How is Flour Made?

Firstly, let's identify what flour is. It&#;s amazing to me how many people have no idea how to make flour or where it comes from.

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Types of Wheat

There are six classes of wheat &#; within which are around 30,000 varieties.

• Hard Red Winter
• Hard Red Spring
• Hard White Winter
• Durum
• Soft White Winter
• Soft White Spring

The first four are most commonly used among bread bakers as the soft wheats have a lower proportion of protein and a higher proportion of starch than the hard varieties, which would be more applicable for pastries and other baked items, as they do not require the highly developed gluten structure that bread requires.

There are more than 54 million acres of wheat planted all over the United States. Adaptability allows the crop to be planted and cultivated in all different types of climate.

Milling Flour

Once the wheat has been harvested it goes through a process called sweating before it gets milled. This process takes six weeks and creates small metabolic changes in the wheat berries that will improve the quality of the milled grain. The process will typically reduce the moisture content from 17-18% to around 13-14% after that time.

The next step is to put the wheat through a form of quality control to remove any foreign bodies, stones, sticks, stray grains, etc., followed by tempering, whereby moisture is added to the grain in the form of chlorinated water. This helps with the separation of the grain and stops any bacterial or microbial growth. In the U.S., the length of tempering time is around six hours, mainly due to the need for mass production. In Europe, more traditional methods typically temper the wheat for 24&#;48 hours.

Once tempering is complete, the wheat berries are ready to be milled and then sifted or bolted. The more the grain is milled, the smaller the grain gets, the more flour is obtained through the sifting process. From 100 pounds of grain, the flour yield will be around 75% extraction. The leftover bran and germ is generally used for animal feed. Whole wheat flour, for example, is 100% extraction, hence the color and flaked with bran particles.

Types of Mills

• Stone mills feature two large stones fixed to a platform. As the top stone turns it grinds the grain into pieces. The size of the grain is determined by how close the two stones are together. The milled flour is then sifted to separate the bran, wheat germ and white flour (endosperm). This is probably the oldest form of milling and the most reliable for maintaining the grains' nutritional integrity.
• Hammer mills use small metal hammers that repeatedly strike the grain in a closed chamber, pulverizing or shattering it into tiny pieces. Theoretically, the hammer mill is capable of creating a much finer powder than stone or roller mills. The milled flour is then sifted to separate the bran, wheat germ and white flour.
• Roller mills feature two revolving corrugated steel rollers, crushing the grain and separating the bran and the germ from the endosperm. The milled flour is then sifted to separate the bran, wheat germ and white flour. This is the system most favored by the milling industry and probably responsible for a majority of flour available on the market.

Regardless of which system is used, all mills reconstitute the flour by adding back a percentage of the bran and wheat germ to the white flour to create whole wheat flour. Because the milled bran and wheat germ particles are too large for most bakers to use, they&#;ll run these through the mill again to break them down into smaller particles perhaps further reducing the nutritional value of the flour. This means you may be buying whole wheat flour but not necessarily whole grain.

So what is the advantage of making your own flour? Is it worth the effort? I spoke with Simon Bowden, the head baker for Leaven & Co., an artisanal bakery that produces bread for chefs in New York. Simon mills different kinds of wheat for various types of bread and explained that the seven main things to consider:

1. Flavor/taste.
2. Nutrition.
3. Choice/Provenance
4. Storage.
5. Equipment.
6. Percentages.
7. Mixing and proofing notes.

Flavor

Of the many benefits of fresh milling your own wheat berries, flavor has to be No. 1 by far. After all, isn&#;t great flavor what we all want when all is said and done?

When I first milled wheat berries in a small Mockmill designed as an attachment for my stand mixer, I was completely blown away by the aromas that came from the flour. It was overwhelming. I had no idea that flour could smell like this. When you smell commercial whole wheat flour you usually get a nice, somewhat sweet, wheaty kind of smell, but the fresh milled is nutty, fruity, earthy, grassy, super fresh... It reminded me of being close to a freshly cut wheat field or freshly mown lawn, intoxicating and addictive. And those aromas only gain intensity as you hydrate the flour and mix your doughs.

Of course, this all translates directly to the overall taste or flavor, which in general is more complex, bolder, brighter, fresher and better than that of store-bought flour. Several people I know compare it to fresh grinding your own coffee beans. Once you smell the intense aromas of freshly ground coffee, let alone the flavor versus store-bought grinds, it's hard drink anything else. The same applies to the breads you can make using freshly milled flour.

To put this into context, I&#;m generally using anywhere from 5%-30% fresh-milled whole grain in my bread.

Flour Nutrition

I&#;m certainly not an expert on the nutritional values of grains and flour, and I&#;m sure there are a lot of studies and research available that dig deeply into this area (and ICE Director of Nutrition Celine Beitchman gets into grain here). In general, we do know that freshly milled flours retain more of their vitamins, minerals and oils than aged flour. When the wheat berries are broken open at the mill, the resulting flour begins to immediately oxidize, which causes the nutrients to slowly start degrading. The longer it&#;s exposed to oxygen, the more loss of nutrients, as well as minerals and oils.

Flour Storage

Perhaps another advantage of fresh milling whole raw berries is the ability to store them for much longer periods of time than aged flour, especially whole grain flour. If whole berries are stored properly in a cool dry and dark place, they can last almost indefinitely, and that means at least 1-2 years, even much longer. Whereas aged or store-bought flours have a much shorter shelf life, especially whole wheat flour, which is much more perishable since it still contains the bulk of the bran and germ. This is where most of the oils in whole wheat reside which is the primary reason for spoilage.

Choice and Provenance

Another huge advantage to making flour fresh is the ability to buy many different types of wheat and other grains directly from farmers or the many mills here in the U.S. To be honest, it&#;s something I never thought of or tried until I was buying some flour at a local farmers market. Next to the flours were some whole grains from the same local miller, Four Star Farms in Northfield, Massachusetts. They had Warthog Wheat and Zorro Wheat, which I&#;d never heard of but definitely wanted to try. These are hard red winter wheats with reasonably high protein content.

That was the incentive to purchase my first mill, an attachment for my stand mixer from Wolfgang Mock. It's fun and really easy to use for small batches (more on mills below). The smell and taste of the resulting bake of the Warthog was eye-opening to say the least. I&#;d never tasted anything quite like it: super fresh, earthy, nutty and slightly sweet. Then I tried the Zorro berries: again, really fresh, definitely nutty and a little sweeter than the Warthog. I was hooked.

I&#;ve tried many varieties since, from ancient grains to modern wheats, from many different farmers and mills. Glenn, Turkey Red, Red Fife, Redeemer, Sonora, Yecora Rojo, Rouge De Bordeaux to name a few. Plus some of the ancient grains, Einkorn, Emmer, Spelt and Khorasan. I&#;ve also fresh milled rye, corn, barley and oats. I know where they come from, how they were grown, when they were harvested, how they were stored and much more. This is information that&#;s invaluable when marketing and selling your freshly milled bread.

Here&#;s a brief list of some grain sources I&#;ve ordered from:

• Anson Mills
• Barton Springs Mill
• Camas Country Mill
• Carolina Ground
• Castle Valley Mill
• Farmer Ground Flour
• Hayden Flour Mills
• Heartland Mill
• Kamut
• Maine Grains

Grain Milling Equipment

There are many stone mills now available on the market, from the Mockmill attachment previously mentioned to a large or industrial-sized mill suitable for a local bakery that&#;s going to freshly mill a larger portion of flour. I&#;d definitely recommend the Mockmill attachment for stand mixers as a great place to start at home or even in a bakery for smaller batches for a cost of about $200. For a larger countertop mill, I&#;d suggest either the Mockmill 100, Mockmill 200 or the professional Mockmill 200, which range from $300 to $700. I&#;m currently using the 200 and can mill about 10 pounds of flour in about 20 minutes.

At a similar price range is another very good countertop mill: the Komo Magic Mill, which ranges from about $500 to $1,000 depending on size. We used this at San Francisco Baking Institute and could mill continuously for hours if needed. For a bigger production, the next step up could be to a much larger Meadows 8&#; mill, which will produce about 50 pounds per hour. These start at around $2,000. I haven&#;t used a Meadows, but a good friend of mine who mills a lot of flour highly recommends this model. Then there are New American Stone Mills, a stunning-looking, larger 26&#; mill that can produce about 80 pounds of very fine flour an hour. This one's perfect as the centerpiece of a bakery that specializes in milling a lot of its own flours and starts at around $15,000.

As another point of reference in terms of ease of use: I&#;ll fill the hopper of my Mockmill 200 with berries first thing in the morning while I&#;m scaling other ingredients for mixing. The flour will be a little warm from the grind so mono adjustments in water temperature might need to be made. You can also mill last thing at the end of the day while feeding levain, etc.

Mixing and Proofing Flour

Just as we have to occasionally adjust to mixing and proofing different types of aged flours and different batches of aged flours, we have to pay equal attention if not more when using freshly milled flours. These aren&#;t drastic changes but definitely require some getting used to. In general, I find that there&#;s quite a bit more activity in the initial fermentation using fresh-milled flours versus aged flour, so keep an eye on your first proof and if needed, change FDT a degree or two to compensate for the extra activity. The same can also apply to overnight retarding, and keeping your FDT a little lower before retarding can help adjust the final proof time.

Percentages of Fresh-Milled Flour

As I mentioned above, I&#;m generally using up to about 30% fresh milled whole grain in my bread depending on what I&#;m making and what I&#;m looking for in terms of flavor, texture, crumb, etc. I&#;m mixing the fresh milled with aged flours like King Arthur Sir Galahad and King Arthur Sir Lancelot, which are generally very consistent overall just as milled aged flour should be. But even when I use a small percentage, around 5-7% in a baguette, I&#;ll notice a difference in overall flavor from the regular aged flour. At these ratios, the irregularities that one might expect using grains bought directly from a farmer and mailed on-site are fairly easy to manage and adjust to in terms of overall production.

For more information, please visit Wheat Flour Processing Plant.

I&#;ve been fortunate to have spent time with two bakers who are buying all their grain directly from local farmers, milling all their own grain, sifting their flours and then using them to make all their bread. They are very experienced bakers who are looking to make a very particular type of product for a certain kind of market and are willing to take on the difficulties of producing bread this way. From this limited observation, I&#;d say working with 100% freshly milled flours is a challenge for the most experienced bakers to say the least. The results when executed well can be extraordinary, but making flour is not for the faint-hearted. So if you&#;re tempted to step into that world, do so with caution.

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Wheat grinding, or milling wheat, involves processing the grain through a series of machines to separate the bran and germ from the endosperm, which is then ground into flour. This entire procedure, known as the flour milling process, is crucial for producing high-quality wheat flour milling results that are used in a wide range of food products.

Wheat milling is a complex process that transforms raw wheat into high-quality flour, involving several distinct wheat processing steps. The wheat milling process begins with the cleaning and conditioning of the wheat to remove impurities and adjust moisture levels. Next, the wheat is tempered, which involves adding water to toughen the bran and soften the kernel, making it easier to mill. The actual flour milling process starts with the breaking of the wheat kernels using roller mills, which separate the bran and germ from the endosperm. The resulting material is then passed through sifting and purifying equipment to further refine and separate the different components. In modern wheat flour milling facilities, this process is highly automated and controlled, ensuring consistent quality and efficiency. After the milling stages, the flour is conditioned, bleached (if required), and finally packaged for distribution. Understanding these wheat processing steps is essential for anyone involved in the flour production business, as it ensures the production of high-quality, nutritious flour.

Wheat is one of the most consumed grains in the world. It comes from a type of wheat that is grown in countless varieties around the world. In the beginning wheat grinding required manual grinding, but with the development of technology it is now possible to grind large quantities by wheat flour milling machines, which has greatly increased productivity.

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Wheat ranks among the world&#;s most essential grains, cultivated in a myriad of varieties globally. The evolution from manual to mechanical milling has revolutionized the industry, enabling the mass production of flour through sophisticated wheat flour milling machines. This leap in technology has significantly boosted productivity. The milling process, crucial for converting wheat into flour, entails the meticulous separation of bran and germ from the endosperm and its subsequent reduction to fine flour, encompassing several key steps.

Flour milling is the process of grinding the grain into flour. Milling of wheat involves separating the bran and germ from the endosperm and reducing the endosperm to fine flour. It can be divided into the following steps.

Step 1: Cleaning

Sticks, stones and other such impurities are removed from the wheat. Then, the whole pure wheat is sent to the conditioning tank for further processing.

Step 2: Tempering and Conditioning

At this stage, the wheat is soaked in water in order to easily remove the bran. Conditioning is done prior to milling to ensure uniform moisture content throughout the grain. The moisture helps prevent the bran from breaking down during the milling process.

Step 3: Grinding

This is a particularly important stage where conditioned and cleaned wheat is mixed to produce the desired type and quality of flour.

Step 4: Separation

The grains then pass through a series of rolls that rotate at different speeds. The bread rolls separate only the small wheat grains in order to separate the inner white part from the bran.

Step 5: Milling

The wheat is milled into pieces by a machine. It is then passed through a sieve, from which the coarse meal is further processed by repeated grinding and sieving. The meal is then transformed into fine flour, wheat germ and bran.

Step 6: Blending

Here, the ingredients are mixed to produce different flours. For example, a mixture of wheat bran and white flour produces whole wheat flour.

Explore the precision-engineered steps of wheat milling with PINGLE&#;s machinery, designed for optimal performance. Each phase, from cleaning to final milling, is a critical component in the transformation of wheat into high-quality flour. Our advanced equipment ensures thorough cleaning, perfect grain conditioning, and precise grinding, resulting in superior flour consistency. With PINGLE&#;s technology, every step in the milling process is streamlined for efficiency, ensuring your flour meets the highest standards of the industry.

Types of Flour

The early flours produce white flour that becomes less white in the later stages and the number of bran particles increases. The mixture of white flour and other streams produces brown flour When all other streams are mixed in their original quantities, you get whole wheat flour.

It should be noted that the type of flour to be produced is influenced by the different qualities of the wheat entering the mill. Further variations in characteristics, such as flour color, must be ensured by mixing the various flour streams together at the time of milling.

Capitalize on the professional wheat flour milling process with PINGLE&#;s flour machinery. Our advanced technology is designed to streamline your production and ensure the highest quality flour. Don&#;t wait to take your wheat flour milling operations to the next level. Contact PINGLE today to find out more about our machines and start your journey towards wheat flour milling excellence.

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