If you are searching for the best budget grain mill for your needs then read on because I am going to point you in the right direction today, plus tell you the very best place to find a grain mill, but that’s not all. I’m also going to share the top two DREAM flour mills that I recommend if you’ve got the spending power for them!
Recently I created THIS VIDEO featuring my brand new NutriMill Harvest Mill unboxing and review and a cinnamon roll recipe. This is the post I promised in the video with the printable recipe for your convenience, but I’m also going to include my experience with the NutriMill in this post.
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Best Budget Grain Mill
It’s baking season again, and I’m not unhappy about that! Since we moved I have a lot more kitchen cooking space than I had for the past 3 years, and this has been such a wonderful blessing!
One of the exciting upgrades I made in our new kitchen was a new flour mill that could stay on the counter. It was important to me to have an attractive one since I wanted to leave it out, and it was even more important to have a quality one because I use a flour mill almost daily to feed our sourdough (plus make bread two to three times a week).
After months of research, I decided to get a Komo. When I ordered it from Pleasant Hill Grain (PHG), I knew it was on back order for a month. But a month later I received an email saying it was backordered again for another month. At that point I called PHG for more details. They kindly shared that the Komo’s come in from Germany, and Komo was having trouble getting parts. I was worried that if I waited another month that it could end up backordered yet another time and PHG had no way of knowing if it would be guaranteed to arrive if I did wait another month. Since I’d waited so long for a grain mill I really didn’t want to wait longer without knowing if I would get it in another month.
So after some more research and a dozen questions to the wonderful and very knowledgeable staff at PHG, I narrowed down my next choices to the Royal Lee and the NutriMill in Harvest Gold.
I decided to go with a NutriMill in Harvest Gold for a few reasons. One was because the lovely design of the NutriMill. Another was the price point, as the NutriMill is more affordable. A third reason is because the NutriMill is one I knew would be in more of my follower’s price range and I wanted to let you all know how it works.
This NutriMill hasn’t been a disappointment. I highly recommend it. It can grind cracked wheat to very fine flour (I wanted something that would grind fine). The ceramic-corundum burr stones do such a much better job at grinding flour than steel ones.
The NutriMill can grind wheat (hard and soft), rice (it does great for rice), dehulled oats, triticale, buckwheat, spelt, kamut, barley, millet, rye, teff, amaranth, quinoa, sorghum, lentils, dent field corn, and many beans and non oily spices.
The NutriMill Harvest milling rate is high speed, with 6/7 oz per minute. I am still getting used to the speed and have learned not to use a bowl to catch the flour because accidently keep overflowing it! I’ve learned to use a shallow casserole pan because it mills so quickly that flour piles up in a bowl and can clog the shoot if you forget to keep an eye on it (anyone else out there have ADHD?).
Positives to the NutriMill from PHG:
- it comes with a 5 year warranty
- there’s a gluten free kit available to purchase
- the trim comes in a variety of colors, including black, white, silver, blue and even pink
- it’s BPA free
- the NutriMill company has taken a Going Green Initiative.
- there’s an auto-shutoff thermal protections
- it’s got a durable Eco-Friendly, Sustainable Bamboo Housing
- it’s designed and assembled in the USA
So far the only con I’ve been able to find is that there are a few steps in cleaning it, but I think that is how it would be with any stone or stone like burr grinder. As mentioned, ceramic stone burrs do such a much better job than steel.
I will be honest with you, however, and tell you that based off my research the Royal Lee or Komo probably are a little better, and if you are able to spring the money for one of them I would go with one of them (both are in stock now last I checked).
If you need something in the middle price range, however I do recommend the NutriMill. An almost identical grain mill that also has long life corundum-ceramic burrs is the Mockmill 100 and 200 which I do recommend checking out as it has more reviews (both have 5 star reviews), however the Mockmill 100 doesn’t look nearly as speedy as the 200 or as the NutriMill Harvest, it’s not as pretty, and it costs more.
UPDATE 3/23/2023 I’ve been using the NutriMill Harvest Mill since fall of 2022 and am still loving it. If found that I can set it to produce very fine flour, and I’ve been using it approximately 3 times a week to grind up to 4 cups of flour at a time. I have zero complaints about it.
Cinnamon Rolls
One of the weekend treats I’ve been making for my family as often as I can are cinnamon rolls. Normally I make sourdough cinnamon rolls since they are healthier, but I have an extra special regular version without sourdough that I make for holiday’s and special occasions that I’m sharing today.
I like to use half wheat and half unbleached flour in this recipe. The unbleached flour keeps the cinnamon rolls softer, while the wheat adds a little more nutrition.
If you want to add a special twist to these you can add diced apples or apple pie filling on top of the cinnamon sugar as you are rolling them up!
Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Topping
Ingredients
ROLLS
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- 1/3 cup lukewarm water
- 1 c. Greek yogurt
- 1/2 c. milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups organic whole wheat flour
- 2 1/4 cups organic unbleached flour
FILLING
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup palmfruit shortening
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup cinnamon
- 1 cup organic sugar
- a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg optional
TOPPING
- 1 c. cream cheese
- 1/2 c. butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Stir together yogurt, milk, lemon juice, egg, shortening, baking soda, salt and 2 cups wheat flour. Mix in mixer for 5 minutes. Gradually add remaining flour and mix 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove dough from mixer an knead into a ball, the dough should still be semi soft. Set in a greased bowl and cover, allowing to rise until double.
- Meanwhile mix the shortening and butter together (they should be very soft). In a separate bowl mix the cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg.
- Once dough has doubled, roll it out on floured surface until it measures approximately 24 by 24. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the sugar cinnamon mixture evenly over. Fold over the edges (see video). Starting from the bottom roll the dough, stretching ever so slightly so there’s no air pockets.
- Slice the roll into 1.5 inch slices and place on a greased baking dish (with deep sides-very important-you don’t want the grease spilling over)!
- Allow to rise until almost double. Place into 375 degree oven and bake until internal temperature is 200.
- While they are baking mix all the topping ingredients in mixture until very creamy.
- Top with cream cheese topping and serve!
Video