Customer Reviews

Back to basics Hand Grain mill

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I've had this grinder for MANY years (about 12 I think). I don't use it real often, as it is slow work. I use a NutriMill electric grinder for my everyday flour grinding. But when we want corn bread or cream of wheat or rice, this hand grinder does the best! This meal does a great job of making a true course corn meal and farina/ "cream of ..." cereals. (You'll never want cornbread with storebought cornmeal again, once you've tasted fresh ground.)

For those things that don't require a large amount of grain meal, and that you don't do everyday, this is a great mill. For daily grinding of flour for several loaves of bread - I wouldn't do it.

Another reason I like having this on hand is if we'd ever be out of electricity, and I couldn't use my NutriMill.

I've used this little guy probably a dozen times over the past couple of months, and overall I've been very satisfied.

However, I am someone who is willing to spend about a hour cranking and cranking for about 8 cups of flour.

If you're not in a rush, you want to tone your arms, and want a very simple machine to grind flour and meal and such, this is a good mill for you. Turn on some music, roll up your sleeves, and let your mind wander while you grind away. The simple, delicious taste of freshly ground whole grain flours in your cooking and baking will make it time well spent. I really like it.

On the other hand, if you're someone who wants to quickly grind a large amount of what-have-you and get on with your life, this is not what you want. Output is slow, it's a little on the rickety side, and you definitely have to speak up to be heard over it.

I did quite a bit of research on this mill, but it left me disapointed. It does not grind up the grains fine enough to be considered flour. It is easy to use though and creates uniform meal. If you're wanting actual flour look somewhere else.

Shopping for a hand powered grain mill isn't a common activity. Like many others who did, I was looking for something I could use in a power out emergency (such as a long hurricane outage). I also like the idea of using hand power when possible rather than electricity. There aren't that many real grain mills to choose from anymore and like most, I was a bit leery of spending a fortune for a diamante and not lucky enough to find one from some pre-industrial general store. I chose this one as my first because of it's compact size for storing, the price and it's very long production run to date.

Grinding grain for fresh flour and home-made bread isn't common, but it produces a very tasty loaf! So, with this low price, I had to try it.

The shipping was fast, it was well packaged and contained easily understood directions. It set up fast and felt firm and safe to use. The spout is at the correct height for a good sized bowl to collect the output. All of those are positive aspects.

But this is touted as a grain mill suitable for flour. I did a great many runs on this mill using multiple kinds of wheat such as hard red and soft white, but found that no wheat really ground down to a fine enough flour. It is more like a course flour of a texture similar to corn meal. It never gets soft feeling, so to speak, like flour does. I ran some batches through up to 5 times with no appreciable change in size after the second grinding.

Aside from flour, I did try some ground corn for corn meal, which is also a favorite at my house, and found that the size of the grain was very suitable for that. Pan bread, baked or made into breakfast much, it make a very tasty corn meal. That said, it was very difficult to operate with the large kernels of corn initially put into the hopper. The mill tried to come loose from the counter over and over under the force required to get the handle started. As it happens, someone else wandered past the kitchen when I first got a corn batch started and came in grimacing that it sounded like it was going to fall apart! It did sound pretty bad. But, with a little elbow grease and patience, it will do the job on corn.

If you're looking for this to be THE mill for non-powered grinding of flour, I'd pass and pay the substantial difference for one of the others out there, like Country Living or Diamante. If you're looking for something that is totally compact for preps and don't mind making a very course bread, then this just might do the trick.

I've had this grinder for MANY years (about 12 I think). I don't use it real often, as it is slow work. I use a NutriMill electric grinder for my everyday flour grinding. But when we want corn bread or cream of wheat or rice, this hand grinder does the best! This meal does a great job of making a true course corn meal and farina/ "cream of ..." cereals. (You'll never want cornbread with storebought cornmeal again, once you've tasted fresh ground.)

For those things that don't require a large amount of grain meal, and that you don't do everyday, this is a great mill. For daily grinding of flour for several loaves of bread - I wouldn't do it.

Another reason I like having this on hand is if we'd ever be out of electricity, and I couldn't use my NutriMill.

Just what I was looking for. It works great! We use it all the time to grind wheat for homemade bread and it does the job!

This grinder did a good job or grinding popcorn and wheat. Keep in mind that is does take a bit of elbow grease. It is easy to put together and very simple to understand. I would not use it for everyday grinding, but if you want something for emergency preparedness or for those times when you are out of electricity, this is it!

We have used our Back to Basics mill for years now and we love it. It does make flour fine enough for bread and pancakes no problem. If someone tells you they have this mill and it does make flour, they must have bought a defective one. Ours works great and has held up great for years now.

I buy wheat, spelt, oat, etc... seeds from the local health food store and make them into flour no problem. I even turned dried garbonzo beans into besam flour using this machine but I had to put the beans in a blender first to make them a bit smaller. This mill can almost handle a full sized garbanzo bean. It can handle grains no problem.

My kids love it too. We have made a variety of things using this mill like pancakes and bread.

I recommend this mill to anyone who wants to make their own flour for immediate use in the home and who doesn't mind using some elbow grease to do it.

Let me just start by letting you know I have an electric grain mill that I use most of the time if I need flour. Hand mills are a lot of work and the flour is never as fine. Having said that, I own this hand mill and I have for a long time. I love it. I use it to crack wheat all the time, as well as I occasionly use it to make flour for bread. It is a long process to get the flour you would need to make a batch of bread, but if the power is out this is a life saver. I have tried a few different grinders and this one makes the best flour by far, plus it has been very durable. It works as well as the day we got it. I have not done anything at all to maintain it.

It is also compact so if you are just looking for a grain mill for emergency storage this is in my opinion your best option.

If you are looking for a hand mill, dont go with the cheapest one you can find you will just end up buying a new one later. Do it right the first time.

This is a great little grain mill. It does a great job! Would recommend to anyone who is wanting to eat healthier by grinding your own flour and making your own bread, pizza crusts,brownies,cookies, etc. Amazon had the best price for this item.