Milling Spelt Berries

Toast

Hello,

I purchased some organic spelt berries from Bob' s Red Mill and want to know if anyone has experience milling spelt.  Can I mill it just like my wheat berries?  I have a Komo mill.  For my whole wheat flour, I use hard red winter wheat berries.  I grind them once on grob (coarse setting) and then do a second pass at fine setting.  I take the resulting flour and sift it to remove any large particles and regrind these on fine setting and add them back into the flour producing a whole wheat flour that I really like. 

Will this same technique work for spelt berries? 

Thanks

Linda

I have a KoMo and for my hard white wheat I only grind once on the fine setting.

With spelt I open it up 1 or 2 steps from the fine and also only mill once.

I don't sift so don't know how that might change for you but think you can do it the way you do your red wheat.

THe only things I mill 2x large beans and corn due to their size.

Janet

Hi Janet,

My wife just bought me a Nutri-mill for a present and while not as nice as your beautiful mill it's certainly better than my coffee grinder.  My question for you is do you let your milled flour ferment or sit for any amount of time before using it?  If you do, do you put it in the refrigerator or just leave it at room temperature?  I have read somewhere on TFL about soaking the grains in water before milling.  Have you tried this?  Thanks for any help, suggestions you can give.

Ian

Ian,

If you do soak the grain be sure it is VERY dry before putting it through your mill.  I tried this once, drying them in my food dehydrator, and I really didn't see any change in performance of the flour when making bread, so I thought it wasn't worth the effort.  I generally use my flour immediately after milling and haven't seen any problems with that, but then my wheat berries are probably 'well aged' before I get them (buy from local health food store). 

Congratulations on your new toy!  It's fun to make your own flour and I like knowing what's in my bread is only what I put in there.

Happy milling!

Linda

Janet, thanks for the reply.  I'll try it my old way and see what happens.

I also buy wheat berries in 50lb. sacks from my local health food store.  I have two air tight food grade containers that I fill and keep in the garage. I take out about 3 lbs or so at a time to grind.  Generally, I end up using it almost immediately after grinding, sometimes it may sit a week or two in my airtight flour container in the pantry.  Generally it gets used right away.

Linda 

What a fun new toy for you :)  Did she get you the wooden Nurtri-Mill or their micronizing mill???

I buy my grains in 50# bags.  I put them into 3.5 gallon plastic pails and store in my basement.

I keep smaller containers in my kitchen.  

When I want flour, which is several times a day, I measure what I want. Mill it straight out of the container.  Add it right to the dough.

Keeping things simple work best for me.

Not to say I didn't try the other ways you mentioned but it drove me nuts and I know that in the 'old'days - grain was picked fresh and milled and used right away.  A friend of mine grew up on a farm and that is what her grandmother did so I figure if it was good enough for her grandmother it is good enough for me but my grain isn't as fresh as hers was…some things just can't be helped *^} 

Have fun milling.  I am sure you will notice a big difference in flavor.

Janet

I like your way of thinking.  I have the -plastic version and not the wooden one.  It wouldn't have been my first choice, but I won't complain and I'm sure I will enjoy it.

I will certainly pick your brain for advise as needed and other friends on TFL.  Where do you buy your 50lb. bags of grain from?  I don't think there are any local places on Long Island so for now I start off using my limited supply to experiment until I can find some good sources.  I will probably be taking a ride back to Vermont in March so maybe I can find some good places there.

Thanks Janet for your help.

Regards,
ian

I am totally spoiled by living in a state bordered by wheat growers and by having a woman who sells baking supplies out of her garage to supplement her income. So all I have to do is email her and I can get pretty much anything I want and the drive to her house is about 10 minutes….She is also a wonderful friend.  I simply couldn't ask for anything more.

Understand the delicacy of choosing a different mill and receiving one from a loved one BUT for a bit extra money the difference in the end result is totally worth it…IMHO.  For $470.00 you can buy a KoMo with the Nutramill name on it through Pleasant Hill Grain 

(Scroll down past all the KoMos and you will come across the NutraMill though they have the KoMo Name on them but if you look on the mill you will see the name NutraMill - this is L'Equips way of trying to hone in on KoMos success - trying to take their market away which irks me.  Products are very different and different type of bakers choose mills to suit their baking needs.  The one that you have serves for people who just want one kind of coarseness and to mill a lot of flour at once - not several times a day.  The KoMo is for people who want more control over the end product and who mill smaller amounts more frequently and don't like to spend a lot of time cleaning flour off of their mill.  Also for people who like simple tools that can be taken apart and fixed by themselves - the simplicity of the KoMo is beautiful.  It is for people who are control freaks…I fit the bill :)

I say this to you because i know you bake a lot and use a huge variety of grains in your breads.  Just from that I think yo will find that the mill you have been given will frustrate you in trying to achieve what you want with your breads.

I had one like yours to begin with and ended up spending more when I found out about the KoMos…had I know I would have gone to KoMo straight away but I hadn't found this site yet and the mill I bought was from the woman I buy from - she is a L'Equip dealer.  After a year I knew I needed something different and I knew that I was hooked on baking so I knew that spending the extra would be worth it.  I have never looked back on that decision.  

If you do decide to change yours out without it ending in divorce :O I recommend the mill with the larger motor.  I think it is a 360 watt as opposed to the 250 watt.  Not sure what the difference really boils down to but am sure someone at PHG can tell you.

Just had to let you know my thoughts….Don't want to get you into hot water with your wife or your finances…..

Janet

Not to worry...for now I will try this one out.  I just lost my job and I'm in the process of trying to find a new one.  My company was sold last month...no luck...my last company I worked for 21 years went out of business and was bought out with nothing left.  Anyway...for now I will make do but I already know at some point down the line I will invest in a KoMo when times are better.

Do you sift your flour and if so what size sifter are you using?  I have a few sifters but not sure what size the mesh is and I want to be able to get a high extraction flour since you can't buy it anywhere local or affordable.

Thanks again for your advice.

Regards,

Ian

No, I don't sift.  I have always baked bread etc with whole grains simply because it makes no sense to me to sift out the part that contains all of the nutrition.

Good luck with the job search.  Something always pops up - sometimes very unexpectedly….the times they are a changing….

Janet

You could take the leavings and make them into a soaker, putting them back in the bread.  I have to imagine that this could result in a lighter loaf with the same nutrition.  I "have" to imagine because I don't own a grinder yet. :)