Grinding your own flour -- is it worth it? - Page 2

[mamadelbosque]

I once bought a 50# bag of local hard white wheat for like 7 or 8 dollars, sure sounded like a great price'n all... till I opend it up and realize it was all dirty and full of bits stalk & leaves & sticks & such. Ended up feeding it to the chickens as it would have been more work than it was worth to get it the point that I could grind it and eat it myself So, just becareful when you buy locally that you know what your buying.. or at least have a backup plan

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque

I once bought a 50# bag of local hard white wheat for like 7 or 8 dollars, sure sounded like a great price'n all... till I opend it up and realize it was all dirty and full of bits stalk & leaves & sticks & such. Ended up feeding it to the chickens as it would have been more work than it was worth to get it the point that I could grind it and eat it myself So, just becareful when you buy locally that you know what your buying.. or at least have a backup plan

The farmer DH bought from showed him his cleaning equipment and his cattle and his barn cats . I had my doubts and feared would be chicken feed too until we opened the bag and looked at it.

[CookiePie]

Well I was wrong, it was $1.29/lb & the owner wans't there to ask about a volume discount. So I'm still looking locally. Oh & this morning I pulled out my hand crank mill that I never really used, it worked! A bit time consuming/labor intensive but I can still mill my own flour!!! I'm so excited!!!

[sunnysandiegan]

I grind my own flour in my Vitamix. I use the Vitamix for LOTS of things!

[aikigypsy]

OK! I've ordered a grain mill. I was going to get a hand-cranked mill, because I usually don't like the whirr of electric appilances, but some of the replies on this thread, and a set of reviews I found, convinced me that I should go with the Nutrimill. Apparently it can do a finer grind (for pastry flour, which is definitely part of what I want to do with it) than the family grain mill, which is the other one I was considering. Also, I don't have as much time to stand around grinding things as I'd like, so the slow speed of a hand-cranked mill might get to be a problem.

I looked at a batch of websites, and I'm probably going to start out with an order from Bob's Red Mill because they have a good variety of grains, and you can get some in smaller packs, to try out. I mean, I've never baked with rye or teff before, so I don't want to start off with 45 or 50 pounds. My local grocery store carries their products and I'm going to find out what I can order through them, to save on shipping costs. (Otherwise it would go UPS, which almost doubles the cost on a large order).

[CookiePie]

Did you find a good deal?

[aikigypsy]

I don't know yet, but I'll find out soon! I live in a very high COL area, so whatever deal I get probably won't sound great to most of the country, but I hope I've made the best choice. The local grocery store will do their markup, then I'll get a case discount price. I've ordered a total of 100 lbs. of wheat, 25 each of hard red, hard white, soft white, and spelt. We'll see!

[CookiePie]

I've been searching still. I'd like to try rye & spelt also. I have to drive 45 minutes to WF to see what they have in the bulk bins. I think I've been told that they will sell you a big bag for a discount, I'm not sure if that is 25 pounds or what? Has anyone asked about this?

[henny penny]

Taking notes!

[aikigypsy]

The big bags from Bob's Red Mill are 25# -- they're pretty widely available, I think, and probably at whole foods, but the guy at the store here says that rye only comes in the 50# sacks.