Friday, December 16, 2011

Wheat Grinders - Types, Prices, Usage, Recommendations

If you are anything like me, the idea of buying, let alone in fact Using a wheat grinder can be pretty intimidating. I am thought about to fetch a healthy-sized food warehouse and wheat is going to play a big role in that. I am also a fan of the mantra "store what you eat and eat what you store". Thus it speedily became apparent to me that I needed to do some heavy duty study in order to search all the mysteries surrounding "wheat grinders" or "grain mills" as they are officially called. With the help of internet research, some hands on study at several neighbors' houses, and multiple failed attempts in the kitchen, I have come up with a pretty good summary of what you need to know.

Types of Wheat Grinders

Manual Wheat Grinders

Pros

Inexpensive Can be used with no power source Small to store
Cons

Slow to grind (mine took 6 minutes to grind one cup of flour) Except for the very high-end models, you cannot grind a fine flour Inconvenient (messy and hard to fit a large bowl underneath)
KitchenAid Attachments

Pros

Less costly than an electric grinder Small to store Convenient to use and then mix bread in the same machine
Cons

I have heard from multiple sources that these units will Break your KitchenAid mixer Not as fast at grinding as electric grinders
Electric Wheat Grinders

Pros

Grinds very fast Useful for many types of grains, beans, nuts, etc. Easy to settle on how common or fine to grind, and has a large range
Cons

Fairly expensive, even for the lower-end models Must have a generator or battery pack to use with no electricity (unless you buy a high end model that comes with a hand-operated crank) A large appliance to store in your kitchen
Prices of Wheat Grinders

Manual Wheat Grinders

Low: -30 models will not grind flour, only common corn meal, etc. Not very useful. Medium: -5 is a good price range. Back to Basics Grain Mill is . It can grind fine sufficient for bread flour but not for very fine cake flour. Wonder Junior is higher-priced at 9 but it can grind into cake flour. High: Up to 0 for the Country Living Grain Mill. It is quicker than other hand-operated grinders and is able to grind a fine cake flour.
KitchenAid Attachments

0-120, some may be used on any stand mixer.
Electric Wheat Grinders

Low: Under 0 for grinders such as the Blendtec Grain Mill. Its drawbacks are it is very noisy and cannot do very common grinds. Medium: 0-0 can get you a great grinder. The two most popular electric grinders are the WonderMill and the NutriMill. In my tests I found the WonderMill to be faster, quieter, cleaner, and easier to store. And priced at 9 it is even economy than the NutriMill which is 9. High: Over 0 is an unnecessary amount to spend in my opinion. There are heavy duty models out there but you can get the job done with the mid-range models.
How To Use Wheat Grinders

Manual Wheat Grinders

Attach wheat grinder to your counter top Place a bowl underneath Pour the wheat in the funnel Turn the crank (for a Long time) Wheat will filter into the bowl below
Electric Wheat Grinders

Select how fine or common you want to grind Turn on the machine Pour the wheat in the top Wait for it to grind into flour (super fast) Turn off the motor and pull out your canister of wheat
How To Use Fresh Ground Whole Wheat

Whole wheat bread can be delicious! I have gone through a lot of recipes trying to find the perfect equilibrium of flavor, nutrition, texture, etc. For my wheat bread. Experiment with dissimilar recipes and types of wheat until you find what your family prefers. We liked using hard white wheat in a formula that included gluten and oatmeal. Pancakes even your kids will love! I took an Ihop corn cakes formula and plainly swapped all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour and it was amazing. My kids ate 3 each at one meal. They are tasty drizzled with honey over top. Whole wheat oatmeal cookies you can't resist. I haven't tried any of these recipes yet but several of my friends said they prefer whole wheat cookies to regular cookies. Who wouldn't want an excuse to make cookies, hey it's rotating your food storage. Much much more. I grind up a large Tupperware full of hard white wheat flour and store it in my freezer (it retains the nutrients that way). Whenever I do any baking I replace half or all of the flour called for with my whole wheat flour. If it is as good or great I add that formula to my food warehouse formula binder. It's a great way to experiment until you find what works for you.
My Recommendations

Emergency-Only Usage

If you are planning to use your food warehouse and wheat grinder only if an emergency situation arises, it is not worth the cost and hassle of buying and storing an electric grinder. At a minimum you should get the Back to Basics Grain Mill but I would extremely suggest splurging for the Wonder Junior.
Every-Day Usage

If you plan to "store what you eat and eat what you store" I extremely suggest the WonderMill Grain Mill electric grinder. If you are not planning to find an alternative power source for an emergency situation, then eventually pick up a Back to Basics Grain Mill as well. The price of these two combined are still economy than high-end electric grinders that have a hand-operated crank option, and the functionality of the WonderMill is great for frequent usage.

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