But I was virtually alone in the fresh flour world and couldn’t find the numbers, so I pulled them together myself.

Fresh flour: is it worth it?

Tradwife influencers weren’t a thing. No ladies in long skirts were showing up on social media, with fancy tabletop mills, kneading their bread daily. Google was essentially void of answers. There were hardly any books published about fresh flour, aside from a few dusty ones I uncovered at thrift stores, or general “whole wheat” cookbooks.

In fact, when I penned an article many years ago about why I mill my own flour, I thought my math was thorough. Oh, how times have changed.

Comment after comment has rolled in, asking me to update my math, be more consistent, use all one type of measurement, and so on. Okay, okay. Years-ago-Michelle was just doing her best to figure out this “grain mills and wheat berries and fresh flour thing,” ‘mkay?

So today I’m updating the math and answering the all important question–fresh milled flour: is it worth it?

That’s for you to decide, I’m just here to help you run the numbers.

Why mill your own flour?

First, let’s briefly cover why we’re even talking about fresh milled flour in the first place.

Store bought white flour is heavily refined, removing the bran and germ from wheat—where most of the fiber, vitamins, minerals, and natural oils are found. Flour is also heat-treated bleached, and other ingredients added to enhance baking performance.

When we mill our own flour (especially if we’re milling ancient grains!), we’re able to provide our bodies with all the nutrients naturally contained in wheat–including the healthy oils that go rancid quickly if we try to store it after milling into flour. Essentially, wheat naturally contains vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and all sorts of other micronutrients our bodies thrive on. Modern, commercial, white flour? Not even in the same ballpark.

My top reasons for milling my own flour include:

1. To save money (we’ll break this down later)
2. To eat a variety of nutritious grains (different types of grains contain different nutritional profiles!)
3. To eat locally & support organic farm families (who knew flour could be a local health food, and philanthropic?)
4. To be prepared (I’m not a prepper, but I love the idea of having buckets of unmilled flour on hand, always)
5. To enjoy the flavor (It took a while for my white-bread-tastebuds to adjust to fresh flour, but now I can’t go back!)

Cost of getting started with fresh milled flour

In order to mill fresh flour, you’re going to need to invest in a grain mill. Technically you can attempt to use a coffee grinder, blender, or food processer to mill wheat berries into flour, but you’re not going to like the result. Plus you risk burning out an expensive appliance.

Most home grain mills range from $250-$900. I’ve used the most affordable grain mill on the market, as well as my daily-use grain mill, which is on the pricy end. They all function well and get the job done.

To get started with fresh milled flour, you’ll also need wheat berries. To secure the best prices, you’ll want to order them in bulk. Depending on your source, the quality of wheat you’re purchasing, and the shipping costs, you’ll usually spend around $50-$100/50 lbs of wheat berries.

Another optional start up cost is investing in a high-quality mixer. While this isn’t a need, it’s very helpful in making good bread with fresh milled flour. Fresh flour bread dough needs to be kneaded longer than doughs made with store bought flour, and you need a mixer that will handle the extra kneading time. I’ve used this one every single day for almost a decade without issues.

Cost breakdown to start milling flour

So to break it down, start up costs for milling fresh flour include:

a grain mill ($250-$900) + wheat berries ($50-$100) + optional mixer ($250-$550, depending on model) = $550-$1,550

These prices are on the high end, as well as include optional costs.

Truthfully, you can start out milling flour for as little as $250 (cost of an affordable grain mill), and a few wheat berries from Amazon or your local bulk/natural foods store.

Quick answer… fresh milled flour: is it worth it?

Yes, milling your own flour not only saves money, but also offers your family invaluable nutrients that store bought flour is missing. With an upfront investment, a small learning curve, and some wheat berries, you’re on your way to keeping more cash in your wallet while enjoying the benefits of eating the highest-quality flour in the world.

Is fresh milled flour worth it?

Alright, here’s the nitty gritty.

When I was purchasing flour from the store, I purchased organic King Arthur flour, all-purpose. These days, a bag of that same flour (per their website) costs $10.95 for 5 lbs (let’s round up to $11, shall we?).

So $11/5 lbs = $2.20 per pound of organic flour.

In comparison, I currently spend $64/50 lbs organic, hard white wheat berries.

So $64/50 lbs = $1.28 per pound of organic, fresh milled flour.

(Keep in mind that 1 pound of wheat berries translates directly to 1 pound of flour, unless you’re sifting it, then there will be some loss in weight.)

That’s a $0.92 savings per pound of flour I use.

Now, obviously there are some other factors involved (purchasing buckets to store bulk grains, taking up space in your home/basement, and so on).

Does fresh milled flour save money?

Let’s use the math above to take it one step further. An average loaf of sandwich bread uses about 1 pound of flour to make.

According to Google, the average American family consumes 2-4 loaves of bread per week. At a savings of $0.92 per pound of flour (and therefore per loaf of bread), that’s a weekly savings of $3.68.

Although that doesn’t seem like much, that adds up to almost $200/year.

And, on top of that, your family is receiving far more nutrients from the fresh milled flour than store bought flour could ever provide.

Quick reference of store bought flour versus fresh milled flour

How long until a grain mill pays for itself?

Think of it this way: in 1 1/2  years or less, you’ll have paid for your grain mill simply in flour savings. Please do keep in mind that these numbers aren’t exact. For instance, maybe your family exclusively uses ancient grains, or maybe you’re used to budgeting for non-organic flour at the store. I don’t know your personal numbers, but these savings reflect the dollar amounts I saw/saved when I made the switch to fresh milled flour from conventional flour.

These savings only consider bread, imagine how much more you save when you add in other baked goods and any other flour-based products you might be purchasing (tortillas, bagels, desserts, muffins, and so on).

Also, keep in mind that some grains are actually much cheaper than the $1.28/pound I used as an example above. For instance, organic rye is one of the most affordable grains I can purchase (only $0.80/pound!), so I use rye often in brownies, my sourdough starter, and in these chocolate chip cookies made with fresh flour to keep costs down.

So to use rye flour instead of the commercial flour I was purchasing from the store is a $1.40/lb savings.

Homemade cookies just got much cheaper (and more nutritious!).

When fresh milled flour might NOT be worth it

Although I’ve personally seen the financial, health, and lifestyle benefits of fresh milled flour, I fully admit it isn’t for everyone.

• Fresh milled flour might not be for you if you don’t naturally enjoy baking. If you rarely use flour, don’t eat many carbs, or simply don’t find yourself with any desire to bake bread or make fresh baked goods, you might find your grain mill collecting dust.
• If you can’t afford to invest in a grain mill and wheat berries right now, it might be best to save up until you can.
• In a very limited space, it’s hard to store wheat berries. And they’re much pricier to purchase in smaller quantities instead of in bulk. That doesn’t mean milling your own flour still isn’t worth it, it will just take you longer to see the savings.
• If you’re extremely pressed for time (to the point where pausing to mill flour for 5 minutes before making bread dough just doesn’t fit in your schedule), then fresh milled flour might be tough for you right now. You might want to invest in this grain mill and make your fresh flour in large batches to keep on hand in the fridge when you need it, or maybe you’ll want to wait and revisit the idea when your life is slower and you have time to enjoy the process.

More about fresh milled flour

• How to use a grain mill
• Should I freeze wheat berries?
• Sourdough bread with fresh milled flour
• Kamut chocolate chip cookies
• Grab all my fresh flour tips and more recipes too

The post Fresh milled flour: is it worth it? 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.

Milling your own flour will revolutionize your kitchen. Instead of supporting an industry of enriched white flour that offers no nutrients to our bodies, we can support our family’s bodies with incredibly delicious and nutritious fresh milled flour. While there are so many benefits of fresh milled flour they could never fit into one blog post, we’re gonna talk about my favorite 5 benefits of milling your own flour. The gist of the five benefits are;

1. Fresh milled flour allows you to eat LOCAL flour
2. Fresh milled flour allows you to eat variety
3. Fresh milled flour just. Tastes. Better.
4. Milling your own flour can ACTUALLY save money
5. Milling your own flour helps you have a measure of food security

Excited? Me too. Let’s dive into the top 5 benefits of milling your own flour.

Is whole wheat flour from the store as healthy as fresh milled flour?

First, let’s talk about the difference between fresh milled flour (flour containing all three parts of the wheat berry with nothing extracted) and conventional “whole wheat” flour products. (I put “whole wheat” in quotations for a reason!)

When you walk down the baking aisle at your local supermarket, you’ll likely see plenty of “whole wheat” flour options lining the shelves and wonder why you need to buy a grain mill, stock up on wheat berries, and deal with the hassle of milling your own flour when you can buy the same product at the grocery store for a few bucks? Well, at the end of the day, you actually can’t buy true whole grain flour at the store.

The packaged whole wheat flour in the paper bags that smells like playdough when you open the bag? It’s not that different from the enriched white flour right beside it. Whole wheat flour from the store is processed the exact same way white flour is–at high heat so it destroys all the nutrients, the bran and germ completely stripped away, and at the very end of the process, to make the flour “whole wheat,” a small percentage of the bran and germ are added back in once they’re “defatted” so they won’t go rancid on the shelf. 

Not to mention the fact that commercially milled flour gets very hot during every step of the milling process, and heat lots of nutrients to be lost. When we mill our own, we’re able to monitor the temperature of the flour to make sure we preserve as many nutrients as possible.

So, I think the question isn’t “why can’t I just buy whole wheat flour from the store instead?” but rather should be “why on earth wouldn’t I want to easily mill my own flour, on demand, that contains all three (healthy!) parts of the wheat berry, doesn’t get super hot during milling causing it to go rancid, and just plain tastes better?”

In short, all of this could be summed up in this quote from Jonathan Stevens from a bread company in Massachusetts; “The problem with almost all the whole wheat flour that you can get in the store is that it’s rancid already, and you won’t really know that until you try to make a loaf of bread and it just doesn’t perform right, it doesn’t taste quite special. And you blame yourself.”

Are you convinced yet? Fresh milled flour is just superior to commercial “whole wheat” products. So let’s talk about these 5 benefits to milling your own flour.

#1 benefit of milling your own flour: to eat locally

Until a few years ago I never thought about the flour I was eating at all, let alone imagined my flour could be a locally grown food. However, since milling my own flour, I’ve been able to find a few local mills and grain farmers that are willing to sell me locally grown grains at bulk prices.

As more people are starting to see the value in eating as much locally raised food as possible, why not add flour to that list? When you start asking around, you might be shocked at what options are available to you locally. If you could eat local flour, why not do so?

#2 benefit of milling your own flour: to eat variety

When you mill your own flour, you’re able to utilize so many different fun, tasty, and beautiful varieties of wheat and alternative grains. Deciding which type of grain to use in my breads and baked goods has become fun for me and is just one more way to get a variety of different vitamins and minerals into my family’s bellies.

Given that different types of grains and wheats all have different makeups and different vitamin profiles, I really love using different varieties all the time knowing that I’m getting true variety in my diet. Why eat one type of grain when you could eat 15 different fun, nutritious kinds? Finding and trying new and different kinds of grains has truly been such fun and brought me so much enjoyment in my home milling journey. Learn about the importance of keeping variety in your diet here.

#3 benefit of milling your own flour: for better taste

Fresher just tastes better. We know for a fact that a compost-grown, heirloom-variety, warm-from-the-sun tomato is a completely different, more flavorful, juicy and robust tomato than you could ever purchase from a supermarket store. Why not think of wheat and flour the same way?

I dare you to eat a carefully crafted, fluffy bread made from locally sourced, full-flavored whole grain flour and not wonder what exactly happened to bread to make us call the white cardboard on the store shelves by the same name.

What a shame that we–as a culture–have taken foods that are naturally full of nutrients and flavor that have an incredible texture and decided that they would be better bland, void of nutrients, and with a uniform, stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth texture. We can do better than that. Let’s do better.

#4 benefit of milling your own flour: to save money

I spend less on flour now than I did before I bought a grain mill, stocked up on wheat berries, and mill all my flour at home. Let me walk you through how.

For starters, it’s important that you understand I used to purchase organic flour. I now purchase organic wheat berries instead. Not only is the flour I eat now far superior, but it’s also cheaper.

It’s also important to understand that your cost is going to fluctuate dramatically based on what kinds of grains you buy. And if you’re on a tight budget, you’re probably not going to be buying tons of different, unique varieties of wheat to try. You’ll instead stick to the basics and buy those in bulk. Nothing wrong with that.

On their website, King Arthur Organic whole wheat flour is $10.95 for 5 pounds. That’s the exact flour I used to pick up off the store shelf and use for all my baking projects.

Nowadays if I’m baking a standard loaf of bread, I’m buying and using organic hard red wheat berries, which cost $6.40 for 5 pounds when I’m writing this. That means you’re spending $2.19 a pound for dead, old, store flour. When you purchase whole wheat berries, you’re spending $1.28 per pound. (Wheat berries translate to flour pound for pound, minus a tiny, almost untraceable amount of product loss during milling.)

That’s $0.91 a pound cheaper to mill your own flour.

And that’s IF (big if) you’re not able to purchase wheat berries in bulk.

I usually buy 50 lbs of hard red wheat berries, which is currently only $0.81 per pound, making my flour $1.38 CHEAPER per pound than the flour I used to purchase at the store, which really adds up when you’re making a couple loaves of bread at a time.

Obviously there’s also an upfront cost of investing in a grain mill to consider in your expenses, but if you’re baking 4 loaves of bread a week, saving $1.38/pound in flour costs, you’re easily going to save HUNDREDS of dollars per YEAR, which means your mill will pay for itself in no time at all. (Assuming you’re using about a pound of flour per loaf of bread, which is average.)

These savings will go up even more if you’re used to purchasing a whole wheat, organic loaf bread at the store that you can now make yourself for cheaper!

These specific numbers are based on my personal experience and the savings I’ve seen since milling my own flour. I’m not saying they’re going to be exactly the same for everyone, but this is just the math I’ve done for my family to see how much I personally save when milling my own flour.

#5 benefit of milling your own flour: for food security 

I’m not a prepper by any means. But I do love the idea that I have hundreds of pounds of unground flour in my root cellar! Since wheat berries last pretty much forever, I love stocking up on lots of different varieties of wheat and grains knowing that if I wasn’t able to get to a grocery store for long periods of time I’d still have enough grains stored up to have fresh flour for a very long time.

Need a mill? These are my top picks:

If you need more help choosing, check out my Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Grain Mill!

More topics like 5 benefits of milling your own flour:

• Wheat berries: everything you need to know
• Why I started milling my own flour
• Choosing the right wheat berries: A guide
• Sourdough bread made with fresh milled flour

The post 5 benefits of milling your own flour first appeared on Souly Rested.

Milling flour is an age-old phenomenon, but turning wheat berries into flour in our own kitchens is a brand-new concept for most of us. (Hello, me a few years ago! I used to be completely confused and overwhelmed with topics about fresh milled flour.)

Wheat berries can be confusing. When I first started choosing what wheat berries to purchase and mill, I had the same questions you guys ask me. So let’s talk about choosing wheat berries and how choosing the right wheat berries can make your home milling journey so much smoother.

What wheat berries can I mill into flour?

In short, almost all of them. Be sure to check with your grain mill’s manual to make sure, but any reliably-sourced wheat berry should be fine to mill in your home grain mill, including but not limited to:

• Hard red/hard white wheat berries
• Soft red/soft white wheat berries
• Einkorn, Kamut/Khorasan, Spelt, and other ancient grains
• Hulled barley
• Oat groats (NOT oatmeal)
• Alternative grains like teff, quinoa, buckwheat, sorghum, millet and amaranth
• Rye berries
• Durum
• & many more

What wheat berries are best for sourdough bread?

Fresh milled sourdough bread can be tricky. Baking bread with fresh milled flour is tricky enough in itself, and when you throw the unpredictability of sourdough into the mix, we’re talking about an uphill battle! But I’ve found the most success with sourdough when I used hard red wheat. While it’s not at all wrong to use hard white wheat in sourdough, I’ve found that hard red actually helps develop an even stronger dough and softer bread in the end.

Choosing the right wheat berries: What wheat berries should I use to feed my sourdough starter?

When I switched my sourdough starter over to fresh milled flour I was feeding it exclusively hard white wheat flour. Although there’s nothing wrong with feeding your starter with hard red or hard white wheat (in fact, it’s recommended by many), my starter was really sluggish and hard to get active back then.

Switching my sourdough starter to exclusively rye flour has been a game changer. My sourdough starter thrives when it’s fed rye flour! After some research, this is largely due to the fact that rye flour contains more yeast than any other grain. Wild, huh? Who would have thought that the underwhelming, greenish hued, humble rye berry would be what changed the fresh milled flour sourdough game for me.

As a bonus, bulk rye berries are the cheapest wholegrain I can source at the moment, so it’s cheaper than ever to keep my sourdough starter happier than ever.

What wheat berries make white flour?

White wheat will make white flour, while red wheat will make flour with a stronger wheat flavor. If you’re starting out and/or don’t love a stronger wheat flavor, stick with white wheat, which will create a result closer to white flour. Keep in mind that fresh milled, unsifted flour still contains the bran and the germ so it will naturally taste more robust and flavorful than white flour you’re used to from the store.

What wheat berries to use for bread flour

Hard white wheat and hard red wheat are both great options to make bread flour. If you want to replicate a true “bread flour” from the store, add 1 teaspoon of vital wheat gluten to every cup of flour you use in a bread recipe. This will help your bread develop a strong gluten structure (good gluten= good bread!). Ancient grains like spelt, einkorn and kamut can be used to make bread, especially with the added help of vital wheat gluten, but soft wheat should never be used to make yeast bread–it will not rise and won’t develop gluten.

What wheat berries should I make pasta with?

Traditionally, pasta is made with Durum wheat. That’s because durum is a super hard wheat that helps create the perfect “chew” factor in al dente pasta. Keep in mind, however, that kamut is very closely related to durum and acts as a good substitute for durum. And, technically almost any wheat berry can be successfully used to make pasta, including hard red and hard white wheat, einkorn, spelt, and even soft white wheat. Chickpeas can be ground into flour and made into a high-protein pasta as well, although it tends to create a dry, more strong-flavored pasta.

Choosing the right wheat berries: What wheat berries make all-purpose flour?

My favorite way to create an all-purpose flour with wheat berries is using a combination of 50/50 hard white wheat berries and soft white wheat berries. This blend will work in almost any baked good recipe, and will remove the worry of using exactly the right wheat berry for whatever you’re making. The only thing I wouldn’t use this blend for is bread, but it’s great for everything else.

How to use wheat berries and where to buy wheat berries

Wheat berries can be used lots of different ways and (thankfully) are becoming easier to find in stores. Some great options for using wheat berries include;

• Cooking wheat berries like rice
• Milling wheat berries into flour
• Sprouting wheat berries to add to salads and soups
• Puffed and used as a cereal (although this is tough to do at home)
• Flaked and added to granola bars or cooked like oatmeal

Some great places to purchase wheat berries would be at your local specialty/natural food supplier, at some bulk food stores like restaurant supply stores, from local farmers and growers (you might be surprised what’s grown and available right in your neighborhood!), or online. My favorite source for bulk wheat berries is Azure standard. I can’t purchase wheat berries anywhere else for even close to the price of Azure.

Choosing the right wheat berries: What wheat berries should I buy as a beginner miller?

My best advice to brand new millers is to keep it simple. If I were starting my milling journey all over again, I’d start with three basic wheat berries. This gives variety and some options to try out right off the bat, but isn’t so much that it’s completely overwhelming. My advice would be to choose one wheat berry in three categories; choose a hard wheat, a soft wheat, and something fun/extra to play around with (an ancient grain would be great).

This allows you to use the hard wheat for breads, the soft wheat for pastries, and the ancient grain for anything else. My personal choices in these categories for a beginning miller would include;

1. hard white
2. soft white
3. barley

Another great lineup option would be;

1. hard red
2. soft white
3. einkorn

Simple, basic, but covers (pretty much) all your bases.

What wheat berries should I use in cookies?

Many folks advise using soft white wheat in cookie dough. Although that advice isn’t wrong, I find better success when I use a harder wheat in cookies. Any ancient grains are a great option, like spelt, einkorn, kamut, or–my personal favorite for cookies–barley. Hard red and hard white are also great options for cookie dough.

Choosing the right wheat berries: What wheat berries to use in muffins

I stick almost exclusively with soft white wheat berry flour to use in muffins. That’s just because that’s what seems to work the best for me. Other great options for muffins would include spelt, einkorn, and kamut. Just avoid using hard wheat flour in muffins, which would result in a dense and gummy texture thanks to the strong gluten potential in hard wheat.

What grain mill makes the best flour?

In the market for a grain mill? In a nutshell, these are the mills I’ve personally used and recommend:

1. The Classic Nutrimill is great for making bulk flour at a great price point. (Code “soulyrested” to save cash!)
2. The Harvest Mill wins for most beautiful to sit on your counter. (Code “soulyrested”)
3. The Impact Mill is a great for folks who are new to milling and is by far the most affordable & compact mill! (Code “soulyrested”)
4. And the Mockmill is a beautiful workhorse that wins for best engineered, best at milling alternative grains, and the best at producing great flour, every time, but it also sits at the highest price point.

More information about wheat berries and fresh milled flour:

• Why I started milling my own flour
• Sourdough with fresh milled flour
• Fluffy 100% whole wheat dinner rolls with fresh flour (recipe)
• Wheat berries: everything you need to know
• The ultimate guide to choosing a grain mill

Pin this for later!

The post Choosing the right wheat berries: a guide first appeared on Souly Rested.

But I quickly realized another amazing reason I love owning a grain mill is because of the variety of things I can turn into flour. Alternative grains then entered the picture.

I quickly started learning all about alternative grains and the amazing nutrition they can provide. Not to mention if you or some of your family members can’t eat gluten, alternative grains just might be a lifesaver for you.

Why use alternative grains?

Nobody in my family is gluten free. Yet, I find myself with a nice stock of all sorts of alternative grains that I routinely mill into flour. Why, you ask?

1. Because they’re nutritious. Yep. By now most people who have followed me for a while aren’t surprised to hear me talk–yet again–about how nutritious fresh milled flour is. And if I have a chance to add more delicious and nutritious variety into my diet, why would I say no?
2. For variety. Yeah, I know. If you’re like me, you already have tons of “variety” filling buckets upon buckets in your basement. Do we really need more variety? Maybe not, but it sure is fun to mill new grains all the time and know I have so many interesting and full-flavored grains at my disposal.
3. Because they’re gluten free. I’m not gluten free, and nobody in my immediate family is gluten free. However, I love knowing that if a friend comes over who doesn’t tolerate gluten I can whip up tasty snacks for them at a moment’s notice.
4. They’re more sustainable. Who knew? Alternative grains like millet, quinoa, sorghum and others can take less water, fertilizer and other resources to grow, which is better for the soil.

How to use alternative grains

Like all grains, alternative grains can be used in a variety of ways.

• Alternative grains can be cooked as a whole grain and used like rice or in side dishes
• They can be milled into flour
• Some alternative grains (like amaranth and quinoa) can be popped for a fun and unique snack
• They can be cooked and eaten like oatmeal
• Cooked grains can be a fun and tasty salad or soup topping

There are really endless creative, yummy ways to incorporate healthy alternative grains into your diet.

What are alternative grains?

Essentially, alternative grains are non-wheat grains, legumes and seeds that can replace traditional grains like wheat. Alternative grains can be a great way to eat gluten free, get variety in your diet, and just enjoy the robust flavor of interesting grains.

Which alternative grains should I use?

There are so many options for gluten free and alternative grains that it can be hard to choose which ones to use. Let’s go over the most common options and what they’re best used for.

• Chickpeas–One of my favorite uses for chickpea flour is an alternative to cornstarch. Chickpea flour is a great thickener, but it’s also a great option for making homemade pasta and baked goods. Also known as garbanzo beans, chickpeas are completely gluten free.  Shop chickpeas.
• Oats–Naturally gluten free, oats are a great option for flour that behaves similarly to wheat flour. In my experience, oat flour makes the best gluten free cookies with a nice chewy texture.
• Buckwheat–Strong-flavored and great for pancakes, crepes, and other baked goods, buckwheat flour is great pared with flavors of cocoa, maple, or fruit. Buckwheat is a gluten free seed. Shop wholegrain oats.
• Sorghum–With it’s natural molasses-y flavor, sorghum flour is amazing for homemade graham crackers, molasses cookies, or gingersnaps! Sorghum is gluten free. Find organic grain sorghum.

• Amaranth–Fun to pop but also great as a flour, gluten free amaranth is usually best mixed with other flours in baked goods due to it’s dense texture. Purchase amaranth here.
• Rice–Rice flour is great for dusting bannetons, although its gummy texture makes it better suited for mixing with other alternative grains in baked goods. Rice flour absorbs lots of moisture. All types of rice are naturally gluten free. Find my favorite organic rice here.
• Quinoa–Like buckwheat, quinoa is a very strong-flavored, gluten free grain, especially in flour form. It’s best used with chocolate or other strong flavors that will somewhat “hide” the quinoa flavor. Shop quinoa.
• Teff--Similar to quinoa, teff is a tiny grain with strong flavor. Teff flour is used to make a special Ethiopian flatbread but can also be used in other baked goods like muffins and pancakes. Teff is gluten free. Find teff here.

How to make gluten free flour at home

This gluten-free blend offers enough structure for most baked goods while remaining rather neutral in flavor. Replacing the oat flour with rice flour is also a great, mild-flavored option but will change how the flour hydrates. (You may need to add more moisture in your recipe.) Also keep in mind oats must be sourced carefully to make sure they’re gluten free as oats themselves are gluten free naturally, but they’re very often processed with other grains, leaving them contaminated.

This is my go-to recipe for homemade gluten-free flour:

• 1 part chickpea flour
• 1 part oat flour

Use this blend in recipes as normal, to replace either wheat flour or store bought gluten-free flour. My favorite way to make oat flour is to mill oat groats through my grain mill, but blending rolled oats is a great option too.

Need a grain mill?

These are the 4 I recommend:

• The Classic Nutrimill does a great job, at a low price point. (Use code “SOULYRESTED”)
• The Impact Nutrimill has the lowest price point of any grain mill on the market (code “SOULYRESTED”)
• The Nutrimill Harvest Mill wins for most beautiful to sit on your counter. (Use code “SOULYRESTED”)
• And the Mockmill is a beautiful workhorse that wins for best engineered, best at milling alternative grains, and finest flour, but it also sits at the highest price point.

More about alternative grains:

• Wheat berries: everything you need to know
• The ultimate guide to choosing a grain mill
• Why I started milling my own flour
• Tips for using fresh milled flour (with Lisa Bass)
• How to use a grain mill

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For all I knew it was an exotic fruit.

Fast forward to today and I’m writing an ultimate guide to wheat berries, I no longer buy flour from the store, and I bake a lot of my family’s bread products from scratch with fresh flour I mill from whole wheat berries.

Funny how life goes. But I’m glad it’s always full of great surprises.

Fresh flour is definitely one of them. Dive into my free e-course about fresh flour here.

What are wheat berries?

So what are wheat berries?

Wheat berries are the whole kernels of a wheat plant, with the husk removed. If you walked into a wheat field, shook the stalk until the kernels fell into your hand, and removed the husks that surround the wheat berries, you’d have a handful of whole wheat berries.

Officially, a tiny wheat berry is actually made up of 3 parts (more about why each part is important below):

1. The endosperm makes up roughly 80%.
2. The germ makes up about 5%.
3. The bran equals roughly 15%.

Are wheat berries a superfood?

Every single wheat berry is a superfood package, made up of three parts:

1. The endosperm is mostly starch, with a small amount of protein and a little bit of vitamins and minerals.
2. The germ is essentially the “embryo” of the wheat berry, meaning it’s the part that can sprout into a plant under the right conditions. The germ is rich in B vitamins, high in protein, full of many minerals, and contains healthy fats.
3. The bran is the outer “skin” of the wheat berry, and it’s extremely high in fiber, other vitamins, and loaded with antioxidants. The bran makes up about 14% of the wheat berry.

What are wheat berries good for?

My favorite use for wheat berries is grinding them into nutritious flour. For the full story, I explain here why I started milling my own flour. But wheat berries are also great cooked whole and used like rice, sprouted and added to salads and sandwiches, puffed and used as cereal, added to soups or stews in place of barley or rice, or even flaked like oats and used in oatmeal, breads, or granola bars.

There are basically endless uses for wheat berries!

Can I eat wheat berries every day?

Given that wheat berries are powerhouses for vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, healthy fats, and protein, not only are you able to eat wheat berries every day, but your body would thank you!

It is worth noting that some folks can feel bloated or get a stomach ache if they eat too many whole wheat products in a day if their body isn’t used to them.

As with anything, start slowly and ease your body into eating a diet packed with whole grains.

I know my family and I feel great when we focus on adding lots of whole grains into our daily diet.

Do wheat berries go bad?

As long as wheat berries are unmilled and stored in a cool, dark, airtight place, they can last 30 years or longer. They really don’t ever go bad.

How long do wheat berries last?

That bran we were talking about earlier? It creates an amazing outer coating, which protects the more sensitive parts inside the berry (the endosperm and the germ). The bran keeps the wheat from going bad.

Once wheat is milled, that’s a whole different story. Fresh milled flour is more nutritious the sooner you use it after milling it. Once the outer bran is shattered (milled), the inside of the wheat is exposed to air and oxidizes, quickly loosing nutrients.

What wheat berries should I use to make flour?

Pretty much any type of wheat berry can be ground into flour, but you’ll want to use the right kinds of wheat for certain baking projects. There are three main choices you have when purchasing wheat berries. Keep reading for the full explanation.

What’s the difference between the different wheat berries?

This is maybe the most common question I get about fresh milled flour… and I get it… I understand why it trips people up when they are trying to decide what wheat berries to grind for what kind of baked good. There are essentially 3 variables you want to understand if you want to choose a perfect wheat berry for each job.

Understand if you should use a hard or soft wheat berry, a spring or winter variety, and red or white berries. Let’s break each of these variables down right now:

1) Hard wheat berries vs. soft wheat berries

Hard wheats have higher gluten potential than soft wheats.

Gluten is the protein that you want to develop in bread doughs to create soft, light loaves (but, sidenote, you don’t want to develop gluten in baked goods like cakes or muffins or they’ll be gummy).

Hard wheat berries should be used for:

• breads,
• yeast rolls,
• soft pretzels &
• artisan breads

Essentially, if you’re making something with yeast (or with a sourdough starter that you’re using in place of yeast), you’ll want to use hard wheat varieties.

Develop that gluten, friend!

If, on the other hand, you’re making something that doesn’t have yeast, and you want it to be soft, light, and fluffy, you’ll want to use softer wheat varieties.

Soft wheat berries should be used for:

• muffins,
• cakes,
• brownies,
• pastries,
• crackers &
• other baked goods

Generally, for breads and things using yeast to rise, grab hard wheat berries. For pastries and other tender baked goods, use soft wheat.

Pro tip: if you’re baking and unsure whether to use soft or hard wheat, a great go-to is a 50/50 blend of white hard and white soft wheat, which creates an all-purpose flour substitute.

2) Spring wheat berries vs. winter wheat berries

This one simply comes down to how the wheat is grown. Winter wheat is sown in the fall, grows (slowly!) through the winter and is harvested in the spring of the following year. Spring wheat, on the other hand, is sown in the spring, grows through the summer, and is harvested that same year, in the fall.

The confusing thing here is that spring wheat technically has higher gluten potential than winter wheat does, yet most bread bakers prefer winter wheat. This is because the gluten produced using spring wheat will be more tender, touchy and easily broken, whereas the gluten developed using winter wheat will be stronger and better able to withstand mixing and being handled.

Generally, for breads and yeasted things that you want to develop strong gluten, grab winter wheat berries. For things you’d like more soft and tender that don’t use yeast, use spring wheat.

Having said all of this, I should clarify two things: 

• The difference between spring and winter berries is minimal, so you really don’t need to stress over this too much.
• Your supplier will, most likely, only disclose this variable if you’re dealing with a local farmer or a high-end, fancy distributer.

3) Red wheat berries vs. white wheat berries

Most folks explain the difference between red and white wheat berries as saying that red wheat has a stronger flavor and white has a more mild flavor. But I personally don’t really love that explanation, because both taste amazing, just in different ways.

Another misconception is that red wheat is healthier than white wheat, but they’re nutritionally very similar.

Red wheat berries do tend to have a more “wheat-y” taste, due to being higher in tannins than white wheat, but many varieties of red wheat are more accessible for many folks and are often a good bit cheaper. And, in my experience, red and white wheats taste very similar.

In fact, I prefer the deeper flavor of red wheat in some recipes. Sometimes the flavor of white wheat comes across is too bland for me.

In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with either red or white wheat varieties.

If you’re just starting out with wheat berries and milling your own flour, I always recommend you go ahead and start with white wheat to give your tastebuds more time to adjust to the flavors of whole wheat. But once you’re in love with the rich, full-bodied flavor of whole wheat products, I wouldn’t be surprised if you find yourself favoring red wheat over white for it’s more robust flavor profile.

Generally, choose red wheat varieties when you’d like strong, robust flavor of the wheat to shine, and white wheat when you’d like the wheat flavor a bit more mild.

How and when to use ancient grains

Now that we’ve covered hard vs. soft wheats, spring vs. winter, and red vs. white, let’s talk about ancient grains. In my opinion, they’re in a category of their own and deserve as much love as the other guys.

For me personally, the ancient grains that I keep within reach are:

• spelt
• einkorn
• barley
• sorghum &
• kamut

Each ancient grain needs to be treated a little differently.

Spelt, einkorn, and kamut are great for breads. But keep in mind that they tend to be lower in gluten than modern grain varieties. I often add vital wheat gluten to my bread when I’m using any of these grains to help my bread rise better. (Find my favorite vital wheat gluten here.) But all three of these are also great in any baked goods as well as bread.

Barley and sorghum are great for baked goods. Sorghum has a bit of a sweet, graham-like flavor that’s great in cookies or homemade graham crackers. Barley is very mild and amazing in any baked good where you want the flavors of the cookies to shine more than the flour. Neither of these are good in bread products that require yeast.

Can you buy wheat berries at the grocery store?

I personally have never seen wheat berries at the grocery store, and if I did ever come across them I assume they would only be available in small bags. If you’re hoping to grind all your own flour, buying wheat berries in bulk is truly the only way to go.

I personally purchase all of my wheat berries, ancient grains, and alternative flour options (like dent corn and chickpeas) from one source. Azure Standard. Find out more about Azure right here.

If you don’t want to wait for an azure drop or don’t have one near you, you can order wheat berries online.

Do you need to “clean” a home grain mill after making flour?

Check the owner’s manual that comes with your mill for specifics, but in general my mills just need a quick wipe-down. But the best tip I can give you for mill “maintenance” is to run some rice through the mill (again, check your owner’s manual to make sure this is okay). The rice will clean out any traces of flour inside and then you can use the rice flour you make as a dusting flour for your baking needs. I keep my discarded rice flour in a mason jar on my counter for just this purpose.

For lots more tips and insider insights, listen in as Lisa Bass and I talk all things fresh flour: Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy podcast, episode 102

How to turn wheat berries into flour

If you’re just getting started on your fresh flour journey, using a high powered blender or food processor can work for a while. But I honestly don’t recommend it. My fear is that the coarse flour and the headache of grinding it will both deter someone from ever truly pursuing making their own flour.

If you’re going to continue grinding wheat berries into flour, you’ll really want a great home mill. My ultimate guide to choosing a grain mill can help you decide which one is best for you.

But in the end, turning whole wheat berries into flour is as simple as grinding them! And, just like that, you have the most nutritious flour in the world at your fingertips.

In a nutshell, these are the three mills I’ve personally used and recommend:

1. The Classic Nutrimill does a great job, at a low price point for milling large amounts of grain at once.
2. The Nutrimill Impact is the lowest price point grain mill on the market, and it’s very similar to the Classic.
3. The Harvest Mill wins for most beautiful to sit on your counter.
4. And the Mockmill is a beautiful workhorse that wins for best engineered, best at milling alternative grains, and the best at producing great flour, every time, but it also sits at the highest price point.

P.s. If you’re interested in a Nutrimill, code “SOULYRESTED” will save you cash!

More information about wheat berries and fresh milled flour:

• Why I started milling my own flour
• Tips for using fresh milled flour (with Lisa Bass)
• Fluffy 100% whole wheat dinner rolls with fresh flour (recipe)
• Kamut chocolate chip cookies (recipe)
• The ultimate guide to choosing a grain mill

The post Wheat berries: everything you need to know 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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It seemed like the end-all-be-all of homemade products.

I continued making lasagna for years with boxed noodles, thinking to myself one day soon I’ll learn how to make lasagna noodles from scratch! But in the back of my mind, I assumed it would never really happen, because who has time for that?

Turns out, making lasagna noodles from scratch is actually, like, Super Easy. With a capital “S.” No idea why I let this intimidate me.

Then, when I started converting my kitchen over to fresh milled flour, I went through the same process again. I had figured out how to make homemade lasagna noodles with dead store flour, but surely making them with fresh flour would be difficult. Again, I let it slide and continued making lasagna noodles with store bought flour (or buying them), even as I conquered chewy cookies, fluffy rolls, and even sourdough bread, all made with fresh, whole wheat flour.

Then, one day, I thought no more of this and I just did it. I made lasagna noodles from scratch with fresh milled flour. And you know what? It’s easy. I haven’t looked back.

So let’s make lasagna noodles with fresh flour.

How to Make Lasagna Noodles from Scratch

To make lasagna noodles from scratch you only need three ingredients that you most likely have sitting around your house; flour, salt, and eggs. It’s as simple as that!

How to Make Lasagna Noodles With Freshly Milled Ancient Grains

Ancient grains are the original Super Food. Because they haven’t been altered by Big Ag, they’re full of more nutrients than modern grains or flour–including 3 to 4 times more carotenoids. (source)

Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants that offer us intense health benefits, so why is modern wheat bred to have less carotenoids? It’s simple really… people want their bread white, carotenoids come in bright red, orange, and yellow colors, so modern science has bred wheat without the colorful antioxidants.

But the difference in ancient & modern grains doesn’t end with antioxidants. Ancient grains have higher levels of all kinds of nutrients, from protein, to healthy fats; fiber to important minerals. (source) 

Read about even more nutritional reasons to love ancient grains here: Einkorn 101 

If all these reasons have convinced you to try to make some lasagna noodles with ancient grains, make the recipe below by grinding your fresh flour from 60% durum and 40% einkorn.

Do You Have to Boil Fresh Pasta for Lasagna?

Ah, the age old question. The short answer is it depends. I choose to boil my noodles for a few minutes before assembling my lasagna because I find that it just makes a better end result. I’ve definitely made lasagna noodles with fresh flour and NOT boiled them before assembling, but I find the results are more consistent and you wind up with a better texture in the end if you stick the noodles in boiling water for a minute. Try it both ways, though, and see which way works best for you.

Should You Use Fresh of Dried Pasta Sheets for Lasagna?

Until just recently I always used dried pasta sheets for lasagna, which is fine, but using fresh pasta, made with fresh milled flour, is much tastier and definitely offers more nutrients. Of course, you can have the best of both worlds, so to speak, and dehydrate your fresh lasagna noodles as well.

Can I Assemble Lasagna with Fresh Pasta Ahead of Time?

Absolutely, you can make your lasagna days ahead, with noodles made from fresh flour, and store it in the fridge (or freezer) until you’re ready to enjoy.

What is the Best Flour for Making Lasagna Noodles?

Officially, durum is the pasta-making grain. However, I found that using just durum in my pasta doughs resulted in a slightly grainy texture, so I settled on a mixture of durum, hard white, and soft white for a chewy, yet smooth pasta. Feel free to play around with what grains work best for your pastas, but the ratio I’ve settled on is roughly 50% durum, 25% hard white, and 25% soft white.

How to Cook Lasagna Noodles so They Don’t Stick Together

Like we already covered, boiling your fresh lasagna noodles or not is up to you. However, if you choose to boil them, here are a few tricks to keep them from sticking together in the water.

1. Make sure the texture of your pasta dough is correct. If you’re having a huge issue with the noodles sticking in the water, it could be that your dough was too sticky to start with. Next time, try adding more flour into your dough to make it stiffer.
2. Use a big pot. Overcrowding the noodles is a surefire way to end up with a noodle mass.
3. Bring your water to a rapid boil before you add the noodles. I’ve found that if my water is just lukewarm or not boiling rapidly, my noodles are much more likely to stick together.

What you need to make lasagna noodles

235 grams fresh milled flour (I use durum, hard white, and soft white in a 2:1:1 ratio)

3 large eggs

Generous pinch of salt

What to do when you make lasagna noodles

Mill your flour on a fine setting. Add the salt to the flour and mix slightly, then add the eggs and whisk them into the flour until a shaggy dough is created. Using your hands, knead the dough until there are to dry bits left. Continue to knead the dough for a few minutes until it’s smooth and stretchy, but still stiff. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour to make it more stiff, but still pliable.

Cover and let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

Using a pasta machine or a rolling pin, roll the dough out to your desired thickness. I usually do this with my pasta machine and start the dough on the thickest setting, then working my way down to a lower setting until it’s as thin as I want it. Don’t be afraid to sprinkle the dough with some flour if it’s sticking.

Boil the noodles after they’re cut or shaped how you’d like. (I often just keep the width of the noodles however they come out, and cut the length that will fit in my pan. It’s rustic, but it works really well.) Do keep in mind that fresh noodles only take about 2-3 minutes to cook fully, especially if your water is at a rolling boil.

Assemble your lasagna as desired and bake.

Enjoy!

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Lasagna Noodles with Fresh Flour

Ingredients

• 235 grams fresh milled flour I use durum, hard white, and soft white in a 2:1:1 ratio
• 3 large eggs
• Generous pinch of salt

Instructions

• Mill your flour on a fine setting. Add the salt to the flour and mix slightly, then add the eggs and whisk them into the flour until a shaggy dough is created. Using your hands, knead the dough until there are to dry bits left. Continue to knead the dough for a few minutes until it’s smooth and stretchy, but still stiff. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour to make it more stiff, but still pliable.
• Cover and let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
• Using a pasta machine or a rolling pin, roll the dough out to your desired thickness. I usually do this with my pasta machine and start the dough on the thickest setting, then working my way down to a lower setting until it’s as thin as I want it. Don’t be afraid to sprinkle the dough with some flour if it’s sticking.
• Boil the noodles after they’re cut or shaped how you’d like. (I often just keep the width of the noodles however they come out, and cut the length that will fit in my pan. It’s rustic, but it works really well.) Do keep in mind that fresh noodles only take about 2-3 minutes to cook fully, especially if your water is at a rolling boil.

Talk to me about your lasagna noodles.

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

Need a Grain Mill?

There are many options for grain mills.

These are the 3 I recommend:

1. 1. The Classic Nutrimill does a great job, at the lowest price point.
   2. The Harvest Mill wins for most beautiful to sit on your counter.
   3. And the Mockmill is a beautiful workhorse that wins for best engineered, best at milling alternative grains, and finest flour, but it also sits at the highest price point.

   P.s. If you’re interested in a Nutrimill, code “SOULYRESTED” will save you cash!

More about just some of the alternative flours I make in the Mockmill here.

More recipes if you like making lasagna noodles

• Fluffy 100% fresh milled, whole wheat flour dinner rolls
• Why I started milling my own flour (and why I’ll never go back!)
• Sourdough bread made with fresh milled flour
• Kamut chocolate chip cookies

And be sure to Download my FREE Pantry Checklist and all the discounts on the best ingredients

“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31

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Excitedly I unboxed my first-ever grain mill a few years ago, milled my wheat berries, mixed up bread dough, and waited for it…

{drumroll, please}

I thought the heavens would open in elation.

I thought the family would devour my creation with joy and beg for more.

Not.

100% whole wheat, freshly milled isn’t for the faint of heart

My loaves made great doorstops. Nobody wanted to eat them. Honestly, they really weren’t edible.

This went on for a while, until I eventually decided that using fresh, whole wheat flour was just too difficult and I set my mill aside, defeated, to collect dust. But not forever! Hallelujah, I uncovered some tips and tricks and I’ve finally converted my kitchen over to only using 100% fresh milled, whole wheat flour.

And–the best part (insert a genuine drumroll)–our breads and dinner rolls taste good!

Sidenote: I explain in the notes, below, that you can tweak this recipe to make better-than-Cheesecake-Factory brown bread, with a little cocoa powder & some molasses. I think you’ll love it.

Are whole wheat dinner rolls hard to make?

This whole wheat roll recipe has a few more steps than your typical dinner roll would have, but it’s so worth it! They come out softer than any rolls I’ve made, including ones made with white bread flour! The extra steps (making a tangzhong and mixing butter into the dough) both help create a soft, stretchy, glutenous dough that’s easy to work with and results in the fluffiest rolls you’ll ever make. You seriously won’t be able to stop eating these.

What’s the secret to making whole wheat dinner rolls fluffy?

In this recipe, the combination of adding a fat (butter), adding a tangzhong (read on for more details), and using vital wheat gluten creates a perfect harmony.

The result? A perfectly fluffy dinner roll that dreams are made of.

Not only does the tangzhong help improve the texture of your rolls, but it also helps keep your bread products soft and perfectly fluffy for many days. In fact, we’ve kept these rolls at room temperature for up to 5 days and they stay as luxuriously pillowy (is that a word?) as they started out.

What’s a tangzhong?

A tangzhong is a roux of sorts, kinda like a roux you would make for homemade gravy. But it uses flour, instead of water. It’s simply a paste you make from flour and cooked milk.

A tangzhong improves the texture of your bread or rolls and (bonus!) increases it’s shelf life, meaning your rolls will taste as fresh on day 3 or 4 as they do on day 1.

Is whole wheat bread better for you?

In short, yes, fresh milled, whole wheat bread is 100% better for you than store-bought bread or bread you make with refined all-purpose flour.

It’s hard to quickly characterize all the crazy differences between refined, store-bought flour and fresh milled, whole wheat flour, but the differences are astronomical.

Go here for lots of reasons why I started milling my own flour.

Just by milling my own whole wheat flour at home, I’ve dramatically raised my family’s intake of protein, fiber, magnesium, iron, potassium, and so many more great things. In fact, whole wheat flour, milled at home and used within 3 days of milling, has been found to include 40 out of 44 of the essential minerals that our bodies need!

So cool, right?

Fluffy 100% whole wheat dinner rolls

(makes 12 large rolls, enough to fill a 9×13 pan)

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp milk, separated
• about 2.5 cups fresh milled flour (I use a mixture of hard white, hard red, and Kamut)
• 2 tbsp vital wheat gluten*
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 3 tbsp sugar (I use this or this)
• 1 tsp real salt
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

Instructions for making tangzhong

1. To make your tangzhong, start by whisking together 1/3 cup cold milk and 2 heaping tablespoons of flour, in a sauce pan.
2. Place over high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened, about 3 minutes.
3. Set this aside for a few minutes, to cool slightly.

Instructions for making dinner rolls

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine your tangzhong, the rest of the milk, vital wheat gluten, egg, yeast, sugar, salt, and about half the flour. Mix.
2. Add more flour, slowly, until a shaggy dough forms. I tend to err on the side of adding less flour than I’ll probably need, and add more, slowly, every few minutes as the dough kneads.
3. Knead the dough for 10-12 minutes (yes, it’s a long time–I’ve found that longer kneading times helps a whole wheat dough develop stronger gluten). Continue kneading until your dough seems stretchy and strong.
4. Slowly add the room temperature butter in chucks, as the mixer continues kneading. Allow the dough to knead for another 3-5 minutes until the butter is all mixed into the dough, with no chunks remaining. The dough should be soft, workable, and stretchy. At this point, you should be able to achieve a decent windowpane if you’ve kneaded the dough long enough. (To test for windowpane, pull a chuck of dough off and stretch it between your fingers, as in the picture above. If you can get it thin enough to see some light through without the dough instantly ripping, you’re in the right ballpark.)  You don’t want the dough too stiff or too soft, but somewhere in the middle. If you’re not able to pass the windowpane “test” without the dough ripping, keep kneading longer and try again.
5. Place the dough in a warm spot in an oiled bowl and let it rest for about 1-1.5 hours. The dough doesn’t have to double in size, as long as it rises some.
6. Gently pull the dough out of the bowl and shape into 12 rolls, and place them evenly in a 9×13 pan.
7. Set the pan aside to let the rolls rise for another 1-1.5 hours. This time you really want to give them enough time to double, if possible.
8. Preheat your oven to 350, and bake the rolls for about 20 minutes, until they’re cooked through and slightly golden on top. I really try to not overcook them, infact they often look like they’re slightly undercooked when I pull them out.
9. While the rolls are still hot, brush the tops with butter.

Notes about making whole wheat dinner rolls

• There’s only one roll in the pictures because I only thought to take pictures after my recent batch was all devoured except for one. This is a common occurrence around here–disappearing rolls.
• I did get one picture of a batch of rolls I baked in a 12″ cast iron pan a while ago, but my current go-to is my glass baking dish. I love for these dinner rolls to be as soft as they can be, and the cast iron tends to make the bottoms crispier.
• Don’t have vital wheat gluten? No worries. These rolls should still turn out well without it.
• Not sure what sugar you want to use to make your dinner rolls? Go here for a break down of all the best options.
• Use Redmond Real Salt in this recipe and add more than 64 trace minerals to your recipe! Use code SOULYRESTED to save & stock up on some of this amazing salt today. I buy it in the bulk size because it stores so easily and keeps forever.
• Have duck eggs? They’d add a delicious richness to this recipe. Read more about duck eggs here.
• There are many options for grain mills. These are the 3 I recommend: The Classic Nutrimill does a great job, at the lowest price point. The Harvest Mill wins for most beautiful to sit on your counter. And the Mockmill is a beautiful workhorse that wins for best engineered, best at milling alternative grains, and finest flour, but it also sits at the highest price point. More about just some of the alternative flours I make in the Mockmill here.
• FOR BROWN BREAD: add 2.5 tablespoons cocoa powder & 3 tablespoons Sorghum syrup or molasses to the dough. Knead and rise as usual, then shape into 4-5 small, free shaped loaves. Let rise again, then brush the tops with either water or an egg wash, sprinkle w/ oats, and bake.

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Fluffy 100% whole wheat dinner rolls with fresh flour

Servings 12 large rolls

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp milk separated
• about 2.5 cups fresh milled flour I use a mixture of hard white, hard red, and Kamut
• 2 tbsp vital wheat gluten*
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp real salt
• 1/4 cup butter at room temperature

Instructions

Instructions for making tangzhong:

• To make your tangzhong, start by whisking together 1/3 cup cold milk and 2 heaping tablespoons of flour, in a sauce pan.
• Place over high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened, about 3 minutes.
• Set this aside for a few minutes, to cool slightly.

To make the dough:

• In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine your tangzhong, the rest of the milk, vital wheat gluten, egg, yeast, sugar, salt, and about half the flour. Mix.
• Add more flour, slowly, until a shaggy dough forms. I tend to err on the side of adding less flour than I'll probably need, and add more, slowly, every few minutes as the dough kneads.
• Knead the dough for 10-12 minutes (yes, it's a long time--I've found that longer kneading times helps a whole wheat dough develop stronger gluten). Continue kneading until your dough seems stretchy and strong.
• Slowly add the room temperature butter in chunks, as the mixer continues kneading. Allow the dough to knead for another 3-5 minutes until the butter is all mixed into the dough, with no chunks remaining. The dough should be soft, workable, and stretchy. At this point, you should be able to achieve a decent windowpane if you've kneaded the dough long enough. (To test for windowpane, pull a chunk of dough off and stretch it between your fingers, as in the picture above. If you can get it thin enough to see some light through without the dough instantly ripping, you're in the right ballpark.)  You don't want the dough too stiff or too soft, but somewhere in the middle. If you're not able to pass the windowpane "test" without the dough ripping, keep kneading longer and try again.
• Place the dough in a warm spot in an oiled bowl and let it rest for about 1-1.5 hours. The dough doesn't have to double in size, as long as it rises some.
• Gently pull the dough out of the bowl and shape into 12 rolls, and place them evenly in a 9x13 pan.
• Set the pan aside to let the rolls rise for another 1-1.5 hours. This time you really want to give them enough time to double, if possible.
• Preheat your oven to 350, and bake the rolls for about 20 minutes, until they're cooked through and slightly golden on top. I really try to not overcook them, infact they often look like they're slightly undercooked when I pull them out.
• While the rolls are still hot, brush the tops with butter.

Notes

• There's only one roll in the pictures because I only thought to take pictures after my recent batch was all devoured except for one. This is a common occurrence around here--disappearing rolls.
• I did get one picture of a batch of rolls I baked in a 12" cast iron pan a while ago, but my current go-to is my glass baking dish. I love for these dinner rolls to be as soft as they can be, and the cast iron tends to make the bottoms crispier.
• *Don't have vital wheat gluten? No worries. These rolls should still turn out well without it.
• FOR BROWN BREAD: add 2.5 tablespoons cocoa powder & 3 tablespoons Sorghum syrup or molasses to the dough. Knead and rise as usual, then shape into 4-5 small, free shaped loaves. Let rise again, then brush the tops with either water or an egg wash, sprinkle w/ oats, and bake.

More 100% whole wheat recipes (+ other tips):

• Why I Started Milling my own Flour (& why I’ll never go back)
• Chocolate Chip Cookies Made with Fresh Flour (favorites in our house)
• Sourdough Bread Made with Fresh Flour (pretty much made weekly around here)
• How to Bake with Lard (and why you should) (one of my most popular articles)
• Learn All About Fresh Flour in my FREE e-course

The post Fluffy 100% whole wheat dinner rolls with fresh flour first appeared on Souly Rested.

To be honest, I think trying new and exciting varieties of wheat berries has been my favorite part of owning my own grain mill! Who knew flour could have so much variety?

The newest addition to my wheat berry stash is Kamut (pronounced kuh-moot). These Kamut chocolate chip cookies made with fresh-milled, whole wheat Kamut flour are seriously to die for.

Sidenote: Kamut flour would be great for this Crumbl knockoff cookie too. I made some with spelt and soft white wheat berries last night and OH MY WORD. I did tweak the recipe a lot, so I’m going to be sharing my version soon.

It turns out Kamut chocolate chip cookies are  the perfect amount of crunchy around the edges, soft and gooey in the middle, and full of flavor thanks to the brown butter and nutty taste of the Kamut. Yum.

What is Kamut flour?

Let’s talk about Kamut. For starters, Kamut can easily replace all-purpose flour in recipes. Folks say to replace it in a 3:4 ratio with what your all-purpose recipe calls for, but I’ve had good luck replacing it 1:1 in most recipes. Just be aware that you might need slightly less kamut flour than all-purpose flour.

Kamut is an ancient form of wheat that has apparently never been hybridized or genetically modified. It has a distinct buttery, nutty flavor that’s a great addition to all sorts of baked goods. The name “Kamut” is the Egyptian word simply for “wheat.”

Given the fact that Kamut hasn’t been intentionally modified like most other wheat on the market these days, it’s easier for our bodies to digest, and some folks with gluten sensitivities claim they’re able to eat Kamut but not other varieties of wheat.

Kamut vs. Spelt

Similarly to kamut, spelt had been modified very little throughout the years. Both ancient grains, they each offer different benefits. Kamut is generally recognized as having a bolder, more nutty flavor than spelt. However, spelt has a sweeter, more subtle flavor that’s less noticeable in baked goods. Both are great options, just slightly different from each other.

Is khorasan different than Kamut?

In short, Kamut is khorasan wheat. Quite literally, Kamut is a trademarked variety of khorasan wheat. Other varieties of khorasan are also grown in the U.S. The difference between khorasan wheat and Kamut comes down to a trademark. Kamut is an ancient variety of khorasan wheat and a registered trademark owned by Kamut International. The organization was founded by Montana farmer, Bob Quinn, to protect the purity of the heirloom variety of khorasan wheat.

So keep in mind when purchasing Kamut that the wheat berries or flour may be cheaper if it’s labeled “khorasan wheat” rather than “Kamut,” since Kamut is, essentially, a brand name version of the same wheat.

To see what I mean, check out these Kamut brand-name wheat berries vs. the no-name organic khorasan wheat berries.

Kamut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar (I use coconut sugar)
• 1/2 cup sugar (I link my favorite below)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I link my favorite below)
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups whole wheat Kamut flour (freshly milled, on a fine setting)
• 2 tsp sifted, fine chickpea flour (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups total chocolate chips/chunks of choice (I link my favorite below)

Directions:

1. In a saucepan over medium/high heat, melt the butter and continue to cook the butter, stirring frequently, until it foams and you start to see browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour into a cooled bowl and set it aside to cool down some.
2. Preheat your oven to (shocker) 350 F.
3. When the butter isn’t hot to the touch anymore (although admittedly I often move on to this step before I let the butter cool all the way), beat it in a stand mixer with the sugars until it all lightens in color and thickens slightly (2-3 minutes). Add in the vanilla and eggs, and mix until combined.
4. Add in the dry ingredients, adding in your chocolate chips only after the dough is the desired texture. Mix in the chocolate chips and form the dough into balls.
5. Bake in your hot oven for 10-12 minutes, depending on how crispy you like the edges and how large you shaped the cookies.
6. Cool cookies on tray for a few minutes after removing from the oven, then move then to a cooking rack. Enjoy!

Notes About Kamut Chocolate Chip Cookies

• I love using a mixture of different chips in my kamut chocolate chip cookies, for variety: mini chips, semi-sweet/dark/milk chocolate, regular-size chips, chunks, these organic chips, sweetened with coconut sugar, and even super-nutritious cacao nibs.
• Personally, I think Kamut chocolate chip cookies are even better on day #2, as the flavors of the cookie meld and the texture becomes soft, chewy, and… well… perfect.
• Kamut Chocolate Chip Cookies are delicious made with coconut sugar and date sugar as well, in place of cane sugar. (Read more about both of them here.)
• I usually make this recipe with all coconut sugar and no white or brown sugar. In that case, the lightening and slight thickening of your dough happens when all the wet ingredients have been mixing for a minute or two (before adding in the dry ingredients).
• Just fyi, coconut sugar is deliciously sweet, made from the bloom of the coconut tree, not the coconut itself, so it tastes nothing like coconut.

Print

Kamut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat Kamut flour freshly milled, on a fine setting
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups total chocolate chips/chunks of choice

Instructions

• In a saucepan over medium/high heat, melt the butter and continue to cook the butter, stirring frequently, until it foams and you start to see browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour into a cooled bowl and set it aside to cool down some.
• Preheat your oven to (shocker) 350 F.
• When the butter isn’t hot to the touch anymore (although admittedly I often move on to this step before I let the butter cool all the way), beat it in a stand mixer with the sugars until it all lightens in color and thickens slightly (2-3 minutes). Add in the vanilla and eggs, and mix until combined.
• Add in the dry ingredients, adding in your chocolate chips only after the dough is the desired texture. Mix in the chocolate chips and form the dough into balls.
• Bake in your hot oven for 10-12 minutes, depending on how crispy you like the edges and how large you shaped the cookies.
• Cool cookies on tray for a few minutes after removing from the oven, then move then to a cooking rack. Enjoy!

Notes

• I love using a mixture of different chips in my kamut chocolate chip cookies, for variety: mini chips, semi-sweet/dark/milk chocolate, regular-size chips, chunks, these organic chips, sweetened with coconut sugar, and even super-nutritious cacao nibs.
• Personally, I think Kamut chocolate chip cookies are even better on day #2, as the flavors of the cookie meld and the texture becomes soft, chewy, and… well… perfect.
• Kamut Chocolate Chip Cookies are delicious made with coconut sugar and date sugar as well, in place of cane sugar. (Read more about both of them here.)
• I usually make this recipe with all coconut sugar and no white or brown sugar. In that case, the lightening and slight thickening of your dough happens when all the wet ingredients have been mixing for a minute or two (before adding in the dry ingredients).
• Just fyi, coconut sugar is deliciously sweet, made from the bloom of the coconut tree, not the coconut itself, so it tastes nothing like coconut.

Ingredients in my Kamut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Is Kamut healthier than wheat?

Kamut is a fabulous, more nutritious substitute for “regular” wheat. Kamut offers more proteins, minerals ,and vitamins than wheat.

Is Kamut healthier than oatmeal?

Kamut can be cooked as a great substitute for oatmeal. In fact, it’s superior to oatmeal because it’s higher in vitamin B6, which is important for brain development and a healthy nervous system and immune system.

Is Kamut healthier than quinoa?

Gram per gram, Kamut packs a higher protein punch than even the amazing quinoa. In a 1-cup serving, quinoa offers 8 grams of protein, vs. a huge 9.8 grams from Kamut.

Is Kamut a superfood?

The post Kamut Chocolate Chip Cookies first appeared on Souly Rested.