And if so, what type of mill do you use.

I've been grinding my own grain now for just over a year and I use a Whisper Mill which I absolutely love. I would never be without it now. We have found ourselves in much better health since we've been doing this and baking our own bread with freshly ground grain.

Anyone else grind their own grain?

That looks like a nice machine CJ. Do you get your grain from local farmers? How much do you grind at a time? Do you only grind what you will be using for 1 baking session? Do you save money grinding your own?
Full of ?'s aren't I?:) Thanks for taking the time to answer me,CJ!

I was just coming to ask a question about this! LOL!

I noticed at the health food store on Wed. that they have organic hard red wheat berries on sale right now. They are in a bulk bin and the only instructions on the bin say to soak them in water overnight and that's it.

Here's where I'm confused.......... do you soak them if you're going to grind them? Wouldn't that make them all mushy?

When you purchase something like this, just what exactly do you do to get it prepped for making breads and such?

Thanks!

In answer to your questions -

Darlene, I purchase all my grain from the health food stores. I purchase "hard red milling wheat" along with soft, because the soft is for baking cookies, cakes, etc., the hard for breads. All the grain is purchased from an organic farmer in Sask. and comes in 50 lb. bags. I purchase 2 bags at the same time, freeze it, then store it in 20 gallon pails.

Because I do a lot of baking, I grind 2 full hoppers each time. Thats the container the flour ends up in. What is left over MUST be frozen or else it can go rancid because of course, there are NO preservatives in it. When I go to bake, I take the flour out of the freezer a couple of hours before baking time. I use to do the exact same thing with regular flour. (I don't like bugs, not my style of protein.) :D Seldom though, do I have lots of flour left over to freeze.

Darlene, I've never done a cost comparison because for me, its not about saving money, its about eating healthy. When you grind your own grain, the wheat berry is left and thats where you get all the "good" stuff from. When you purchase regular flour, thats taken out and preservatives are put in. When we lived in the city, someone was sick all the time. We purchased the grain mill just after we moved out here and we haven't been sick at all.

I first heard about grainmills in Jackie Wellwood's book The Busy Mom's Guide to Simple Living and in there she stated the same thing, that it was the best thing she did for her family. I was sceptical at first because I have 2 asthmatics in my home along with major bronchial problems with dd. She has had no bronchial problems since we moved here. Yes, its probably in part to good country living, but doing this one thing I truly believe has made a difference for all of us. I use freshly ground wheat for ALL my baking. Fifty pounds of wheat here costs me approx. $17.00 per bag. I get a discount because I purchase it in 50 lb. bags.

Aussie mamma - I don't have a clue about the wheat berries and soaking them. I don't have to do any prepping when I grind my grain. All I do it take out the grainmill, turn it on (a MUST) and then put in the wheat. It takes only a few minutes to grind up into flour. I then use it just as I would normal flour.

HTH

Thanks for your reply CJ, very informative. I love hearing you speak of the things you enjoy.

Ps~I too think your doing the right thing by skipping the extra protein.:p

CJ, after my new sewing machine the whisper mill is on my list. ;)