Mockmill Settings?
I've just bought a Mockmill 100. I haven't used it in earnest yet, as I've only just got hold of some whole grain; it seems quite difficult to find in the UK. Only Bakerybits seem to carry good grain at a realistic price.
What I have observed - as others have said - is that this mill can grind pretty fine. At the moment (ie pre-Mockmill), if I am making a loaf with more than 20% whole grain flour, I sieve out the bran through a #40 sieve and make a bran levain with it, following DBM's great method. However, with the Mockmill at its finest setting I find that there is much less bran retained in a #40 sieve than with commercial whole grain flour.
So would it be better to grind slightly coarser to sieve out more bran to make the bran levain, or is it a bonus that the mill is grinding up the bran so fine and it won't cause a problem with gluten development, or in the human gut?
What settings are other Mockmill owners using?
Lance
I have only ground rye berries. As I use up my store of flour I will grind more. I use the finest setting for the rye and do not sift. It works beautifully so far. I am anxious to get started with other grains.
and use it as is. I did try to sift one batch with. #50 sieve to get 75% extraction? I think I had to add a little back to get 75%, but didnt use the bran in levain. I usually use the finest couple of settings. dont know if that helps you. I love my mockmill but still have much to learn baking with freshly milled flour - it responds a little differently to commercial flour.
Leslie
I keep mine on the lowest setting and usually sift with a # 40 sieve. Plenty of bran there for me. I o ow a lot of people don't sift at all but I prefer the lighter texture when sifting at least once or twice. Sometimes I will regrind the bran and sift an additional time.
Thanks everyone; it looks like the finest setting is the way to go. I've just milled 200g of spelt grain and got 38g of bran held back by a #40 sieve. I'm doing a bran levain with this which I will add to my main dough along with a normal flour levain tomorrow.
Isand66 do you add your bran back or discard it?
Lance
It depends on my mood. Sometimes i will re-mill it and sift again and then toss it out or I will add it back. I have started to add some of the sifted bran to my mother starter which is really making it excited!
Made with 20% Mockmilled spelt, 10% stoneground white BF and 70% roller milled BF. Hydration was 72% and the dough was raised with the bran levain and a separate flour levain.
I'm quite pleased with the look of it, but haven't tasted it yet. I might up the quantity of home milled flour next time, but didn't want to jump in at the deep end!
Lance
that is a lovely loaf ! I can hardly wait to mill all my grain. Almost done with my supply. Then stand back. Will definitely try the sifting and feeding to the levain that I have seen others do. Remarkable color and sheen on that crust. What technique did you use for the baking ?
I overnight retard my loaves and bake straight from the fridge.
I bake on a 3/4" bake stone (kiln shelf) at 275C with steam provided by my patented steam device:
The two porous terracotta tiles perform the same function as the lava rocks used by others, but are less messy and take up less room in storage. The two tins are filled with boiling water (plus a good splash on the tiles) as soon as the loaves go in. The tins each have a tiny hole in the bottom to drip feed more water onto the tiles for about another 4 minutes.
The whole assembly sits above the loaves on the bake stone.
Lance
with my vintage graniteware takes two ice cubes tossed in and that’s that for steam. My baking steel and cast iron etc all languish. So interesting to see what everyone is trying. I love your bread and set up too
Lance, just got my first mill, was researching sieves and saw this bonus on your steam setup. Is yours a standard home oven/range? Where can you find the porous stones, and how big are the tins? I like this concept better than the lava rocks I've recently been using. Thanks! Karen
it is interesting to see how you go - it is so easy to use and it is not such a big item on the benchtop.
Today for the first time, I have double milled spelt and rye, first setting 4-5 then a quick coarse sieve to remove the bigger bits followed by another mill at 1-2. I feel the flour has a finer feel to it. Will see how breads turn out tomorrow.
the crumb on your loaf should be great too.
Leslie
Thanks Leslie for your comment. Crumb and flavour were good with a crisp thin crust:
How did your bake go and what percentage of Mockmilled flour did you use?
Lance