Milling Gluten Free grains
Hello,
I purchased a Retsel Mil-Rite electric grain mill with the optional hand crank and the optional stainless steel grinders. Three weeks ago I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I've never used the mill even though I've had it for about 4 years... I've never even turned it on. Looking at the cost of purchasing GF flours (rice, coconut, almond, various beans, etc.) I'm blown away at how much it costs. So I'm thinking about using the mill to create my own flour.
I tried calling the company to find out what this mill is capable of doing regarding types of grains, nuts, and beans. That was a very non-productive and frustrating phone call.
Does anyone here have experience with this mill and it's capabilities? Is there anyone here who has to eat gluten free? Rice and potato flour seem to be used a lot and they are accessible. I just don't know if the mill is designed to do a good job with the various GL grains that are commonly used. I'm trying to determine whether or not it is less expensive to mill my own flour or just bite the bullet and pay the outrageous prices for it commercially produced.
Thanks so much!
Among the GF grains, I've used my Mil-Rite to grind oats and maize (corn). Don't know why the other GF grains should be a problem. Don't know about nuts and beans.
Thank you for the reply! Did you use the steel grinders for the corn? Just to clarify, was it popcorn or just corn?
I have ground all kinds of corn on the Mil-Rite: flour, dent, flint, and pop.
Retsel doesn't recommend grinding pop, but I have done it on a loose setting. I have the aluminum auger, which is probably more risky than with the brass or stainless steel auger. I now have a C.S. Bell #2 that I would use to crack pop.
For large flour corn, I crack with steel, sieve, then grind the larger pieces with stone. For smaller flour corn, I go directly to stone.
For dent, crack with steel, sieve, winnow the grits, and done.
For flint, crack with steel, sieve, winnow the grits, sieve again with a coarser mesh, re-grind the larger grits with steel, sieve, and done.
Wow! Thanks so much! I have a lot to learn... I've been pretty overwhelmed in the past few weeks with information overload. I have too much swimming around in my head that I have to remember. Thanks again! :)
Their customer service is wretched. But such a nice mill...
I have the same setup you have (except no hand crank -- that would be like punishment). It will grind whatever grain you throw at it. I've done Emmert, Spelt, Corn (metal wheel), Oats, Rice (metal wheel) and of course Wheat and Rye, plus probably some other grains I've forgotten.
With the metal wheel, beans should be no problem. Ditto dried coconut. I have never tried nuts with it, but the metal wheels should be able to handle it. I think it would be messy though.
It is built like a tank, and comes apart easily to clean. The metal wheels can be washed (and the exterior of the machine is easy to clean), so there's not really a down side in trying. In fact, I may go try some peanuts this evening just to see what happens.
edit:
No, it doesn't do nuts. At least, not peanuts. I had to chop them up in a food processor to get them small enough for the wheel to grab, which led to constant jams. It did, eventually, ooze out a little smooth peanut paste, but overall, total fail.
You'd have to chop beans up as well, but I think they'd be less sticky than the oily peanuts.
Thank you so much for the feedback! Almond flour seems to be a popular choice in recipes. I've actually been able to create almond (flour) from the meal after making almond milk and then dehydrating the meal so I think I can then mill that (hopefully) to create a finer texture.