From berries to bread, right in my kitchen

After months of wishful thinking, hours of reading [0] and researching, and days spent anxiously waiting, our grain mill arrived!!

We got a WonderMill [1], and I love it! It's so easy to use [2]. It's small, about as big around as my tea kettle, but a little taller of course. :) It mills flour very quickly -- just a few minutes of operation yields enough flour for several loaves of bread. :)

Although the WonderMill is reportedly the quiestest of any impact/micronizer mills, I knew it would still be loud. Thankfully, it's not quite as bad as I expected. Before the grain is added, it sounds like our blender. While it's grinding the grain, it's quieter than a blender. I still don't like noise, but at least it's a useful sort of noise, unlike loud toys or tv. ;)

We had fun trying out the mill, and our first loaf of 100% whole wheat bread [2] turned out fabulous. We used Prairie Gold hard white wheat, which I had bought in a 50-lb bag in anticipation of getting a grain mill.

Joshua, my science-loving husband, added some dough conditioners for me, since he's done all the research on that end. ;)

Our loaf of bread was so soft... seriously, the texture was just like bread from the store. I like my bread a little more "homemade-like", but the "store-like" kind will be perfect for sandwiches in Joshua's lunch. I sliced the bread 6 minutes after taking it out of the oven, and it didn't tear or crumble a bit. It had a great texture! (I say "had" because it's gone now... 5 hours later.)

I'll update the recipe [2] with notes about making the 100% whole wheat loaf we made, since the recipe originally calls for 1/2 all-purpose flour.

I'm so thrilled about having our own flour mill! This mill was an anniversary gift to me from Joshua (our 6th anniversary was in March) and I know I will put it to good use! :) Thank you, Joshua!! :)

For anyone interested, we ordered our mill through the Urban Homemaker [3], a Christian-owned company with lots of high-quality baking and cooking supplies. :) I have these jelly roll pans [4] (gift from my parents a few years ago) and love them. (FYI: If you order $50 or more from them and tell them I referred you, they'll send me a $10 gift certificate.)

However, I do want to also mention that Marmee Dear [5], another Christian-owned company, also carries the WonderMill [6] and many of the same stainless steel bakeware that makes me drool [7], and her prices on the bakeware are slightly cheaper. :)