Hi Andrew, what a timely article! I bought a Komo mill a couple of weeks ago and am slowly learning to use it effectively, and I have to say, there is a noticeable effect on taste, it makes a huge difference! I have a question though - I’m originally from Austria, and part of the reason I bake my own bread is because it is so hard find good bread in the US. But the German bread baking books I use caution that if you mill your own wheat-based flour (this does not apply to rye), you should let it “ripen” for a week or two before baking bread with it to improve its bread-baking characteristics. I have never seen this in US-based baking books. Do you know anything about that?
I bought an electric wonder mill (a micronizing impact mill, not stone) last year when it became difficult to buy whole wheat flour. It really is astonishing how much better the flavor of freshly milled wheat is compared to store bought flour. Aside from flavor, I recently learned that many whole wheat flours at the grocery store actually have had the germ removed to prevent rancidity, so we’re really not getting the nutrition we think from “whole wheat” flour. I’ve been making pancakes using 100% freshly ground kamut flour and they really are significantly better than white flour pancakes, which is pretty astonishing. I’ve had great success using 100% freshly milled flour for pizza dough, English muffins, and pitas. For those I usually use a blend of hard white wheat, spelt, and kamut. Over the past month or so I’ve been trying to get a 100% whole wheat sourdough recipe working. I was inspired from a video I saw on the Full Proof Baking YouTube channel. She got a 100% wheat loaf to get a nice rise with an open crumb, which I didn’t even realize was possible! It’s pretty difficult, in my experience, to figure out the optimal hydration for the flours you’re using, but even when the loaves aren’t picture perfect they still taste amazing.
Hi Andrew, what a timely article! I bought a Komo mill a couple of weeks ago and am slowly learning to use it effectively, and I have to say, there is a noticeable effect on taste, it makes a huge difference! I have a question though - I’m originally from Austria, and part of the reason I bake my own bread is because it is so hard find good bread in the US. But the German bread baking books I use caution that if you mill your own wheat-based flour (this does not apply to rye), you should let it “ripen” for a week or two before baking bread with it to improve its bread-baking characteristics. I have never seen this in US-based baking books. Do you know anything about that?
Thank you! Love your blog!
I bought an electric wonder mill (a micronizing impact mill, not stone) last year when it became difficult to buy whole wheat flour. It really is astonishing how much better the flavor of freshly milled wheat is compared to store bought flour. Aside from flavor, I recently learned that many whole wheat flours at the grocery store actually have had the germ removed to prevent rancidity, so we’re really not getting the nutrition we think from “whole wheat” flour. I’ve been making pancakes using 100% freshly ground kamut flour and they really are significantly better than white flour pancakes, which is pretty astonishing. I’ve had great success using 100% freshly milled flour for pizza dough, English muffins, and pitas. For those I usually use a blend of hard white wheat, spelt, and kamut. Over the past month or so I’ve been trying to get a 100% whole wheat sourdough recipe working. I was inspired from a video I saw on the Full Proof Baking YouTube channel. She got a 100% wheat loaf to get a nice rise with an open crumb, which I didn’t even realize was possible! It’s pretty difficult, in my experience, to figure out the optimal hydration for the flours you’re using, but even when the loaves aren’t picture perfect they still taste amazing.