Can you make your flour at home? If you’ve been baking bread recently, you might be wondering if you can, and the answer is a big yes, you can make your flour using a milling machine or even with small appliances you already have in your kitchen.
In this guide, we’ll show you three easy steps to making your flour from the comfort of your own home.
Why Make Your Flour at Home?
But first, let’s begin by asking the question, why make your flour at home? Well, if you’re serious about making your homemade bread, then you’ll love making your flour from scratch.
The number 1 reason home bakers make their flour is flavor. There’s nothing better than freshly milled flour when it comes to getting the maximum flavor and nutrients in your flour. The flavors, aromas, and nutrients you can get from newly milled grains are unmatched by store-bought flour that is often added with additives and chemicals that make them last longer on the shelf.
Plus, the maximum potential for flavor and nutrients of grains is when they have just been milled. The flavors and aromas are unmatched. If you’ve never tried freshly milled grains for your bread and other baked goods before, then you’re in for a big surprise. Once you start using homemade flour, you’ll never turn back.
If you like experimenting with your flavors, homemade flour will also give you the control and variety you’re looking for. You can make flour out of rice, oats, beans, legumes, and other grains that you can mill. The possibilities for flavors and health options are endless when you make your flour for your baking needs.
Choosing Your Grain Mill
You don’t have to buy a milling machine to make your flour, but if you’re planning to turn making bread into a business or see yourself baking every day, investing in a good quality milling machine is essential.
However, if you only bake bread occasionally or you want to use kitchen appliances you already have at home, you can do so.
You can use the following small appliances to make your flour at home:
- A coffee grinder
- Food processor
- Stand mixer
- High-speed blender
- Countertop milling machine
Coffee Grinder
A coffee grinder can mill grains but in small batches. You will have to grind your grains one after the other and pause once the grinder gets hot. You will also have to sift your flour since chunky pieces may get through the grinder.
You should grind your grains at least twice with a coffee grinder to get a more acceptable consistency.
Food Processor
A food processor is not the ideal appliance to mill grains, but it can be possible with a heavy-duty machine. If the food processor’s blades can grind spices, then there’s a big possibility that it can be used to make flour out of grains.
Stand Mixer
If your stand mixer features heavy-duty blades, it can also mill grains into flour.
High-Speed Blender
A heavy-duty blender can also be used to make flour out of grains. With a blender, you need to use the high-speed settings to make flour.
Countertop Milling Machine
Countertop milling machines like the Nutrimill Harvest Grain Mill can easily and quickly mill all kinds of grains, legumes, and beans that are non-oily.
These machines are a great alternative to heavy-duty milling machines that are bulky and heavy and require a large investment up front.
Grain mills like Nutrimill are more user-friendly, and you can make small batches in one go, just enough to make a few pieces of bread and baked goods for a day’s consumption.
3 Steps to Making Your Flour
Step 1: Measure Out Your Grain
This would depend on how much you need and the capacity of your machine, whether it’s a coffee grinder, blender, or countertop milling machine.
Step 2: Pour Grain into Your Appliance
Pour your grains into the appliance and start grinding or milling.
Step 3: Stop Milling or Blending When You Achieve Flour Consistency
Once you’ve achieved a fine consistency, stop milling, grinding, or blending. If, after grinding, you still have a few coarse or chunky grains, you can grind them a second time.
A milling machine can give you the finest consistency in one go. Some appliances like Nutrimill allow you to choose different kinds of texture, from coarse to fine to superfine.
A Few Things You Should Know Before Making Your Flour
If making your flour was so simple and easy, then everyone would mill their grains. Before you begin your homemade flour-making journey, here are a few things you need to know:
1. It Takes Time
Milling your grains and making flour to make bread at home will take time. Since you’re starting from scratch, you’ll have to set aside extra time before baking.
You will also need to know the characteristics of freshly milled flour since the bread’s resulting flavors, aromas, and texture will be a little different if you use flour from a grocery store.
2. Large Initial Investment
You will have to buy your grains in bulk if cutting costs is one of the reasons why you’re making your flour at home. Of course, buying wholesale is more expensive upfront than buying grains at retail price.
If you opt to buy a milling machine, that will also cost a lot if you invest in a heavy-duty machine.
Aside from these two things, making your flour at home is quite simple and fun. As long as you store your flour in an airtight container, homemade flour can last up to 3 months.
Conclusion
Making your flour at home is simple and easy with a milling machine or with small kitchen appliances. With a coffee grinder, food processor, or blender, you can turn grains, beans, rice, or legumes into any flour you like.
However, there are some things you need to know before you start on your homemade flour-making journey. One of these things is that you’d need to buy a milling machine if you intend to make your very own flour every day or for bulk. There’s also a lot of time and experimentation involved in the beginning.
Nevertheless, making your flour means you get better flavor and healthier freshly milled flour for all your baking needs at home.
Related: Gluten-free flour substitutes
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