Due to the crazy busy and blessed Christmas holiday... I am really behind on some of the awesome products I wanted to post about - long before Christmas! As a matter of fact, this Victorio Hand Mill post is one I intended to post about a month ago and it's taken me so long to 'get around to it' that I have another post coming in regards to my next grain mill - my electric Wonder Mill. Oh, but I am getting ahead of myself!
Back to basics!
We don't use much flour or wheat products as a general rule due to the high carb content and digestive issues a lot of bread products seemed to cause. However, when we were not doing following a lower carb way of eating, I found through trial and error that homemade breads didn't seem to cause any bloating or gas like the store bought versions did! I don't know if this is due to the fact that homemade breads are not rushed through production and allowed to raise, and some a double rise... but I suspect so. Going another step further; I like to use non-GMO flour. Meaning, not genetically modified by scientists. The DNA of the grain hasn't been messed with. The bread and buns and pastries in large retail stores use flour that has been messed with, modified, then ground and bleached and refined so much that it doesn't even resemble flour anymore.
And THAT is why I wanted to invest in a grain mill. But I wanted to be SURE I wanted to grind my own wheat on a regular basis before I invested in a large, expensive mill... and again - I'm not making bread everyday. We can go a month without using any flour so I wanted to start 'small'. And in my research, I decided to purchase a VICTORIO Hand Operated Grain Mill
. You can get them for about $49-69 average depending on where you find them (sold many places from Amazon to Sam's Club online and more).
● A simple, compact, hand crank mill
● Grind wheat, rice, oats, barley, non-oily seeds, and spices
● Holds up to 2 cups of grain
● Stainless steel grinding cone is adjustable from course to fine with the simple twist of a knob
● Wider clamp base allows for a secure grip on thicker counter tops (up to 2-inches)
● Grind wheat, rice, oats, barley, non-oily seeds, and spices
● Holds up to 2 cups of grain
● Stainless steel grinding cone is adjustable from course to fine with the simple twist of a knob
● Wider clamp base allows for a secure grip on thicker counter tops (up to 2-inches)
From their website product description:
When making homemade flours, meals and cereals
use the Victorio Grain Mill. This energy efficient Mill has zero power
consumption and is perfect for emergency preparedness.
The Victorio Grain Mill is an essential
tool for any kitchen. The compact design and convenient, 2" wide clamp
base make storage easy and set up a snap. The stainless steel grinding
burrs will grind any type of non-oily seed or grain and turn it into a
quality ground product. All our Grain Mills come with an adjustment
knob to give you the freedom to grind as coarse or as fine as you need.
Whether you need fine flour for breads and pastries or coarse cracked
grains for cereal, this Grain Mill can do the job.
Made In: Taiwan
Body: Cast Aluminum
Handle: Wood
Grinding Burrs: Stainless Steel
Hopper: Plastic
Assembled Height: 13-1/16"
Assembled Depth: 5-1/8"
Assembled Width: 2-1/16"
Capacity: Holds 2 cups of grain with hopper
Assembled Depth: 5-1/8"
Assembled Width: 2-1/16"
Capacity: Holds 2 cups of grain with hopper
Here is the mill I chose. The Victorio Hand Crank Grain Mill
with the clamp base (which clamps securely to your counter or table)
This is where my mill "lives" and stays at all times. It's out of the way,
near the wall, but right where I need it when I quickly want to grind wheat.
This came in handy just last night grinding 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken
gravy as well as 5 cups of flour to make a loaf of lovely homemade bread.
See how it clamps on the counter or table?
It's really secure and I have had no issues with it slipping or moving.
The mill only grinds small grains and non-oily seeds.
No large corn kernals, or oily nuts like almonds, walnuts, etc.
Grinding in action!
Made a beautiful flour for bread.
You can adjust from coarse to fine and don't forget - the type of wheat berry
you use makes a difference. Use hard white or red for breads and soft white for baking.
Be warned it takes a while to hand grind enough for bread!
I needed 5 cups and it takes a LOT of cranking to get that much! As a matter of fact
I would crank for 5-6 minutes and stop for a bit because my arms were tired and well,
I admit, I would get so bored. It probably took about 45 minutes to get just over 5 cups of
ground flour to make my bread recipe!
Generally speaking I'm going to say I'm very happy with this little hand mill. I love the sturdy design and strength. It's easy to use, clamps tight and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that it counts as emergency 'prep' as well since it uses ZERO electricity!
My only 'cons' are of course how long it takes to grind a good amount of flour (like the 5 cups for bread) and it has a bit of a 'squeak' that I haven't been able to track down to oil. I think it's in the wood handle action...
But I give it 4 out of 5 stars AND I discovered our family loves home ground wheat over store bought so much, that I now own two mills. But... that's another post for another day!
