How to get started with fresh milled flour

You know what the benefits of fresh milled flour are, now what? The world of fresh milled flour is a whole different world, and it can be a bit overwhelming especially at the beginning.

What do you need to get started with fresh milled flour?

To get started baking with fresh milled flour you really only need two things in addition to what is normally needed to make baked goods. Those two things are a grain mill and grains.

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Grain Mill

This is what you will use to make the flour from the grains. There are several different options from electric to manual, stone burr, steel burr and impact. There are also options for beautiful wood housing or metal housing.

Because there is so much that goes into grain mills, I dedicated an entire post on grain mills and what my top choices are.

If you plan to mill frequently, I highly recommend getting an electric grain mill like the Komo Classic, which is what I have.

Find Your Grains

In the US most grains used would not be genetically modified however organic options are still better due to the high levels of pesticides that are sprayed on wheat for growing as well as to dry the wheat out faster.

The most affordable place I have found to get my grains from is Azure Standard. They are a co-op with many different drop locations throughout the United States. Azure also offers direct shipping at an additional fee if there is not a drop near you. Depending on where you live they will send a truck every week or month full of goods. There is not requirement to order every week or month. There is a small order fee for orders under $50 other than that there are not requirements on how much you need to order. They offer so many clean products that it is super easy to spend more than $50.

Some other options for grains include Pleasant Hill and Country Life.

Choose your Grains

There are many grains to choose from. In an effort to keep things simple and not overwhelming I would start with hard white wheat and soft white wheat. Between these two you can pretty much make any baked good like brownies, bread, cinnamon rolls and so much more.

The hard white wheat works better for breads and the soft white wheat works better for pastries. Once you feel comfortable with these grains then start branching out into other grains like hard red wheat, spelt or einkorn.

Storing Grains

Once you have the grains they need to be properly stored. I do this by keeping the grains in food safe buckets with gamma lids. The gamma lids make the buckets super easy to open and close as needed.

I then keep smaller amounts of the grains in large glass containers in my pantry and then refill those from the buckets as needed. This allows me to have more space in my pantry because the big buckets are not sitting in there. Using big buckets allows me to buy in bulk so that I can get the grains for cheaper and in the event of a supply chain issue I still have grains.

When putting the grains in the buckets I make sure the buckets are completely dry before putting the grains to reduce the chances of mold. The buckets are then stored in a controlled environment. Some people with add oxygen absorbers to the buckets for extended shelf life. Since I’m going through what is in my buckets with a few years I haven’t worried about oxygen absorbers. Now if I was wanting to store grains for 30 years then I would use them. Though I buy in bulk I’m not buying that much in bulk.

Start Baking

Now that you have the essential materials you need recipes to follow. When starting with fresh milled flour I found it helpful to start with recipes specifically designed for fresh milled flour to reduce chances of fails while learning, so you do not feel defeated.

The book I bought that was the most helpful was Sue Becker’s book The Essential Home Ground Flour Book.

On Pinterest I have put together a board of fresh milled recipes that I have made, and my family has enjoyed. So, you know they are tried and true. Hopefully that will also be of help to you.

I have also found that I can stick to my traditional recipes if I transfer the flour amounts to weight instead of measuring by volume. One cup of flour is 113g. Fresh milled flour tends to be fluffier, so going by weight accounts for that variable. I also weigh out my grains prior to milling so I don’t accidentally mill too much.

Let me know in the comments what you plan to make first with fresh milled flour.