First Impressions
My first impression of making homemade flour with the KitchenAid grain mill was that it was extremely user-friendly and simple to use. It is encouraging, to say the least, when a new project goes well on the first try. I didn’t even blow up the kitchen or anything. There wasn’t much of a mess either. So, A+ on that. The other important subject – taste. Does the flour taste any good? I guess we will both find out once I make this bread $$$.
My Experience
The first thing I did when I brought it out of the box is read the warning label that said not to submerge it. So, I didn’t rinse it off or anything before using it. (Not sure if this is recommended or not so… you should probably clean it before you use it.) Remember, this is just a transcript of my experience! Anyways, I fiddled with it while trying to attach it to the mixer, which turned out to be easy. Once attached, I dumped in a cup of wheat berries that I got from Walmart and turned it on to stir (The lowest speed). I let that sucker run until it had ground up all the wheat, which took about 10 minutes. Later, I realized that I needed to set the speed to 10 (the highest speed). It took less than half the time when I did it correctly! All in all, it was easy to use, and ground the wheat well to make very fine flour. I will mention that you can adjust the size of granules, and I set it to the next to the smallest size. I read in the instructions that you can adjust it to larger granules for corn meal etc. which is neat.
Bread Recipe
I ground enough flour for one loaf of bread. Here is the recipe I used:
1 C Warm Water
2 Tbsp Almond Milk (Or reg. milk)
2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
2 pinches of sugar
3 Tbsp Olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 3/4 C Whole Wheat Flour – Freshly ground!
1. Stir together warm water, almond milk, yeast, and sugar.
2. Separately, combine olive oil, salt, and flour.
3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and knead using a dough hook until dough forms smooth ball.
4. Let rise 3 hrs then shape into loaf. (may need more or less time depending on climate and elevation – I am at about 1000’)
5. Let rise in ungreased loaf pan for an additional hour.
6. Bake at 375 F for 25 min or until golden brown and cooked through.
7. Finally, baste the top of the loaf with olive oil and let cool in a bread box. (Mine is wooden and provides a bit of ventilation.)
Final Review
Overall, the product is easy to use and the flour makes delicious bread. The whole wheat bread I made has a fantastic flavor unlike any white bread or sourdough bread I have ever made! If I were to travel back in time, I might search for a cheaper machine. I am happy with the price only because I am very aware of the durability and quality of Kitchenaid products. I love my stand mixer and use it all the time!
Leave a Reply