Hi Andrew. I mill my own flour, bake whole wheat bread, scones, other desserts with slight adjustments. Before milling I was always weighing my flours, regular and gluten free. Still seems odd not to weigh fresh milled flour but it doesn’t work the same. I just lightly spoon the flour into my measuring cups. Sometimes have to add extra liquid to adjust for the flour density. Having issues using my bread machine as well, machine over works or not at all. I know, but I love my bread machine.
Also, your recipes include measurements for flour weights but doesn’t work for fresh milled flour. And I’m so wanting to make some of your bread recipes. Looking forward to your fresh milled flour classes. Any hints to try before then? Thanx for your dedication.
Hello hello! Writing you with lots of loafy love from Chicago. I'd like to sing the praises of Brian Severson Farms in Dwight, IL (https://qualityorganic.net/). They grow heirloom, organic, non-GMO grains and everything is stone-ground on-site. All of what they offer is so flavourful and fresh and always makes for incredible eating. I haven't sifted through (lol sifted) the glut of glorious information you've already shared, but a handy chart with interchangeable whole grain flour options (ex: if you're using AP flour, use this much of it and this much water. if you're using whole wheat flour, use this much of it and this much water...etc).
I do have a home mill that I would like to use more. I've recently started using more rye flour in things other than traditional rye breads and am really enjoying it and would like to expand my use of other grains and learn more about adjusting formulas when using flours other than what is called for. A lot of my flour comes from Maine Grains in Skowhegan, Maine and Ground Up Grain in Massachusetts. I usually use the high extraction flour from Maine Grains as my "all purpose" flour and have great success with it. Looking forward to you home milling workshop!
Funnily enough I got into bread baking in part because I had access to excellent and unusual flours through the NYC Greenmarket. But they recently abolished their grain program. There is some flour available from individual vendors, and some stores (and of course mail order), but it's a big adjustment compared to seeing something new at the grainstand and taking it for a test drive. The enhanced degree of difficulty also makes it hard to stay motivated to bake, especially when there is so much good bread available in the city, but when I do throw together a loaf I love doing it (just baked the discard English muffin bread yesterday, my husband's favorite)!
I really like the idea of milling at home, but in an apartment with limited space, and less access to grain than I used to have, it's unlikely to happen soon.
Hi Andrew and fellow Loafers! No home milling here. I can only add up to about 10-20% of WW before my daughter (and husband, TBH) feels like it's too much and stop eating voluntarily, but so my main source of WW input is the 10ish% that is standard in most basic/country sourdough loaves that I make (e.g. the Basic Sourdough from Tivoli Road Baker and Wordloaf's The Loaf 2.0). That said, I want to give a shout-out to Janie's Mill (https://www.janiesmill.com/), the local farmer-miller company that I ordered from in the early days of the pandemic when I couldn't get flour otherwise. They have a great story and are really doing good work and care about their home baker customers! Their whole wheat was amazing, and the high extraction flour has been great to work with as well (and also receives a warmer welcome from the family than other WW variations!). I would love to up my WW/high extraction consumption and order from them on a more regular basis! Along those lines, I purchased the baking books Southern Ground and Heritage Baking this year, both of which feature primarily using WW or high-extraction blends in their recipes, and look forward to trying more recipes from those books! So definitely am interested in the WW deep dive for this year! Hope everyone stays safe and healthy.
I do not mill my own flour. I have no desire to have another kitchen appliance, or more supplies that then require either storage space or a commitment to use before they go bad or pick up bugs. And I am not overly fond of most bread or other baked goods with too much whole wheat content. There, I said it. Am I going to get booted out of the group?
Hey folks! I've been milling at home this past year, sourcing grain from local distributors when possible, but I'm often stuck ordering Great River Milling products on Amazon if I want more specific grains (i.e. hard red spring wheat or durum). Great River products are organic and work great, but I'd prefer to support a local producer in VT or Quebec -- super open to suggestions! Here in Montreal, La Milanaise has a variety of good stuff, but it can be difficult to find certain grains in quantities less than 50lbs.
Most of my milling has been for sourdough bread, but more recently I've started experimenting with pasta dough. I made fresh egg spaghetti using 100% fresh milled soft wheat, sifted to ~85% extraction. The flavour of fresh milled flour (even sifted) in pasta is so pronounced that it asserts itself as the star vs a vehicle for the sauce. I'm inclined to try a simple aglio e olio next time...
So in addition to sourdough bread (esp. with durum because I have like 20 lbs of berries), I'd be very interested in recipes for fresh pastas and complementary sauces, as well as pastries... especially things like laminated doughs and choux pastry using fresh milled and/or whole grain flour, cause I love a good challenge!
I'm excited to see what you're going to share around the use of whole-grain flours over the coming months. I've been home milling with a Mockmill for the past few months and have been loving the more intense flavors in my breads. I also use sifted flour from Ground Up Grain in Central Massachusetts. I'm always on the lookout for new ways to source interesting whole grains that aren't too prohibitive in terms of shipping costs. Luckily I live in the Boston area and so have relatively easy access to Elmendorf to pick up the grains that they feature.
I'll join the crowd and share my excitement for more whole grain content! I've been doing a series of test bakes with The Loaf, Loaf 2.0, and Loaf Classic incorporating more and more whole grains (hard white wheat and rye) in various ratios, and I feel like I'm still not really "getting" how they are changing my approach. I would say that hard white wheat had changed the way I think about the color and flavor of whole grain bread in a very positive way. Oh well, more testing :)
I don't home mill (yet), probably in large part because I live just a few miles from Grist and Toll, who I would recommend to anyone - https://www.gristandtoll.com/
Hi Andrew, I was gifted a Mockmill 200 for my birthday in Spring '21. Been making all of our naturally leavened bread for years and was surprised to learn and keep learning (!) what a game changer freshly milled flour is. I do sourdough and dried yeast depending on what I'm baking. Yesterday I made a 100% whole wheat challah with flax and quinoa from Uri Scheft's book, Breaking Breads. Pretty amazing.
I buy all my flour and whole and cracked grain from Janie’s Mill which has already been mentioned here. I don’t mill my own but use the whole and cracked grain as additions to breads or as hot cereal or other edible. I just this morning baked two loaves of Seeded Schwartzbrot, a recipe from Mastering Bread by Claire Kopp McWilliams and Marc Vetri that uses JM’s Whole Kernel, Spelt and Dark Rye flours (all 100% extraction) in addition to sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
I make a version of your English Muffin Bread with 100% whole grains! I am wanting to get better and making full on 100% Irish whole grain breads, and am so looking forward to a class Ill be taking next month with Terri Ann Fox at River Run Ferments :D
I recently got a Mock Mill 200 and just baked off my first 100% fresh milled batard this morning. I sourced most of my berries from Breadtopia, and some from Barton Springs Mill. This bake was 50% hard white spring (sifted to about 70% extraction), 25% Rouge de Bordeaux (sifted to 85%), 20% spelt (unsifted) and 5% Ryman rye. I pre-fermented 10% of the flour. Pretty robust fermentation.The oven spring was a little less than I usually get, but nice crumb and incredible flavor.
I have a mockmill attachment to my KitchenAid and use it daily! I started feeding my starter Sir Bobby Farts-Alot with fresh milled whole grain flour every night and the dude just went off like there's no tomorrow! But, if you would only use freshly milled whole grain to feed your starter, I bet a coffee grinder would work for that too. I also add about 100g of freshly milled whole grain to my sourdough -- usually a mix of hard red & white wheat, rye, or sometimes Kamut or Triticale -- if I have those on hand. I've also used spelt and like the softness it gives the bread. I get those grains either from Breadtopia online or our local organic food store (Marlene's). My breadflour I purchase directly from Cairnspringsmills in Burlington, WA. It's a roadtrip that we combine with a brewery visit and growler refill. I buy 50lbs of flour and fill 3-4 growlers. :) Other than that, I also use my grains as whole cooked grains. I made a BLORF mix the other day :) = Barley, Lentils, Oatgroats, Rye, Farro. I stuck 150g of each into the pressure cooker and cooked them for 20 min - no salt, just water. It was awesome and totally versatile. Got the idea from nutritionfacts.org. Dr. Greger -- he makes a BROL = Barley, Rye, Oats, Lentils
My goal this year is to include some amount of whole grains (either in a soaker or flour) in every bake, including my pastry bakes. While I use commercial flour (mostly King Arthur), I also try to use locally milled grain whenever possible. Meadowlark Organics is a flour that has given me great results. I’ve also really enjoyed using some flour from Anarchy Acres, particularly the Turkey Red. Now though, Meadowlark is available at my local coop which I was thrilled to see so will be purchasing that on a more regular basis. The books Mother Grains and Grist have been huge inspirations recently.
Hi Andrew. I mill my own flour, bake whole wheat bread, scones, other desserts with slight adjustments. Before milling I was always weighing my flours, regular and gluten free. Still seems odd not to weigh fresh milled flour but it doesn’t work the same. I just lightly spoon the flour into my measuring cups. Sometimes have to add extra liquid to adjust for the flour density. Having issues using my bread machine as well, machine over works or not at all. I know, but I love my bread machine.
Also, your recipes include measurements for flour weights but doesn’t work for fresh milled flour. And I’m so wanting to make some of your bread recipes. Looking forward to your fresh milled flour classes. Any hints to try before then? Thanx for your dedication.
Hello hello! Writing you with lots of loafy love from Chicago. I'd like to sing the praises of Brian Severson Farms in Dwight, IL (https://qualityorganic.net/). They grow heirloom, organic, non-GMO grains and everything is stone-ground on-site. All of what they offer is so flavourful and fresh and always makes for incredible eating. I haven't sifted through (lol sifted) the glut of glorious information you've already shared, but a handy chart with interchangeable whole grain flour options (ex: if you're using AP flour, use this much of it and this much water. if you're using whole wheat flour, use this much of it and this much water...etc).
I don't mill at home but I do have a wonderful local mill, Baker's Field in Minneapolis, where I buy most of my flours. https://bakersfieldflour.com/#eat-together
I do have a home mill that I would like to use more. I've recently started using more rye flour in things other than traditional rye breads and am really enjoying it and would like to expand my use of other grains and learn more about adjusting formulas when using flours other than what is called for. A lot of my flour comes from Maine Grains in Skowhegan, Maine and Ground Up Grain in Massachusetts. I usually use the high extraction flour from Maine Grains as my "all purpose" flour and have great success with it. Looking forward to you home milling workshop!
Funnily enough I got into bread baking in part because I had access to excellent and unusual flours through the NYC Greenmarket. But they recently abolished their grain program. There is some flour available from individual vendors, and some stores (and of course mail order), but it's a big adjustment compared to seeing something new at the grainstand and taking it for a test drive. The enhanced degree of difficulty also makes it hard to stay motivated to bake, especially when there is so much good bread available in the city, but when I do throw together a loaf I love doing it (just baked the discard English muffin bread yesterday, my husband's favorite)!
I really like the idea of milling at home, but in an apartment with limited space, and less access to grain than I used to have, it's unlikely to happen soon.
Hi Andrew and fellow Loafers! No home milling here. I can only add up to about 10-20% of WW before my daughter (and husband, TBH) feels like it's too much and stop eating voluntarily, but so my main source of WW input is the 10ish% that is standard in most basic/country sourdough loaves that I make (e.g. the Basic Sourdough from Tivoli Road Baker and Wordloaf's The Loaf 2.0). That said, I want to give a shout-out to Janie's Mill (https://www.janiesmill.com/), the local farmer-miller company that I ordered from in the early days of the pandemic when I couldn't get flour otherwise. They have a great story and are really doing good work and care about their home baker customers! Their whole wheat was amazing, and the high extraction flour has been great to work with as well (and also receives a warmer welcome from the family than other WW variations!). I would love to up my WW/high extraction consumption and order from them on a more regular basis! Along those lines, I purchased the baking books Southern Ground and Heritage Baking this year, both of which feature primarily using WW or high-extraction blends in their recipes, and look forward to trying more recipes from those books! So definitely am interested in the WW deep dive for this year! Hope everyone stays safe and healthy.
I do not mill my own flour. I have no desire to have another kitchen appliance, or more supplies that then require either storage space or a commitment to use before they go bad or pick up bugs. And I am not overly fond of most bread or other baked goods with too much whole wheat content. There, I said it. Am I going to get booted out of the group?
Hey folks! I've been milling at home this past year, sourcing grain from local distributors when possible, but I'm often stuck ordering Great River Milling products on Amazon if I want more specific grains (i.e. hard red spring wheat or durum). Great River products are organic and work great, but I'd prefer to support a local producer in VT or Quebec -- super open to suggestions! Here in Montreal, La Milanaise has a variety of good stuff, but it can be difficult to find certain grains in quantities less than 50lbs.
Most of my milling has been for sourdough bread, but more recently I've started experimenting with pasta dough. I made fresh egg spaghetti using 100% fresh milled soft wheat, sifted to ~85% extraction. The flavour of fresh milled flour (even sifted) in pasta is so pronounced that it asserts itself as the star vs a vehicle for the sauce. I'm inclined to try a simple aglio e olio next time...
So in addition to sourdough bread (esp. with durum because I have like 20 lbs of berries), I'd be very interested in recipes for fresh pastas and complementary sauces, as well as pastries... especially things like laminated doughs and choux pastry using fresh milled and/or whole grain flour, cause I love a good challenge!
I'm excited to see what you're going to share around the use of whole-grain flours over the coming months. I've been home milling with a Mockmill for the past few months and have been loving the more intense flavors in my breads. I also use sifted flour from Ground Up Grain in Central Massachusetts. I'm always on the lookout for new ways to source interesting whole grains that aren't too prohibitive in terms of shipping costs. Luckily I live in the Boston area and so have relatively easy access to Elmendorf to pick up the grains that they feature.
I'll join the crowd and share my excitement for more whole grain content! I've been doing a series of test bakes with The Loaf, Loaf 2.0, and Loaf Classic incorporating more and more whole grains (hard white wheat and rye) in various ratios, and I feel like I'm still not really "getting" how they are changing my approach. I would say that hard white wheat had changed the way I think about the color and flavor of whole grain bread in a very positive way. Oh well, more testing :)
I don't home mill (yet), probably in large part because I live just a few miles from Grist and Toll, who I would recommend to anyone - https://www.gristandtoll.com/
Hi Andrew, I was gifted a Mockmill 200 for my birthday in Spring '21. Been making all of our naturally leavened bread for years and was surprised to learn and keep learning (!) what a game changer freshly milled flour is. I do sourdough and dried yeast depending on what I'm baking. Yesterday I made a 100% whole wheat challah with flax and quinoa from Uri Scheft's book, Breaking Breads. Pretty amazing.
I buy all my flour and whole and cracked grain from Janie’s Mill which has already been mentioned here. I don’t mill my own but use the whole and cracked grain as additions to breads or as hot cereal or other edible. I just this morning baked two loaves of Seeded Schwartzbrot, a recipe from Mastering Bread by Claire Kopp McWilliams and Marc Vetri that uses JM’s Whole Kernel, Spelt and Dark Rye flours (all 100% extraction) in addition to sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
I make a version of your English Muffin Bread with 100% whole grains! I am wanting to get better and making full on 100% Irish whole grain breads, and am so looking forward to a class Ill be taking next month with Terri Ann Fox at River Run Ferments :D
I recently got a Mock Mill 200 and just baked off my first 100% fresh milled batard this morning. I sourced most of my berries from Breadtopia, and some from Barton Springs Mill. This bake was 50% hard white spring (sifted to about 70% extraction), 25% Rouge de Bordeaux (sifted to 85%), 20% spelt (unsifted) and 5% Ryman rye. I pre-fermented 10% of the flour. Pretty robust fermentation.The oven spring was a little less than I usually get, but nice crumb and incredible flavor.
I have a mockmill attachment to my KitchenAid and use it daily! I started feeding my starter Sir Bobby Farts-Alot with fresh milled whole grain flour every night and the dude just went off like there's no tomorrow! But, if you would only use freshly milled whole grain to feed your starter, I bet a coffee grinder would work for that too. I also add about 100g of freshly milled whole grain to my sourdough -- usually a mix of hard red & white wheat, rye, or sometimes Kamut or Triticale -- if I have those on hand. I've also used spelt and like the softness it gives the bread. I get those grains either from Breadtopia online or our local organic food store (Marlene's). My breadflour I purchase directly from Cairnspringsmills in Burlington, WA. It's a roadtrip that we combine with a brewery visit and growler refill. I buy 50lbs of flour and fill 3-4 growlers. :) Other than that, I also use my grains as whole cooked grains. I made a BLORF mix the other day :) = Barley, Lentils, Oatgroats, Rye, Farro. I stuck 150g of each into the pressure cooker and cooked them for 20 min - no salt, just water. It was awesome and totally versatile. Got the idea from nutritionfacts.org. Dr. Greger -- he makes a BROL = Barley, Rye, Oats, Lentils
My goal this year is to include some amount of whole grains (either in a soaker or flour) in every bake, including my pastry bakes. While I use commercial flour (mostly King Arthur), I also try to use locally milled grain whenever possible. Meadowlark Organics is a flour that has given me great results. I’ve also really enjoyed using some flour from Anarchy Acres, particularly the Turkey Red. Now though, Meadowlark is available at my local coop which I was thrilled to see so will be purchasing that on a more regular basis. The books Mother Grains and Grist have been huge inspirations recently.