Kitchen Aid Grain Mill attachment

[mom]

I just got a new Kitchen Aid Mixer off of ebay, cheap. Has anyone ever used the grain mill attachment that you can buy to go with them.

[Shamrock1121]

I've never used one, but while doing research on mills in general, I find over and over several problems associated with them.

1. They can cause the motor to burn out. This is especially true if you have a small (300 watt?) KA mixer.

2. They are VERY loud. (Which is normal with most mills - and is why I always wear ear plugs when I mill.)

3. You'll chance burning your mixer motor if you need to mill large amounts of flour - that's according to Kitchen Aid. It's not unusual for me to mill 6-10 cups of wheat flour, 4-cups of spelt, and possibly 2-3 cups rye on baking day. That is more than the KA mill is capable of milling at any one time. I can do that amount of milling in a few minutes using my old Whisper Mill (now known as a Wonder Mill).

4. The flour is not very fine and you may need to run it through the mill twice - once as grain, then the milled flour. If you don't have a mill that mills a fine flour, you'll find it's not good for things like quick breads, pastry, and cakes. You'll only get fine bread if you use finely-milled flour. Coarse flour = coarse bread and baked goods.

Personally, for the money, I'd suggest saving another $100 and get a Wonder Mill or Nutrimill.

-Karen

[mom]

Thanks Karen - I suspected as much. Still excited about the Mixer itself but was suspicious of the grain mill.

[Lynnkay]

I've got a Kitchen Aid Artisan with the standard 300 watts of power.
There is, however, a flaker mill (Messerschmidt-made in Germany) that attaches to the Kitchen Aid.
Does anyone know if they are useful, or will they also wear out the motor as in the case of the grain mill?

Even though I'm going to be milling my flours with a Whisper Mill and kneading with a Bosch mixer, I might still like to have a flaker mill, but not if it will tear up the K. Aid motor.
Does anyone know about this?

[Shamrock1121]

I've got a Kitchen Aid Artisan with the standard 300 watts of power. *
There is, however, a flaker mill (Messerschmidt-made in Germany) that attaches to the Kitchen Aid.
Does anyone know if they are useful, or will they also wear out the motor as in the case of the grain mill?

Even though I'm going to be milling my flours with a Whisper Mill and kneading with a Bosch mixer, I might still like to have a flaker mill, but not if it will tear up the K. Aid motor.
Does anyone know about this?

The flaker mill attachment is recommended for use on a 325 watt KA, or larger. It takes a lot of pressure to crush a hard wheat berry. Oats are softer than hard wheat. I usually use soft wheat for flaking - it has a larger endosperm.

I use a Marga Flaker Mill http://www.kitchenkneads.com/index.php?module=store_listings&action=view_listin g&listing=63.

It is comparable in price to the KA flaker mill. It's very useful because it has 3 settings and mills more that just flakes. I use it to make cream of wheat/rice, chopped multi-grain cereals - used for cooked cereals, as well as flakes.

-Karen

[Lynnkay]

Thanks, Karen, for the information on the flaker mill. I like the fact that it's not an 'attachment' to a mixer, since an attachment can only be used if the mixer is in good working order. As we all know, sometimes small appliances need repair, so I prefer not to have a flaker that is dependent upon my mixer in order to use it.

Once again, you have provided some much-needed guidance, and I really appreciate it. :)

[blake0808]

I have a 575 watt Kitchenaid mixer and I use my Family Grain Mill and my Family Flaker attachments on it all the time. I love it. I have another grain mill I use if I am doing large amounts of wheat grinding, but that is not too often. I try to use fresh milled if I can in my baking.

I also have the hand crank that goes with the grain mill and flaker, in case of power outage :)

I love them both, but agree with the previous post that I would not use them for large amounts, otherwise, I think they are great!!

[CJB]

Karen,
I am looking for a mill that can make something like Zoom. It's a cooked cereal that is of flaked whole wheat--similar to oatmeal only with whole wheat. I noticed that you have used the Marga roller grain mill. Does that work pretty well. Do you use it for other grains as well?
Thanks

[Shamrock1121]

Karen,
I am looking for a mill that can make something like Zoom. *It's a cooked cereal that is of flaked whole wheat--similar to oatmeal only with whole wheat. *I noticed that you have used the Marga roller grain mill. *Does that work pretty well. *Do you use it for other grains as well?
Thanks

CJB -

I'm not familiar with Zoom, but you can make flakes with a Marga Roller/Flaker Mill and most grains - oats, wheat, rye, barley, triticale, rice, spelt, kamut (NOT corn)... The Flaker Mill crushes/flattens the grain to form a flake. It also will mill it into coarse bits, or also a coarse flour - 3 settings on the machine. I use it for flakes, as well as multi-grain cereal blends (looks like chopped grain), homemade bulgur, and farina for cooked cream of wheat or rice cereal.

If you are interested in purchasing one, be sure to check prices, which seem to vary a lot, as well as checking for free shipping.

-Karen