mills go.It is probably more labor intensive than the more expensive mills, but it works. We have used it on rye, wheat, barley, and dried beans. The dried beans were hard to grind, but it did work.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

MOgal said:


> We've had a Retsel Mil-Rite since 1982. It's sturdy, quiet, and will grind from a fine powder to a cracked cereal. We've done wheat, rice, rye, field corn (not popcorn), and various dried beans. I'm sure there have been other grains I've ground in it but in 28 years, I probably forgot something. It is motorized but has a handle you can use for manual grinding. We have not tried that as we don't want to disconnect the motor from the grinding head. I'd buy another without hesitation.


Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. I've had mine almost 30 years. It's great. Now they come in colors too! I can grind anything with it using electricity or not. It wasn't that expensive $200 back in the day. My only complaint - it is slower than the coffee grinder I use most of the time and it takes up a lot of space on the counter. I started using the coffee grinder when we moved to an apartment temporarily and have used it for the small batches of grinding that I do. When I want to grind a LOT at once-- the Retsel is the only way to go.


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## AshleyB (Aug 6, 2005)

My current mill is the K-tec and I will NOT be buying it again. There are two clasps that attach the mill to the bucket the flour goes into, they have both broken, so I have to hold the mill onto the bucket.


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## busymomof7 (May 11, 2010)

I have the Family Grain Mill. I've had it about 8 years and use it at least weekly. I mostly use it for wheat, but have also milled brown rice flour and bean flour with it. It is an electric mill and I use it with my Bosch Universal.

My manual mill is a Little Ark mill that I got for $5 at a garage sale. I love it and it does an awesome job of grinding wheat and also giving me a workout at the same time. 

~Julie~


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## ya-ni-sa_song (Nov 23, 2009)

I have an old Magic Mill that was given to me. It sells on Ebay for $300 or so. 
I absolutely love it. I have used it for wheat, rice, and other various flours and it produces a very fine flour. I have also cracked grains with it successfully. The machine itself is completely uncomplicated so in the event it needs repairs, I will be able to do them myself. I also like that there is no plastic save for the motor housing. The only "complaint" I have received from my children is that it is loud. Doesn't really bother me though, as I am hard of hearing.


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## praieri winds (Apr 16, 2010)

I was going to ask the same question I have been looking at the Grainmaker 
www.grainmaker.com it also is a little pricey but if there is no power you can't make flour and I am looking at it lasting long enough that I don't have to get another one


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I can't eat regular bread but we make sprouted wheat bread using my Grandma's old (false teeth) meat grinder, just add a TBLS of olive oil. We like it left real course, some even whole. We make cinnamon rolls, raisin bread rolls and dinner rolls mostly, in half batches. Makes a real sweet course bread. We also make English muffin bread, we use the meat grinder for coarse corn meal and soak it for an hour before adding to the rest of the dough. I get wheat from a friend and clean it myself. Doesn't take a lot to make 2 cups at a time....James


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## AshleyB (Aug 6, 2005)

I've been using the K-tec for several years now, and I won't be buying it again. The plastic brackets that hold the mill on the bucket have both snapped off so I have to hold it on by hand, and flour flies everywhere. I'll buy the Wondermill when I have saved up.


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## viggie (Jul 17, 2009)

Back to Basics 555 Mill. It's fine since I only bake for one, and it's a good exercise machine too 

I have a vitamix, I'll have to add a dry blade to my wish list.


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## Ray (Dec 5, 2002)

I just bought a VitaMix last year, it only does 2 cups grain at a time, but it is a super mixer too. It was around $600, hell it was more than my chainsaw, but I hoped it would be worth it. I must say it is a strong machine, and will be nice over the next decade for many things. But for a grain grinder its not a flour mill, it will not grind 25 lb or 50 lb. of flour at a time, its fine for small recipes that you have plenty of time for and only grind what you need as you need it 2 cups at a time, and keep your grain frozen and whole. just my experience, best wishes, ray


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