July 20, 2021 - 11:07am
KoMo, Mockmill, and Salzburger...
Hi, first thread here...
I'm having trouble choosing my first mill. I've nixtamalized corn and ground it via a hand crank for a while, sometimes I turn small amounts of things like millet or teff to flour in my Vitamix. So, I figured it's time to also stop buying store bought flour.
I have looked into all the mills and come to these...
- KoMo Classic
- Mockmill 200 (or Professional)
- Salzburger MAX SPEZIAL or MT 5 ED (no plastic edition)
A few questions now.
- Regarding the KoMo vs. Mockmill, if you choose the Lino (wooden) version of the Mockmill, what then is the difference between it and a KoMo? It looks like the Mockmill has a more powerful motor. That means it'll grind fast but heat them up more? A variable speed setting on these would be nice.
- What's the difference between Salzburger models I listed? There's a chart and it shows that they have the same exact performance for every food source. Is it just the style?
- Lastly, do any of these really heat the grains up too much? I am willing to double mill, coarse then fine, to reduce heat.
Thank you.
Edit: due to the motor, I think I've settled on the MT 12, no plastic, which other users here seem to have and enjoy.
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I too am in the same boat. I blew an e-bay auction on a powerhouse of a mill in great condition, very kindly provided to me by another member. I simply spaced that it was closing. There were no bids and the unit went to the first buyer. C'est la vie.
FWIW, this is a comparison of the Komo Fidibus and Mockmill 200. He claims impartiality, and in my eyes, seems so. No connections, etc., but this came up on one of my early searches.
I'm considering buying a unit that won't heat up either, should I decide to move bigger and need a more extended continuous milling. But these aren't cheap.
Thanks for the thread. There have been many like it but not in awhile, I think, so personally I'm very glad you put it forward. Good luck.
Paul
With a Salzburger grinder, I feel it will reduce the desire to ever "upgrade". And even then getting the MT 12 over the Max is likely my route.
When I got my KitchenAid mixer I purchased the Pro 600. After a few months of heavy baking it would occasionally struggle with hefty doughs, and the motor is quite loud. So, I have sold it and I'm patiently awaiting my Pro Line 7 quart mixer with a D/C motor... It's more powerful and also quieter!
Point is, I really hate having to buy twice, I try to buy once, and buy for life (or at least the product's life). Which is how after a little deliberation I ended up on the MT 12 already, the no plastic option is simply a wonderful bonus. I'm waiting a few more days before buying it.
I know, people on here will be able to swear by a Mockmill, or a KoMo, this or that, but I guess in the end I have to get what's right for me. As long as I can always have the time to do a double mill, having natural stones is just magical to me.
As a vegan, I cannot imagine the textures and flavors I can explore... Black bean tortillas... Buckwheat pasta. Really, I just want the tool to "get out of the way". I want it to work so perfectly and be so well tuned that you barely notice the tool. It does just what you want with minimal effort and little thought...
I absolutely agree with you and aim to buy once, if at all possible.
You sound very grounded in all you want to do - and it sounds delicious. Have fun, and bon appétit!
The Retsel is probably the best at not heating up the flour. Remember, it is not the power of the motor , but how fast the stones spin ( among other factors ) that impact how much the flour is heated. The Retsel uses gear reduction so that the stone spins relatively slowly compared to most other mills I have used. Note I have never seen anything definitive as to how high a temperature is too high, nor do we know the temperature at the milling chamber - most just measure the temperature as it comes out of the milling chamber.
But I can say that the 1/4 hp or 1/2 hp Retsels ( I don't know about the 1/10 hp which IIRC is an earlier model ) are beasts, and should outlive you by a long time. Also there is a negative post about a feed auger cracking for one user, and I am not sure how that happened since there should not be that much torque on that part, but nearly all the other negative posts about the retsels are about customer service and buying new. I bought used.
-and I did not. Thanks for trying, my friend. $225, shipped. Lots of colorful words come to mind right now.
Just browsed and haven't seen a site that offers these, but would like to take a look. Thanks!
You can find Retsels on ebay, but expect that it will take a while, they don't come up often, and when they do, it is often the 1/10 hp. Also, because they are so heavy, you need to find one listed that is not too far away. Ebay lets you save a search and then emails you when something comes up that fits your criteria. That is what I would do if I was looking for another one. If you search ebay completed auctions, you will see 2 sold in the last month, each for around $150 plus shipping. One came with both the stones and steel burrs, and that would be quite a bargain if you wanted to mill something that was not suitable for the stones.
Due to the conversions and such, I had proceeded with checkout on Salzburger up until the end when Paypal gives you the option to "cancel and go back". I did that for two products to see final conversion rates. Today I woke up to two emails saying I ordered two Salzburgers...
I guess I'll only cancel one of them... :)
The MT 18 seems like the best option due to the slower RPM, but I cannot afford that.
👋🏻 New quarantine baker and first time poster. I just bought the MockMill 200 directly from the site. **Refurbished is a great deal with all the same warranty so definitely consider that 👍** One thing I was not aware of after purchasing my grains and milling was that there is a lot of husk and bran included that most YTubers and other pages I follow did not mention. It’s fine if you want a hearty loaf, but if you’re a new-ish baker and expected to be baking with something at least similar to store bought flour it is definitely something to start “googling” about. It will adjust ingredient amounts and hydration if you’re baking sourdough. I haven’t experimented with my “whole” grain since I am not that experienced yet. So please take that into consideration. You will either be sifting until your arm falls off or will be purchasing/make shifting a very good electronic one. There’s a forum on that here too 😊
Just thought I’d share for those about to buy a countertop mill. It was not something I had considered. I love my MockMill so far. Grinds fast and looks pretty. It’s recommended from where I buy my wheat berries to keep them refrigerated to prolong freshness and that definitely seems to help with the heating concerns.
HaPpY BaKiNg Ya’LL! May all your loaves rise high!! 🍞🥖👩🏻🍳
Thanks, I feel I will be in the same boat when my mill arrives. A lot of "real food" has been stripped away from modern society. The only wonder I have about Wonderbread is it's a wonder anyone can call it bread! .... Ahem.
Until I purchased wheat berries to cook directly for a salad a few weeks ago I don't think I had ever seen them in my life, anywhere, in any store. I had to buy them online and they are expensive to buy in 3lbs...
I will be placing an order with AzureStandard soon, there is a drop about 30 minutes from me, $2 shipping for 50lbs + of wheat berries is fine, and the wheat berries range from $0.50/lb to $0.94/lb, very reasonable for the best bread upgrade there is... Most stores run organic wheat at $1.00/lb minimum.
It will be learning bread all over, I'm sure hydration and all of that must be adjusted with the extra bits in there, how much it soaks up when it's been ground 5 minutes ago, versus if you have some left that sits for a few weeks.
I have purchased a variety of grains (hard red winter and hard white spring wheat, kamut, red fife, spelt, oats, barley, and a few others) from a wide variety of sources and for a number of years (even pre bread making). Only rarely have I ever found even a single husk in the grain. If your grain has a lot of husks included, that seems pretty unusual. You may want to consider a different source.
Mary
Apparently it's just an auto message if you go that far through the checkout process even if you don't order. They said they didn't receive any orders so false alert, for anyone in the future that might want to check PayPal conversions. If you get an email but you clicked "cancel" you likely weren't charged and an order wasn't placed.
I use it pretty much everyday for anything that requires grinding. I have never had an issue with heating. I cannot recommend this machine enough. It is a work-horse that is, as far as I'm concerned, indestructible. The grind quality is absolutely outstanding -- I achieve an open crumb on 100%WW without batting an eye now that I've had it for a while.
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/68365/100-freshly-milled-whole-wheat-sourdough-80-hydration
I purchased my Salzburger MT 12 today... no plastics... I simply like their philosophy and outlooks, that is worth a fair premium to me.
Congrats on your purchase of the Salzburger Mill. It is a wonderful mill. It is a beautiful and functional machine. I can't
say enough good about them. We have enjoyed using ours and are ready to part with it. If anyone is looking for a great
deal on an amazing Mill, please see my ad on the For Sale Forum here at FreshLoaf.
https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/app/d/kennett-square-stone-flour-mill/7337063376.html
Looks like somehow a mistake appeared on the website with lower prices... Therefore I received a refund. The updated price is out of my desire currently...
Back to the drawing board.
Hey, wondering what you ended up getting for a mill. I just bought a Mockmill 200 and really don't like the flour coming out of it. Trying to figure out what my other options might be.
what don't you like about it ? Have you watched the films and adjusted the stones ? What grains are you grinding ? You can contact Mock Mill and they are very helpful as well as contacting Breadtopia...I happened to buy from them but Eric is immensely helpful as are folks on this forum who have MockMill specifically. If you post your query as a separate post I am sure we can assist you with your Mill and hopefully achieve success.
An example of how versatile the mill is , I get whole corn from Barton Springs Mills in Texas. I grind my cornmeal and then I change the setting and grind grits and then I change the setting again and grind polenta. It works beautifully on all counts. I grind all kinds of wheat and including Durum for everything from very fine for pasta to. regular for bread. I hope we can assist you. Also you should have a warranty since you just bought it and I am certain there is a satisfaction component so contacting your seller is a good idea before you give up. c
The flour coming out smells like stale dog biscuits. I am... hypersensitive to smells.
I've adjusted the stones twice, once according to the manual and a second time according to the Mockmill tech. The stones make no sound on the finest setting.
I've sourced grains from multiple locations, and freshness isn't the issue. Had some whole wheat flour milled by a local bakery with their New American Stone Mill, and got some of the same wheat berries to take home and mill in the Mockmill. The bakery milled flour smelled amazing coming off the stones, while the stuff I milled was consistently unappealing.
I've run through the rice (the first time, when you're setting it up), and again, mixed with baking soda, to "deodorize the stones" as per the Mockmill tech. It didn't help, the next batch of wheat I ran through had the same issue.
The flour is a lot warmer than I'd like when it's milled (haven't temped) but I doubt it's exceeding the temps I've seen posted here. If I mill to a coarser setting, it's not as hot, but it's also much coarser than I'd like for whole wheat flour.
Mockmill is where I bought it, and they're at a point where they've done as much as they can to troubleshoot, and are asking me what I want to do next. I'm trying to crowdsource to see if there's anything else to try before I ask to return it for a refund.
I am extremely sensitive to odors and sounds as well. Believe me if my Mock Mill had that odor it would be gone! When the Mill comes from the company initially it’s the factory setting and it definitely is very loud ticking on setting one , meaning the stones are touching. It grinds like powder at that setting.
I think you have given it as good as you can. I would return it without any worry that it’s you not the machine. I’m not familiar with any other mills so can’t recommend . I do hope you get a satisfactory one soon. I love milling and am only sorry I didn’t start sooner! Good luck. c