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For anyone passionate about baking with whole grains, fresh-milled flour is the only way to ensure your family has the most nutrient-dense baked goods. Not only does it give you complete control over the quality of your ingredients, but it ensures you bake with whole wheat flour at its peak nutrition level. If you’re looking to gift someone special with the tools to take their baking to the next level, this fresh milled flour gift guide is for you. As a young girl, I learned that the right tools make the job so much easier! I’ve rounded up the best tools to help home bakers mill their own flour and bake beautiful and nutritious homemade baked goods. From high-quality grain mills to premium baking accessories. Whether you’re shopping for a beginner or a seasoned baker, in this gift guide, you’re sure to find the perfect gift for your special someone. 

The Basic Necessities for the Aspiring Fresh Milled Baker!

The most basic equipment needed to process freshly-milled flour is a quality grain mill. Grain mills come in two main types, burr mills and impact mills. Below is a brief overview of the differences between the two types of mills.

Burr Mills

Burr mills have two grinding plates, one fixed, the other that turns.  It crushes the wheat when run through the closely spaced plates. One of the perks of a burr mill is being able to adjust the coarseness of the grain from fine flour to cracked grains. My Nutrimill Harvest Grain Mill is a stone burr mill.

Of my two grain mills, my Harvest is my favorite. While I was romancized by the stone ground flour, I love the simplicity of the stone burr mill. Keeping it clean is a snap! Disassemble and use a brush to remove any lingering flour. If the stones become glazed (mine never have), run rice through the mill to deglaze the stones.

My favorite feature of this stone mill is being able to adjust the coarseness of the grains. When I purchased a grain mill, I never considered milling my own cream of wheat, now it’s my breakfast of choice! Additionally, I like being able to see the mill working. As I pour the wheat berries into the hopper, I can see the fresh milled flour flowing into the bowl.  I can make adjustments to my stones to make sure the grains are milled exactly the way I want them. 

Another perk of burr mills is they are available as a manual mill. Personally, I would never want to mill flour by hand, but it is a good tool to have in case of electrical failure, or for your favorite prepper who loves baking! 

Impact Mills

An impact mill is the other option for grain mills. Impact mills have a milling chamber that has concentric rings of stainless steel teeth. Impact mills are high speed mills and tend to be louder than a burr mill. I have an Impact Grain Mill, which is the most affordable grain mill on the market! While it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, it does get the job done. Impact mills can be adjusted slightly, however they don’t have the ability to adjust the coarseness to the same degree as a burr mill. Still, you can mill your own flour for the most delicious treats and the perfect loaf of bread. 

The Classic Grain Mill is another option for those looking for an impact mill.  This mill can grind flour in greater quantities than the Impact Grain mill. Both mills have a lifetime warranty. 

Grains Every Baker Needs

When you begin using whole grain flour, the different types of modern wheat can be confusing. Every baker should start with the two basic grains. Soft white wheat is the best choice of wheat berries to make baked goods that don’t rise, things like quick breads, cookies, cakes, and pie crusts. For the baker looking to bake bread, hard wheat berries are higher in protein, which means they have a higher gluten content. Gluten is what allows bread to stretch, making a beautiful rise in homemade bread. Hard wheat berries come in hard white or hard red wheat. Hard white wheat will be milder in flavor, while hard red will have a bold, whole grain flavor.

Broadening the Pallet: Ancient Grains

When gifting a new baker with grains, variety is the spice of life! While I highly recommend the basics, one of the best parts of owning a grain mill is being able to experiment with the different types of wheat. Each grain has a unique flavor profile that can take your baking to the next level! Ancient grains date back thousands of years, unchanged by modern farming practices. Heritage grains are grains that were grown prior to intensive scientific plant breeding that led to modern hybridized wheat varieties commonly grown. Both are nutrient-dense and full of flavor. 

Spelt is one of my favorite ancient grains! It has a nutty flavor that allows me to give my cookies a nutty flavors without the nuts my husband dislikes. Spelt makes amazing waffles! 
Khorasan wheat, commonly called Kamut, is another favorite.  It has a rich buttery taste. I mix it with hard white wheat for bread making. It’s my absolute favorite grain for cream of wheat!
Einkorn is popular with people who have grain sensitivities. However, it doesn’t stop there, consider rye or durum!

Gifts for Storing Grains

Typically, grains are hard to find locally in the grocery store. If you have local access, consider yourself very fortunate! For the rest of us, ordering online is likely your best option. For a new baker experimenting with grains, I recommend buying smaller amounts; however, once you settle on the grains you like, buying in bulk will save you money. 

In the kitchen, I store my grains in gallon-sized glass jars. Some people also like stackable containers for a variety of grains in a smaller space. 

When purchasing in bulk, I store my grains in 5-gallon food-grade buckets. If you’re concerned about storing your grains in plastic, a common hack among bakers is to line the 5-gallon bucket with a king-size pillowcase! Cheap and effective! For those storing grains in 5-gallon buckets, gamma lids are a MUST have. Gamma lids make hard to open buckets easy to access by just a twist of the lid.  

The Best Fresh Milled Flour Cookbooks 

Learning to bake with fresh flour can be challenging! One of the best gifts any new, fresh-milled flour baker could receive is a collection of tried and true recipes designed for fresh milled flour. 

Sue Becker is a pioneer in fresh ground flour! Not only is she a food scientist, but she has been using and teaching about fresh milled grains for decades! Her cookbook, The Essential Home-Ground Flour Book, is a wealth of information all about grains, recipes, nutrition, and so much more!

Another great recipe resource is the blog Grains in Small Places. My blogging friend Kara is dedicated to developing recipes specifically for fresh-milled flour. Her cookbook, Fresh-Milled Flour Cookbook, is available in both paperback and hardcover, and is highly rated! One of the coolest features of her cookbook is many recipes include QR codes that link to additional information and even instructional videos! This time-saving resource is popular among first time bakers and seasoned bakers making the switch from store-bought flour to fresh milled. 

Recipe Keeper App is my favorite recipe saving app, while this is not dedicated to fresh milled flour, it makes it easy to save your favorite recipes as your collection grows!

Mixers: The Perfect Gift to Complement Their Grain Mill

For the serious fresh ground flour baker, replacing store bought bread products with homemade bread can be a big job! I committed to cooking 100% of our bread over 2 years ago. Even for just the two of us, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, because let’s be real, it doesn’t stop with bread.  It overflows into condiments, canning, desserts, convenience foods, freezer meals, and so much more! A quality mixer that can handle the heavier doughs of whole grain wheat is a necessity! My Bosch Universal Plus Mixer never lets me down! The powerful motor can handle up to 14 pounds of dough! That’s a lot of bread and cookies even for large families! 

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Want more information on custom Flour Mills Machine? Feel free to contact us.

Looking to gift a smaller mixer? The Artiste Mixer has the same powerful motor, but meets the needs of smaller families or the occasional baker. Don’t forget to use my discount code KMBAKERS20 on your purchase of either mixer!

If You Buy a Baker a Grain Mill…. They’ll Want….

If you are looking for the perfect gift for the baker in your life who already has the basics covered in their fresh-milled flour journey, these baking accessories are my favorite baking tools that make me efficient in the kitchen!

How to Choose the Right Grain Mill

Here at Lehman's, we carry a wide selection of grain mills from manual, hand-cranked grinders to electric versions, so you make your own flour, cereal and animal feed at home.

But how do you decide what mill you need? Where do you even begin?

Here are some simple questions to ask yourself.

What kinds of food would you like to grind?

Do you want to grind wheat for flour? Beans? Nuts? Each grain mill is made to handle different types of food, so you'll want to take a close look at a mill's capability first. (Make sure you select one that will get the intended job done!)

Some mills offer optional accessories to purchase, so you can do more with your mill. The Diamant offers Extra Fine Burrs so you can make extra-fine, pastry-quality flour or Extra Coarse Burrs for cracking grain for animal feed and cereal. The Country Living Grain Mill even has an optional Peanut Butter Accessory, so you can make your own peanut butter and nut butters. (All accessories are sold separately.)

How much do you want to grind at a time?

A grain mill's capacity and the effort it takes will determine how much you'll be able to grind at a time. If you're looking to grind big batches, consider a high-volume mill.

Do you want hand-cranked or motorized?

You never have to worry about electricity when using a hand-cranked mill, but a manual mill will require a little arm power. Each mill has its own advantages, but if the amount of effort is a major factor in your decision, make sure you choose a mill with an "Easy" to "Medium-Easy" effort rating. Purchasing a motorized mill, like the NutriMill, or a mill that can be motorized is also a great option if access to electricity is not a concern.

If making flour, do you want it as fine as store-bought?

If making your own flour is your primary reason for buying a mill, make sure you look at how finely a mill can grind grain. For fine 100% powder flour (like store-bought), we recommend the Diamant Grain Mill, Country Living Grain Mill and NutriMill.

Flour Grades: #1 like store-bought (100% powder); #2 is also 100% flour, but not as fine. Flour grade comparisons are based on running through the mill one time. All mills listed as #2, #3, or #4 can get to #1 fineness if reground 2 or more times, which will take longer.

STORING YOUR GRAIN

WHAT IS THE SHELF LIFE

• Wheat and corn (and other hard grains like flax, spelt, triticale, etc.) stored properly should last at least 5 years (if unopened); use within 1 year if opened.
• Groats (and other soft grains like rice, rye, barley, quinoa, rolled oats, etc.) stored properly may last up to 1 year (possibly longer).

HOW SHOULD GRAIN BE STORED

• Keep in a cool, dry place, 45°-65°F.
• Use a food-grade, air/water-tight container with an oxygen absorber; leave air space around containers for ventilation.
• Moisture content of the grain should be about 10% or less.
• If you are storing in a metal container, do not put directly on a cement floor; use a wood pallet or shelf-this will eliminate the possibility of rusting.
• Local agriculture extension offices will have more information for long-term storage in specific areas.

Want to learn more about our grain mills?

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page.

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