How to Make Wheat Grain Into Flour

Bake homemade bread with freshly ground flour.

From the mill to your mouth, store-bought flour can lose vital nutrients and flavors. Freshly ground flour provides the taste and nutritional benefits that store-bought flour lacks. Home grain mills grind whole wheat grains, or berries, into flours of various coarseness. Many home grain mills exist on the market: hand-cranked or electric and stone-burred or metal-burred. Some mills cost upward of $400, but the investment pays for itself after many loaves of inexpensive and healthy bread made from the milled flour.

Things You'll Need

• Wheat berries
• Grain mill
• Bowl

Instructions

1. Pour wheat berries into the grain hopper until the hopper reaches capacity.

2. Adjust the mill burrs to your desired coarseness. Very fine flour makes delicate pastries; coarser flour makes hearty breads.

3. Place a large bowl at the flour spout. Turn on the grain mill until all wheat berries run through.

4. Use the flour immediately or store in an airtight container until ready for use.

Tips & Warnings

• Leave the flour out in a cool and dark place covered loosely with a kitchen towel to age and oxidize the flour. Some people prefer the flavor and behavior of the resulting flour.

References

• Modern Survival Blog: Flour Mill
• Heavenly Homemakers: How to Grind Flour in a Mill