Frequently asked questions
We firmly believe that food is food, but if you are able to access freshly milled, unsifted, organic flour -- there's nothing like it! The nutritional profile alone is enticing (hello, B vitamins and fiber!), not to mention the nutty, buttery, deeper taste you often find with all parts of the wheat berry remaining in the flour. Conventional flour needs to be shelf stable for months and months, requiring that the bran and the germ (vitamins, minerals, oil, flavor!) be removed via sifting these courser parts out. We leave them in, but remember -- like any fresh product, the sooner you use it, the more benefits retained!
Freshly milled flour has significantly more fiber than store-bought, shelf-stable flour. Per 100 grams, commercial white/all-purpose flour has 2.5-3 grams of fiber, versus freshly milled whole wheat flour which comes in at a whopping 11-14.8 grams of fiber! It took our family a good couple of weeks of regular but moderate consumption (Tuesday night tortillas for tacos, breakfast toast, Sunday morning biscuits and gravy) to adjust and stop noticing any gastrointestinal symptoms. Admittedly, our fiber intake wasn't quite where it should have been!
Of course, listening to your own body is key. If you're not sure how you'll tolerate it, try one of our smaller bags or sample sizes! Due to it being a raw food product, no returns accepted.
Yes, we currently are and love it. There's nothing like community. But our family's biggest dream is to own and operate our own farm one day, with as many handmade side businesses as we can fit. Dad's Woodshop where he can offer the beautiful whittled utensils he already makes for our family, Mama's Flour Mill, Kiddo's Sweet Shoppe, Grammy's Mushroom Garden... We wanted a name that could encompass everyone's interests and passions and gives us room to grow.
For now, we are so grateful to be able to operate our mill and consistently provide high quality flour to our neighborhood, but one day we hope to be growing those grains and making deliveries from our farm. Dream big!
You do not! Fresh flour is a different product. It takes more liquid to fully hydrate, can take longer to hydrate (we typically let our dough/batter rest for about ten minutes after mixing liquids with the flour), and overall just behaves a little differently. It was a little bit of a learning curve but for us, but the trade-off was worth it knowing our family was eating something nutrient-dense and filling. In time we learned more about how each type of wheat behaved, how the different grinds mattered for different applications, and just how much easier our family (in time!) tolerated the wheat -- it doesn't trip up our blood sugar the same for which we are grateful.
It is also more filling, due to all of the fiber, and full of vitamins and minerals -- it doesn't feel empty.
"Many bakers start by blending fresh flour with commercial flour. Even small amounts — say, 5 to 30% — can noticeably improve flavor. While 100% fresh-milled flour is possible, it requires more experience and careful technique."
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Wheat berries, much like the fruits or vegetables we pick from our gardens, begin to lose some of their nutritional value the moment they've begun processing (milling). Even if your favorite mill online were to freshly mill your flour and overnight it to you, you are still at least 24 hours away from receiving your product. Research shows that while much of the mineral content may be retained, the vitamins (particularly those sensitive to oxidation like Vitamin B and E) begin to degrade rapidly. Long story short -- the sooner you can use (or properly store!) your flour the better, and the more you get for your money. Our evening deliveries will come within just a few hours of milling your flour, and your pickups within 12-18.
You absolutely can, and we did for a long time! We currently use a Country Living Grain Mill and LOVE it -- highly recommend. The slow, consistent grind that keeps your berries cool and only requires one pass to make soft, powdery flour is something we weren't able to achieve with other smaller-scale mills. Our KitchenAid attachment worked well when we needed it but had it's limitations -- we had to pass the berries through at least three times for a grind fine enough for our liking, and that meant the berries were processed/heated excessively which sped up nutrient degradation exponentially. Important in the grand scheme of life? Maybe not. But if you're putting in the effort to research and buy an expensive product for your family, we want it to be worth your while.
Note: If the demand for flour in our community ever exceeds our mill's capabilities, we will happily upgrade to an American-made, industrial stone mill meant to handle a larger scale with the same quality we require... but we will always keep our Country Living mill! It's an heirloom piece of equipment that means we can still operate regardless of any power loss, etc.
Absolutely! So many! We are working on a page to showcase them all, but for now a few of our most frequented are listed. Check it out!