Mockmill 200 vs Mockmill 200 Pro
I've been having issues with my very new Mockmill 200, have done all of the things the Mockmill tech suggested, and still it's milling flour that smells very bad to me. That includes different grain sources, readjusting the stones, deodorizing the stones, different settings.
In the last email, John from Mockmill asked what I want to do next, and the question I'm having is... is the Mockmill 200 Pro *that* different in tech/ mills differently enough that I might not have the same issues with my grain smelling bad right out the mill?
This was my longer explanation in another thread.
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 read your post in the other thread as well as this one. I have owned a number of mills, more that I should count, and have never had a problem with the smell of the flour coming out of the mill. I have dogs, but have never smelled wet dog biscuits, but it sounds like that would be a very unpleasant smell. Unfortunately, most mills work very similarly - a stone rotates against a stone that is fixed, and that grinds the flour. While there may be differences in whether the stones are horizontal or vertical, how fast they spin, and the material used in the stone, most of them work the same way. While I am not a big fan of an impact mill - that does work in a totally different way, and it is possible that might give you a different result , though I can't guarantee it. It is possible, I guess, that there is something that has gotten on the stones in your Mockmill that is imparting a bad flavor - have you taken it apart to look at the stones, and smell them? If you are anywhere near Virginia Beach and want to bring some flour over we can try it in one of my mills to see if you like the results. If you are somewhere else, post your location and maybe someone nearby can give you that option - I would hate to spend a lot of money on a mill and be unhappy with the results.
Did the rice you milled have the smell? If so, that would imply there is some contamination on the stones. If not, it would argue against that.
When you grind on the coarser setting does it have the smell? If not, how about grinding twice? Once on the coarser setting, let it cool, then again on a finer setting.
From the experience of others and your careful experiment with fresh berries it has to be something about that particular mill. Some lubricant leak?
I'm grasping at straws for an explanation.
I would suspect the grains, not the mill.
They said they sourced grains from different places, so maybe a machine part? Or maybe the plastic parts are still smelly. Some plastics still smell like the factory they were made in and take a while to air out. But I only know this with computer parts and toys, I don't have a mill. I would love to get one if the price ever went down.