What type of fineness should be expected?
Hello,
I am a Salzburger owner and I'm considering buying a second mill just so I can get a standard baseline for what fineness mills operate at.
Of course, the Lee mill is in its own category, but for a standard granite or corundum mill, what fineness do you get with your best description?
Does the grain feel quite gritty, even at your finest settings before the burrs touch? I have two sieves, coarse and fine, I do not know their specific numbers, every batch I mill I run through a coarse sieve which gets giant particles. If I sift my fresh flour through the fine mill I can lose half the weight sometimes, but it's basically pastry flour at that point with no discernible texture.
The other factor here is the wheat itself, I'm sure wheats vary greatly in bran percentage.
Anyway, I have been wondering this for a while and figured I'd post this before I drop hundreds on yet another mill.
Regards
The flour it produces at the finest setting (using hard red wheat) is quite fine, with a slightly gritty feel. It isn’t as fine as AP flour but it is substantially finer than, say, Gold Medal or Pillsbury whole wheat flours. While I don’t sieve my flour, I suspect that very little would be left on a 30 mesh screen.
The flour does contain visible bran particles but they are nearly as small as the other particles.
I hope this helps with your inquiry.
Paul
What mill are you looking at? I have the Lee, though at its finest setting, it takes a while, so I more commonly use a Retsel. I have owned a Komo, and a few others, most will give a fairly fine flour, though as Paul says, with a little grit.
Hi,
I have a Komo and 2 sift meshes: 20/in (below) and 50/in.
Not much fresh milled flour can get through a 50 mesh.
With 2 passes in the Komo at the finest setting ( just short of hearing clicks of the stones hitting) , I get about 4-5% of coarse particles sifted out using a 20 holes /in mesh. Perhaps I should try a 30. This is how I sift:
I grind at the fine setting right before the stones touch and sift with a #30 drum sifter first. I then re-mill at a finer setting with the stones clicking and sift with a number 40. I get a pretty high extraction flour with very little grit. I do this for most grains except spelt which I only sift once and it’s more than fine enough.
Thanks for your experience in this area.
I really hesitated to let the stones click, thinking I would ruin the mill!
Do you get around 12% of total sifted out with a 40 mesh? Are your coarser particles re-incorporated?
There is no issue with the stones clicking at least in the Mockmill. I can’t speak for other brands but they actually suggest it. I’m not sure what the extraction %is as I keep forgetting to weigh it but I will the next time I bake. I do not reincorporate the bran but save it for later and usually add some to my mother starter when I refresh.
I am going to have to purchase a Grainmaker at some point to test fineness. I love natural stonses, but with my Salzburger, it's hard to gauge correctness due to natural variation, and the rotating stone has some wobble to it, meaning various grades of fineness pass through. This is apparent with every mill however, is there a reason? The "clicking" means that the stones are not parallel, is this to avoid motor fatigue if the stones were to lock?
The Grainmaker is more clinically produced and the steel will not warp overtime, save for damaging debris.
When I mill rather finely, if I sift with a #40, I get particles of endosperm left unmilled, though separated from the bran.