What Should I Know Before I Start Milling My Own Flour?

First, you do not need to know everything before you start.

You’re gonna see people talking about grains, mills, protein percentages, hydration, gluten development, sifting, storage, all kinds of stuff… and if you try to learn every single piece before you buy anything, you’ll talk yourself in circles.

There are really only a few things I’d want you to understand up front.

Milling your own flour is not hard.

Learning to bake with fresh-milled flour is where the learning curve comes in.

Those are two different things.

The actual milling part is simple. Grain goes in. Flour comes out.

The baking part changes because fresh-milled flour is not commercial flour, and it does not always behave like the flour you’re already used to.

You also do not need a kitchen full of special equipment.

You need a mill, grain, a decent scale, and something to store the grain in.

You do not need to buy six kinds of wheat on day one.

You do not need the most expensive mill.

And you do not need to throw out everything you already know about baking.

You’re just adding a new flour to the equation, and you’ll learn how it behaves as you use it.

The biggest thing I would tell you before you spend a dime is this:

Do not buy a mill because everybody else is doing it.

Figure out why YOU want to mill.

If it fits your family, your budget, and the way you want to bake, wonderful.

If you need more time to research it, take more time.

There is no prize for being the fastest person to buy a grain mill.

I suggest taking some time to write down the things you’re hoping to accomplish by milling… research THOSE (and I don’t mean listen to 2 million Facebook opinions)… and when you have those answers… it will be easier for you to make your final decision.