Now… let’s talk about if Nutrimill or Mockmill grain mills are best for you. There are pros and cons to both, so let’s dive in andalk about what you need to know.

Are Nutrimill grain mills good?

I’ve used all three models of grain mills that Nutrimill carries. And, overall, they’re all good machines. We’ll break this down more later, but for now here’s an overview of the mills Nutrimill sells:

The Harvest grain mill

The harvest is a beautiful, compact stone mill. Unfortunately, it isn’t as user-friendly as I’d like, especially for newbies trying to dive into the world of fresh milled flour. It does the job, and is certainly powerful enough to grind wheat into decent flour.

The Classic grain mill

This bad boy makes the fines flour of any mill I’ve tried. It’s large, great for milling lots of flour at once. It uses steel impact head technology, so it’s not a stone mill. It’s my favorite budget-friendly mill that does a really good job milling lots of flour, quickly.

The Impact grain mill

The Impact mill was Nutrimill’s most recent addition to the lineup. It’s currently the most affordable mill on the market, and it does a good job. It’s similar in function to the Classic mill, with a slightly smaller hopper and flour canister. It packs up in a way that can make it better for small spaces than the Classic, but, in my opinion, the Classic is a bit more user-friendly than the Impact.

Comparing Nutrimill and Mockmill models

I briefly compare all the Nutrimill grain mills to the many options available with Mockmill in this video:

Nutrimill pros

• Nutrimill has insanely awesome customer service, and is always happy to take a call, answer and email, or handle any issues or questions you may have. I personally know several of the folks over there, and I absolutely adore everyone I’ve ever connected with. They’re an awesome team of people who won’t let you down.
• They have sales, coupon codes, and deals to constantly take advantage of. In fact, my code (soulyrested) even works on the Impact mill (which is already super easy on the wallet!).
• Their mills are known for being super long-lasting. I’ve heard of folks who have some of Nutrimill’s original mixers and grain mills from the 80s and 90s that are still going strong!

Nutrimill cons

• Mills are often out of stock, and when they are in stock it’s a race to see who will snag the mill they’ve been eying!
• Their more affordable models (the Classic and Impact) are closed-canister style, meaning that it’s harder to make just the right amount of flour, or mill just a little bit at a time. Also means more dishes to wash! (More details on stone vs. impact mills here)
• You cannot re-mill flour in either of the impact-style Nutrimills, and while you can technically re-mill flour in the Harvest, I found that the stones seem to “glaze” over pretty easily when doing so.

Are Mockmill grain mills good?

I’ve used both a Mockmill 200 Lino and a Mockmill 100 Lino. They’re both great mills that were obviously thoughtfully designed for everyday use. Mockmill sells (essentially) three different mills:

Mockmill 100 (Lino style and “regular”)

The Lino Mockmills are the same interior as the “regular” mockmills, but with a wooden outer housing. The number 100 stands for the milling speed–100 grams of flour milled, per minute. This is an on-demand stone mill.

Mockmill 200 (Lino style and “regular”)

Again, the Lino Mockmills are the same interior as the “regular” mockmills, but with a wooden outer housing. The 200 means this mill will grind 200 grams of flour per minute, twice as fast as the 100. These on-demand stone mills allow you to mill just the right amount of flour, into any bowl you choose.

Mockmill professional

This is similar to the Mockmill 200, but with extra protection built-in for long usage times. It has a built-in heavy-duty fan so it won’t overheat if it’s being run a lot, and the motor is built a bit different to allow for longer running times without overheating.

Mockmill pros

The Mockmill 200 Lino is my everyday-use grain mill. This is because it’s because it’s beautiful and an absolute workhorse. It mills incredible flour, quickly. It tackles any job I’ve thrown at it without bashing an eyelash.

• They offer wooden and white options in both 100 and 200 models, so something is bound to fit your budget. All of their mills are on-demand style, so you can always mill the right amount of flour, into any bowl.
• Mockmills are known for their thoughtful and practical design. They do their job, very well.
• Easily re-mills flour without glazing the stones.

Mockmill cons

• Not based in the U.S., so for those of us in the states it can be difficult to reach customer service at certain times of day.
• The wooden models are definitely on the pricier end. If you aren’t as concerned about aesthetics, opt for the white models that come with the same interior, just a different exterior.

Mockmill 200 vs. Nutrimill Harvest mill

These two mills are probably the most similar of all of the Mockmills and Nutrimills. They’re both stone mills, in a wooden housing that are on-demand style.

Size wise, the Harvest is a bit shorter than the Mockmill. The Mockmill is more of a rounded shape, versus the boxy shape of the Harvest. Overall, I’d say they take up about the same space/footprint, though.

In terms of output, Nutrimill claims the Harvest mill mills 128 grams of flour per minute. I would add my personal note that I’ve found it to actually be slower than that–especially if you want really fine flour. The Mockmill 200 mills at a rate of 200 grams of flour per minute.

The fineness of flour you’ll get from the Mockmill is remarkably better than what you’ll get from the Harvest, at least in my opinion. The Harvest can make fine flour, with some work and patience. The Mockmill mills fine flour, no questions asked. They can both mill anything from fine flour to cracked grains, and everything in between.

My overall pick between these two mills would be the Mockmill. However, the Harvest is available at a more budget-friendly price point, if looks are important to you (if you want a pretty wooden exterior, not a white Mockmill!).

The big picture: Nutrimill vs. Mockmill

If you’re looking for easier-on-the-wallet options that will do the job, Nutrimill makes so many different great mills. 

However, for folks looking for an on-demand style mill on a budget, I’d go for a white Mockmill–either 100 (slightly slower milling) or 200.

Bakers who make lots of flour at once but don’t want to spring for a Mockmill Professional, go for the Nutrimill Classic. You won’t be disappointed.

For those wanting a beautiful mill on their counter who aren’t in a big rush for flour, grab the Harvest mill.

My personal daily-use pick is the wooden Mockmill 200. It simply checks all my boxes for beauty, versatility, practicality, and it just does a really good job.

Looking to start out with fresh flour without breaking the bank? The affordable and simple-to-use Impact mill, all the way.

As a sidenote, if you’re worried about the noise different mills make, check out this post for a conversation about noise mills make.

More like Nutrimill or Mockmill–which grain mill is best:

• The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Grain Mill
• Why I Started Milling my own Flour
• Sourdough with fresh milled flour: what you need to know
• Home Flour Mills: Impact vs. Stone Mills

The post Nutrimill or Mockmill–which grain mill is best? first appeared on Souly Rested.

These days, as I make nutritious oatmeal from freshly-rolled oats, fresh cow’s milk, fermented blueberries, and sometimes protein powder for extra protein, I laugh at my old self.

Not that she wasn’t necessary, she was. I wouldn’t be where I am now without sugar-free (aka fake sugar), low-calorie (aka zero nutrients), instant oatmeal packet Michelle.

But let’s just say I’m very thankful I’ve upgraded my breakfasts, m’kay?

So let’s talk about how and why to make rolled oats with an oat flaker.

What are rolled oats, anyway?

So what are rolled oats?

Similar to wheat berries, oats all start out as a wholegrain kernel. In order to cook oats effectively, they get rolled.

Commercially, the rolled oats you purchase at the store have been steamed (sometimes also heated), then rolled through huge rollers to flatten the oat groats into rolled oats. The problem with this conventional method is that oats don’t need to be steamed and heated in order to be rolled. The steaming and heating process unfortunately causes the oats to loose some of their original nutrients.

Even further, rolled oats start out as oat groats. Turns out, oat groats naturally maintain their nutrients for quite a while when they’re left as they are. Once you roll oats, you sort of “unlock” those nutrients, which is great if you’re eating them right away. But unfortunately, once they’re rolled, they loose nutrients quickly. The sooner you can eat rolled oats after they’re rolled, the more nutrients your body will get.

Rolled oats, quick oats, old fashioned oats and oat groats: what’s the difference?

Stopping in front of the oats at the grocery store can be super confusing. What’s the difference between all these oats?

Diffusing the confusion surrounding what all the different types of oats are is a huge step in the direction of unlocking the nutrition of real oats.

Rolled oats

Rolled oats are simply oat groats (the wholegrain form of oats) that have been steamed and rolled into rolled oats as we know them. They’re suitable for really anything you’d use oats for.

Quick oats

Quick oats are rolled oats that are rolled even thinner and sometimes have been chopped into smaller pieces to help them cook faster. These are mainly used for oatmeal, but can also be used in baking or other baked products.

Old fashioned oats

These are simply a different name for rolled oats. They’re one and the same: oat groats that have been steamed, rolled, and processed into the flattened oats that we picture when someone says “oats.”

Oat groats

Finally, oat groats; the basis of all oats. None of the type of oats listed above would exist without oat groats. They’re the wheat berries of oats. They’re the wholegrain form of rolled oats. If you were to walk into a field of oats growing, shake the stalk and gather what comes out, those would be oat groats. They can be rolled and flaked into oats suitable for using in oatmeal, granola, or anything you’d use oats for.

How to use an oat flaker

My life changed dramatically when I started milling my own flour. I had a similar life-changing experience when I got my oat flaker and started rolling all my own oats.

Turns out, just like fresh milled flour, freshly flaked oats are so much more nutritious than their commercial rolled-months-ago-counterparts. And although learning to use my oat flaker was a much smaller learning curve than learning to use my grain mill, it still had a learning curve. But it turns out, it’s really simple.

1. Decide which oat flaker is best for you. The two main options for oat flakers are manual (hand crank-style) or electric (pour the oat groats in and wait for it to do its thing). I chose to go with an electric oat flaker, which I adore. Learn more about my oat flaker here.
2. Source oat groats. I personally order mine from Azure Standard because they’re the best price I can find, while also the best quality. Azure Standard is my all-time favorite independent food supplier. If it’s your first time placing an order of $100 or more, use code SOULYRESTED to save 15% OFF your entire order! (My favorite items to pick up from Azure are listed here.)
3. Decide if you want to moisten your oat groats or not. If the look and size of your oats is important to you, you might want to consider adding some moisture to help the groats flake better. Add roughly 1 teaspoon of water per cup of oat groats and let sit overnight. Oat groats can definitely be flaked without any additional moisture (aka the way I usually do it), but they’ll be a less uniform, picture-perfect end product.
4. Turn your oat flaker on, add in the oat groats, and watch your homemade rolled oats shoot out into your bowl. It’s truly that simple.

Oat flakers shouldn’t need to be cleaned, and certainly shouldn’t ever be moistened or submerged in water. My Mockmill oat flaker can be taken apart to brush off the rollers when needed. (I had to do that when I ran a too-moistened grain through my flaker and slightly gummed up the rollers. Learned my lesson.)

How to make rolled oats without an oat flaker

Technically, there’s more than one way to roll an oat. (That sounded weird…)

And although I absolutely adore my oat flaker and personally think it’s well worth the investment for a good machine, I know that not everyone has the budget or kitchen space for another appliance. So let’s go over a few ways you can try to roll oats at home without an oat flaker.

• I’ve heard of folks who have rolled oats by simply rolling them with a rolling pin. I would assume that’s rather laborious and time consuming, but I suppose it could be done. You’ll definitely want to moisten your oats (1 teaspoon of water per cup of oats, soaked in a container overnight) before attempting this to make them easier to roll.
• You can also try rolling your oats through a hand-crank pasta maker if you have one. Again, you’ll want to moisten your oats before trying this.
• Use your grain mill to make not rolled oats, but cracked oats or oat flour. In some cases, this might give a recipe calling for oats the same flavor, just with a different texture. Make sure you only ever run WHOLE oat groats through your grain mill, though. Milling already rolled oats can gum up your mill.

What grains can be rolled into “oats?”

When I was writing Fresh Flour University, I knew I wanted to write a section about flaking grains. So I started researching what grains could be flaked, and I was surprised to learn how many of the grains that I already had in my pantry could be turned into not just flour but also flakes or rolled grains. 

I was surprised even more by how (with the just right amount of added moisture), it was true. Almost every single grain I tried flaked beautifully. Obviously there was some trial and error with exactly how each grain liked to be flaked (some of them I wound up soaking then drying, others were great with just a spritz of water, and so on). But the end result was incredible. 

Here are the grains that I successfully learned to flake:

• Oats (obviously)
• Kamut (learn exactly how to flake Kamut here)
• Barley
• Einkorn (instructions for flaking einkorn here)
• Hard red wheat
• Hard white wheat
• Soft white wheat
• Spelt
• Rye
• Buckwheat

From my experiments, each one of these grains likes a slightly different amount of moisture in order to create a nice rolled/flaked texture. Maybe I’ll share the results of all my experimenting on the blog someday.

For now, exact instructions for flaking Kamut are in this post all about Kamut. And Einkorn flaking instructions here.

Or dive into Fresh Flour University and get it all, instantly–full instructions for flaking any grain as well as a 220-page workbook and 24 in-depth units that will have you choosing the right wheat berry for every cup of flour for every recipe and milling all your own flour like a pro. Use code SOULYRESTED to save.

My favorite flaked grains to work with and use in recipes turned out to be Kamut and Einkorn. The Einkorn flakes are so little and golden/buttery, and the Kamut are large, yellow flakes that make amazing granola (bigger flakes=larger, more textured “clumps” of granola!).

Where to buy oat groats

When I first learned about flaking oats and why making your own rolled oats is better, I was at a loss of where to purchase oat groats to make rolled oats from. Once you start looking, though, they can actually be pretty simple to find.

My favorite place to get my oat groats from is Azure Standard.  If you don’t know about this family-run independent food supplier, find out what I really think about them here. Azure Standard is a food co-op that delivers organic, bulk foods at great prices to “drop” locations once month around the country. If you want to check it out, find a drop near you and use the code “soulyrested” to save 15% off your entire first order of $100 or more.

Certain large brands do sell oat groats in their whole form and you might be able to buy them at a “traditional” grocery store near you. Bob’s Red Mill, for example, does sell “wholegrain oat groats,” but they also sell steel cut oats, and those are more commonly found in stores. Don’t be confused, though, and grab steel cut oats. They won’t flake well.

There are a surprising amount of options for oat groats on Amazon. Like this one (smaller size) or this one (bulk size).

Also check your local natural food stores, especially if they have bulk bins. They’ll often have oat groats at a decent price.

Why are freshly flaked oats different?

If you’re familiar with fresh milled flour, you know that wheat berries last virtually forever, with all of their nutrition locked up inside. Once you mill or crack or crush the wheat berry, those nutrients are oxidized, and loose their nutrients quickly. That’s because the oils inside the wheat berry are fatty and to rancid quickly. This is just one of many reasons why I mill my own flour.

Crazy enough, oats are very similar to wheat berries/fresh milled flour. Once the whole oat groat is processed into rolled oats, steel cut oats, or quick oats, the nutrients that were contained inside the oat groat are now exposed to air and go rancid. That means that oats are most nutritious the sooner you eat them after they’re rolled or processed.

The rolled oats sitting on the store shelves for, who knows, months–maybe longer? Unfortunately they’re just not going to contain the nutrition that they originally had.

How long do rolled oats made at home last?

Well, ideally your freshly rolled oats will be eaten as soon as possible after processing.

But that’s not to say you can’t keep oats at all. If you made too many rolled oats, simply store them in a jar or container at room temperature. If you’re going to be keeping them longer than a week or so, consider storing them in the fridge or freezer to maintain more nutrients.

If you have an oat flaker, one of the benefits is having on-demand, freshly rolled oats when you need them. Take advantage of that and try to only roll as many oats as you need each time.

Print

How to make rolled oats

Equipment

• oat flaker

Ingredients

• oat groats
• water, if desired

Instructions

• OPTINAL: soak your oat groats with 1 teaspoon of water per cup of groats in a ziploc or airtight container overnight. Make sure the groats aren't noticeably wet before putting them into your flaker--they should be just very slightly damp.
• Pour your oat groats into your oat flaker, making sure you don't overfill the hopper or it can jam if it's too full.
• Place a bowl under where the oats will come out, turn the flaker on, and wait for the magic of freshly rolled oats.
• Use your freshly rolled oats in any way you'd normally use oats--granola, oatmeal, in cookies or breads.

What I use to make rolled oats

​​Some items linked on this page are sourced from my all-time favorite independent food supplier. If it’s your first time placing an order of $100 or more be sure to use code SOULYRESTED to save 15% OFF your entire order! (My favorite items to pick up from Azure are listed here.)

More like how to make rolled oats (with an oat flaker) & why you should:

• Why I mill my own flour
• Learn more about my oat flaker here.
• How to store wheat berries 101
• Whole wheat pumpkin muffins (recipe)

The post How to make rolled oats (with an oat flaker) & why you should first appeared on Souly Rested.

What flour mill is best for me? Impact vs stone mill

I recently recorded a podcast episode that goes into more depth about my thoughts on all of this:

Episode 161: Unpacking the Truth About Fresh Flour–listen on Apple Podcast OR spotify or find other options here.

What are stone mills?

At their most basic form, stone mills are simply two stones grinding together to turn grains into flour. Back in the day, stones would be rotated by mules and other large animals. The huge stones would have grooves in them that allowed the flour to pass through the stones as soon as it was ground enough to be flour.

Nowadays, we have a much smaller, electric version of these same mills on our countertops. Back in the day they used only natural stones for milling, which needed to be sharpened and the grooves in the stones re-cut to allow the mill to continue grinding grains. These days they use a self-sharpening stone (that also happens to be very durable) so we don’t have to worry about keeping the stones sharp and ready to mill flour.

Generally stone mills keep the flour cooler than impact mills, although most modern impact mills have temperature controls, which keeps the flour at a reasonable temperature. Ideally, you don’t want your fresh milled flour to go over 120 degrees while milling in order to keep as many nutrients intact as possible.

The two stone mills I’ve used and recommend are the Nutrimill Harvest (less powerful and slower output of flour but so beautiful) and the Mockmill (powerfully engineered with a fast and reliable flour output with beautiful wooden options for a higher price tag).

What are impact mills? Impact vs stone mill

Unlike stone mills, impact mills use sharp steel milling heads to mill grains into flour. There are two sets of teeth-like rotating steel heads that spin around each other and crush and pulverize grains until they turn into a fine flour.

This process can heat up the grains a good bit, so check into if the impact-style mill you purchase has temperature controls built into their mechanisms, making sure your flour doesn’t overheat and loose nutrients while milling. For example, the Classic Nutrimill doesn’t allow extracted flour to be hotter than 118 degrees, which offers peace of mind that you’re getting the most nutritious flour possible.

Some folks will talk about stone milling as if it’s the only way to get a quality wholegrain flour as the end result. This confusion usually comes out of the fact that Impact or steel burr mills are used commercially to create powdery-fine flour devoid of nutrients. But if you’re using an impact mill at home, you’re able to keep all three parts of the wheat berry (the bran, germ, and endosperm) in your flour, resulting in the same, incredibly nutritious fresh milled flour that you’d also get from a stone mill. Don’t let the marketing confuse you–unsifted fresh milled flour from an impact mill will be just as nutritious as fresh milled flour from a stone mill.

The two impact-style mills I’ve used and recommend are the Nutrimill Classic and The Impact.

How is a stone mill different from an impact mill?

In general, stone mills offer a wider range of what you can mill and how course/fine you can mill them. Impact mills tend to make really fine flour, but can’t make courser flours or cracked grains. Stone mills also offer easier and more efficient adjustments (for example, I simply go off how the stones SOUND to know how fine/course my flour will mill at any given time). Impact mills tend to be harder to adjust, and it’s tough to know exactly what your flour will come out looking like because you can’t hear the difference the way you can with a stone mill.

Most stone mill designs are on-demand style (meaning you can mill your flour into whatever bowl you’d like to use and easily add or take away wheat berries as it’s milling), and most impact mills on the market are closed-canister style milling (meaning you add the wheat berries and they go into an attached canister where you won’t see the flour until it’s done milling and you remove the canister and lid).

Impact vs stone mill: the milling differences

Impact mills should never be run without grain in the hopper, and should never be stopped mid-milling. You also don’t have access to the milling heads, meaning you can’t take the mill apart, whereas most stone mils you can take apart and see the stone milling heads. This isn’t normally a big deal, but sometimes it’s nice to see the inside of the mill and take notes of how certain grains impact (or don’t impact) your stones. The downside to stone mills is sometimes the stones can “glaze” over, or need to be “cleaned,” but milling rice will remedy that quickly and easily.

Stone mills should be turned on before adding grains, unlike impact mills. You should hear the stones turning before adding grains to the hopper.

Can I re-mill flour in an impact mill?

One huge benefit to stone milling is that most stone mills can easily re-mill flour without issues. Ground grains should never be run back through an impact mill as it would totally gum up the milling heads and render the mill useless.

(Although, I will add that re-milling grains usually won’t be necessary if you have a good quality flour mill. When I used my Nutrimill harvest, I found myself often re-milling my flour, but I’ve never felt the need to re-mill flour from my Mockmill, for what that’s worth.)

So overall, you have a wider range of what a stone mill can do, whereas you’re more “stuck” with the flour you get from an impact mill. But, in my experience impact-style mills tend to grind flour even finer than stone mills can, with just one pass through the mill.

Stone milling vs. impact milling is mostly a personal choice. They both have pros and cons, and they’re both good options for home flour mills. My daily-use flour mill is a stone mill. My deciding factor for this is because I can use whatever bowl I want to mill my flour into, without having to clean lots of parts like I would with an impact mill (the canister, lid, filter, and filter cups need to be cleaned after each use). The on-demand style of stone flour mills is my personal preference.

Does a stone mill or an impact mill make finer flour?

In my experience using from two different impact mills and two different stone mills, impact mills make finer flour with minimal effort. Stone mills can definitely make fine flour, but you’ll have to pay more attention to how you’re milling the grains to get a fine flour. Impact mills allow you to just turn a knob, wait, and get powdery fine flour.

That’s why, in general, I recommend impact mills for beginning millers. They’re easy to use and understand, make really fine flour effortlessly, and they also tend to be more budget-friendly.

However, stone mills tend to be prettier, offer a wider range of textures and coarseness you can mill, and make fine flour with just a little more effort/know-how.

More like Impact Vs. Stone Flour Mill:

• Why I started milling my own flour
• The ultimate guide to choosing a grain mill
• Sourdough bread made with fresh milled flour
• 5 benefits to milling your own flour
• How to use a grain mill

The post Home flour mills: Impact vs. Stone mill first appeared on Souly Rested.

As a grain mill connoisseur *cough* I decided it was time to break it all down for you.

(And by connoisseur I just mean I’ve just been fortunate enough to test drive most of the models we’re gonna talk about today.)

I’ll just spoil one surprise right now… my pick for the Best Budget-Friendly grain mill? The Impact mill does an amazing job and is user friendly. My exclusive code, SOULYRESTED saves even more and shipping is free!

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Grain Mill

Without further ado, let’s answer your burning grain mill questions.

Listen to the podcast about choosing a grain mill

Today’s podcast episode is all about this very topic. I dive into all my thoughts about all 3 kinds of grain mills I’ve used over the years. Listen here. Or watch below. A few viewers’ comments on youtube:

What to look for when buying a grain mill?

After many years of using and comparing 3 very different grain mills, I’ve decided these are the 6 questions I would ask before ultimately choosing a grain mill:

Is it a stone or steel mill?

Stone mills are extremely durable and even self-sharpening – an advantage over steel mills. Stone mills also tend to offer more variety of coarseness–from fine to coarse grinds. And the stones are typically easy to remove and clean off if they get a build up or film on them. My steel mill is completely closed/encased and could only be looked at or cleaned off by a skilled technician. But, as I explained this week in Episode 104 of the Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy podcast, my steel mill (The Classic) has always produced very fine flour that gives great results for my baked goods.

Does it provide flour-on-demand?

If you want to make flour as you need it, one cup at a time, then this question is an important one to ask. The Harvest and all Mockmills make flour on demand. The Classic, on the other hand, can make a bulk amount of flour at one time.

Is it easy to use?

In this category, the Mockmill shines in my opinion. I don’t like that I can’t see how much flour I’ve made in the Classic, which collects the flour in an enclosed bowl. And the Harvest’s adjustment knob is much harder to use, in my opinion, than the Mockmill, which has a very user-friendly number scale that allows easy adjusting for different types of wheat berries or alternative flours.

Is it easy to clean?

While it’s not truly hard at all, if I’m being honest I don’t like that the Classic Mill has so many moving pieces to clean and dry every time I use it. The other two just need a simple wipe off occationally and a little bit of rice run through them every so often.

What is its footprint & appearance? 

If it will be on your counter 24/7, both of these factors will be more important to you than if you want to store your mill out of site except for when you’re using it. Even then, of course, you want to consider if it’s cumbersome and/or heavy to move.

Will it grind alternative grains well?

I know this is important to folks with food allergies and gluten sensitivities, but it’s important to me too and our family has none of those. I love using a grain mill to make things like chickpea flour (which I use in place of corn starch) and dent corn (which I use in place of cornmeal

In this category, the Mockmill “wins” as the one with the most versatility, and the Classic seems to have the least, since it’s manual warns to “use caution” when grinding chickpea, kamut, corn, dried beans, and oat grouts, among other things. The Harvest falls in between, but the Mockmill can grind these things with ease that the other two cannot:

• chia seeds
• herbs
• spices

Is buying a grain mill worth it, or will my blender do?

Blenders can work decently well to grind grains for short periods of time. However, keep in mind that blenders aren’t designed to mill hard grains into fine flour, so your end product will probably be rather gritty, not to mention that you risk burning your blender out– which will probably cost more to replace than if you had just started with a grain mill in the first place.

Obviously, if you’re just getting started and want to try your hand at fresh flour before purchasing a grain mill, give your blender a try, but don’t be discouraged if the resulting flour isn’t ideal.

What grain mill will work best for my family?

To answer this, we’re going to get into the details of what I consider to be the most popular mills on the market. These are the ones I see talked about, asked about, and compared to each other the most.

The Nutrimill Classic Grain Mill

Specs: 1200 watt motor, using stainless steel impact milling heads. Able to quickly mill 20 cups of flour and hold 12 cups of un-milled grains at a time.

Pros: One huge pro about the Classic is that it has a feature to make sure flour milled doesn’t heat over 118 degrees, which helps maintain the nutrients in the flour. It also mills some of the finest flour I’ve gotten out of any grain mill I’ve used, and it’s very budget friendly. Nutrimill also often has sales, dropping the price even lower if you’re willing to watch and wait for a deal. Overall very user-friendly and easy to operate and understand.

Cons: The enclosed flour container may seem like a plus to some, but it can cause issues. For starters, the bowl is hard to open and close. It can also be tricky to line the bowl up where it needs to be and NOT make a huge mess if you turn the mill on before the bowl is properly attached. If it’s not lined up exactly where it should be, flour explodes all over your kitchen. Not that I know from experience–promise.

An obvious con is the look of the machine, as it’s not pretty to leave on your counter–and if you’re planning on storing it away just know that it has a rather large footprint and probably won’t fit on many shelves or cabinets. The many pieces included with the machine can also be a pain to wash and store after use.

My experience: Overall, the Nutrimill Classic does a fantastic job of milling fine flour, and it’s easy to use. I’ve never had it struggle to do what I’ve asked it to or overheat, even when milling large amounts of flour. I will say that I found storing the mill cumbersome, and when I was using the Classic mill exclusively, this alone made me often pull out store flour to use in baking rather than deal with finding all the pieces for the Classic mill, grabbing it out of where I stored it, and milling flour.

Takeaway: I’d recommend the Classic as my #1 budget friendly mill that still does a great job. If not storing your mill out on the counter doesn’t bother you, and milling on demand isn’t important to you, I’d 100% recommend the Classic. However if you’re looking for an aesthetic mill to store on your counter an use every single day without having to wash a million parts after using, maybe read on.

Shop the Nutrimill Classic mill here. Use code SOULYRESTED for $20 off.

Pppsssttttt, the NEW Nutrimill Impact Mill is very similar to the Classic, but with a smaller flour capacity and a more compact design, PLUS it’s at an even lower price point! And my “soulyrested” code takes additional $$ off!

The Nutrimill Harvest Grain Mill

Specs: 450 watt motor with stone milling heads. Designed with a knob in the middle of the hopper for easy access to adjust the coarseness of the flour as it’s coming out.

Pros: I genuinely think the Harvest mill is the most beautiful mill on the market. I really like being able to see the flour as it’s coming out and adjust the coarseness of the flour as it’s grinding. Stone milling heads are durable and able to handle a decent amount of wear and tear. It also has a highly adjustable dial, allowing you to quickly change the coarseness from flour to cracked corn.

When comparing the Harvest to the Mockmill, one note I’ll add to the plus column for the Harvest is that it’s a bit easier to access the stones on the Harvest than it is the Mockmill. The hopper easily and quickly snaps off, wherease the Mockmill takes just a little more effort to unscrew the hopper and access the stones.

Cons: Although Nutrimill boasts of the Harvest containing a powerful motor, it often seemed inadequate for the jobs I asked it to do. The feed rate is slow, meaning it often takes a while for the flour to slowly stream out which can get tiresome. Even on the finest settings, it can be really hard to get fine flour, which means you’ll often find yourself sifting flours ground in the Harvest, removing some of the nutrients. Sifting will also remove the courser parts of the flour that the Harvest just can’t seem to grind, but seems a shame to also sift out the nutrients that we’re working hard to get.

My experience: I used the Harvest mill exclusively for years, and if you choose to go with the Harvest, you’ll definitely be able to make it work well for your needs. It’s so pretty, and works well on most countertops. It has the smallest footprint of any mill I’ve used, which is great for smaller spaces and kitchens. It was easy for me to store on my counter and even fit under my cabinets where a lot of other appliances don’t fit. However, in the end I found myself getting frustrated with fiddling with the knob all the time trying to get the flour finer than it wanted to come out. I also got tired of waiting for the sloooow feed of flour when I managed to get it fine.

Takeaway: Overall, I think the Harvest is a great grain mill if you’re willing to be patient with it. It’s beautiful, it goes on sale often, and it can be a great choice for first time millers. Just be aware of its limitations, and you’ll be able to crank out some decent flour with some trial and error and patience.

Shop Nutrimill Harvest mill here. Use code SOULYRESTED for $20 off.

The Nutrimill Impact Grain Mill

Specs: Fully equipped as a small-but-mighty machine, the Impact mill has a 1,200 watt motor! Powerful to handle just about anything you want to throw at it. 8-cup hopper capacity and 12-cup flour canister capacity.

Pros: Nutrimill released this grain mill with the simple goal of making fresh milled flour more accessible for everyone. They really nailed that by designing the cheapest grain mill on the market, coming in at  under $200. And I’ve personally put this mill through the ringer, and it comes out swinging every time. It’s powerful, mills quickly, and makes a very fine flour, similar to the Classic mill.

Cons: The milling capacity for the Impact mill is smaller than the Classic mill, with only a 12-cup flour capacity in the canister. If you’re milling very large quantities of flour you’d have to remove the canister, dump the flour, and start all over.

My experience: In my experience, the Impact mill is virtually the same machine as the classic with a different shape/design, and a smaller flour canister/hopper. I personally find the filter harder to remove for cleaning compared to the Classic mill, but that’s not a huge deal.

Takeaway: If you’re looking for an affordable grain mill that does an amazing job making fine flour, the Impact is for you. It’s a great starter mill, it’s compact in size, and the whole mill only weighs 10 lbs. so it’s easy to lift and store away if need be.

Shop the Nutrimill Impact here. And, YES, my code SOULYRESTED takes $20 off the already-crazy affordable price.

The Mockmill 100 Grain Mill

Specs: 360 watt motor powering stone milling heads with a flour feed rate of 100 grams a minute. Hopper capacity of over 2 pounds of un-milled grains.

Pros: Offered in either the more budget-friendly plastic outer shell, or the slightly more pricy wooden outside. The 100 is the same machine as the Mockmill 200, just with a slower feed rate. So it will be able to preform all the same jobs as the 200 just slightly slower. Able to grind anything from super fine flour to cracked corn. An easy to adjust dial makes easy work of quickly adjusting the fineness or coarseness of the end product.

Cons: The prettier (wooden) model is a good bit more pricey than the classic plastic model, however keep in mind that the plastic and wooden models are the same unit inside just with a different outside. The feed rate isn’t ideal on the 100, given that it mills at half the speed of the Mockmill 200.

My experience: Overall a really well-designed machine. It doesn’t struggle or protest with any job you throw at it, and it produces really fine flour effortlessly. It never seems to overheat and overall just does a really great job. I personally used the Mockmill 100 as my first introduction to Mockmill when a friend let me borrow her mill to try out. In the end, when I got my own, I settled on the Mockmill 200 simply because I was willing to spend a little more for the faster feed rate. If that’s not a deal breaker for you, choosing the 100 will save you some moolah and you’ll be getting the same amazing machine and just have to wait an extra few seconds for your flour to come out of the stones.

Takeaway: If you’re wanting the well-designed ingenuity and power of the mockmill and are willing to wait an extra minute for your flour to grind, the Mockmill 100 is for you. If I was to start my milling journey all over again, I’d probably start out with the Mockmill 100 plastic model to make my wallet happy while I was starting to figure out the whole fresh milled flour thing, then consider upgrading to the 200 wooden model later when my budget allowed.

Shop Mockmill here.

The Mockmill Lino 200 Grain Mill

Specs: 600 watt motor with durable milling stones that output 200 grams of fine flour per minute (twice the output of the Mockmill 100).

Pros: The Mockmill is a German engineered, corundum-ceramic milling stone workhorse. It makes quick and easy work of milling superfine flour, and can even handle re-milling like a champ. If for some reason you aren’t happy with how course your flour came out the first time, you can re-mill as many times as you’d like without damaging the stones. But given how easy it is to adjust the coarseness, the likelihood that you’ll want to re-mill is minimal. I also love the fact that the Mockmill has a number dial on the mill and comes with charts to help you know what settings to use to mill different grains or alternative grains. (The Harvest has a knob inside the bowl, but they tell you to turn it based on what it sounds like and how your flour looks. The Mockmill Lino has a numbered dial and they tell you what number they recommend on the dial for milling various grains.) It’s also slightly quieter, measuring 70 decibels vs. the Harvest measuring 77 decibels.

Cons: The prettier wooden outside costs a good bit more than the plastic external mill. Mockmill rarely (if ever) has sales, and they’re often only for sale for preorder or are backordered.

My experience: I’ve been using my Mockmill Lino 200 for a few years now, and I’ve been thrilled with how it’s preformed. I personally feel that the Mockmill Lino models (both 100 and 200) offer the beauty of the Nutrimill Harvest with the functionality of the Nutrimill Classic (milling superfine flour quickly), which is basically the best of both worlds. I LOVE being able to grind superfine flour on demand and mill right into a bowl of my choosing–watching the flour come out all the time and being able to easily adjust the coarseness as it’s milling.

Takeaway: The Mockmill 200 is now my daily-use grain mill. It has made it simple and easy for me to finally make the switch to only using 100% fresh milled flour in our home. While there’s nothing wrong with any of the other mills, and in fact they each have their pros, the Mockmill is what works best for our family at this point in time.

Shop Mockmill here.

Honorable mentions: Komo, kitchen aid attachment, and hand crank

The Komo Grain Mill: I considered the Komo mill for a while, but upon further research, I found out through the grapevine that the Komo design is virtually the same as the Mockmill, however if you want the same amount of power and the same feed rate as the Mockmill, you’re gonna have to pay much more for the comparable model of Komo. It took me a while to figure this out because Komo sells so many different models and varieties–it was so confusing! So if you’re interested in a Komo, rest assured you will still wind up with a great machine, you just might spend a little bit more to get it.

The Kitchen Aid Grain Mill Attachment: I personally think this is a pricey choice for what you get, and I’ve heard numerous complaints about the attachment killing the motor on their mixer because it simply requires such a high output and asks too much of a machine that wasn’t really designed to mill flour.

Hand-Crank Grain Mills: Some folks are looking for a hand-crank grain mill to avoid needing power to turn grains into fresh flour. While that sounds romantic, when you’re standing there cranking your grain mill for hours just to get enough flour to make a loaf of bread, you might reconsider. Some folks have, love, and use their hand-crank grain mills all the time and have great results, I just don’t have an interest personally. Also, I’ve never understood why folks think they need an off-the-grid source for milling flour yet their oven is dependent on power. Just sayin…

More about grain mills & fresh flour:

• Make lasagna noodles with fresh flour
• Why I started milling my own flour
• Sourdough bread made with fresh flour
• Fluffy 100% whole wheat dinner rolls with fresh flour
• Tips for Using Fresh Flour 
• How to use a grain mill

Tell me about your grain mill questions!

If you have any questions, leave a comment below. And please tag me on ig to show me your grain mill! @souly.rested.

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The post The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Grain Mill (& 6 questions to ask) first appeared on Souly Rested.