"Why mill whole grains yourself?" Here's a Tip

Here are some points to grinding and baking with fresh whole grains.

Part One - Tip #1 - "Why mill whole grains yourself?" "Why bother?"

Alright, I will be the first to admit it, I was not raised to be a domestic person. When I first heard of milling grain at home I was perplexed and thought it was a far fetched idea, time consuming and a big mess. It didn't take me long to understand how wrong I was.

One tip to answering those questions of 'You do what?' and 'Why bother?' is to be acquainted with the two biggest advantages of milling at home. First are the health advantages and second are the storage/cost effect advantages.

Grains are processed into flour for shelf storage, however, most of the 'parts' of the grain are removed to slow spoilage time. When those things are disposed of, the flour is stripped of the Wheat Bran, Middlings, Wheat Germ and Wheat Germ oil. As we see that list, we see at least three things that are now sold in health food stores across the globe. The Bran and Middlings produce the fiber (and more), the Germ and oil produce the vitamin E (and more), two things missing in the normal diet of the twentieth century.

Worse than what is removed, may also be what is added to the bagged flour. To make the popular white appearance of flour, the first process used by manufacturers was really chlorine bleach! Although new chemicals and processes have now been approved, chemicals of any kind were not ever intended to be IN the grain itself. The list of what was stripped from the now fluffy flour is so long that manufacturers now feel the need to 'enrich' it with synthetic vitamins. Synthetic vitamins are just that - synthesized, not natural. Why add a 'fake' vitamin for a natural one that was taken away in processing? Enough said.

I'm leaving part two for tomorrow, so check back then. You won't be disappointed! :)

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