Why use Freshly Milled Flour?

Let's start off with a freshly milled flour history lesson

Why should YOU bother using freshly milled flour when its easily available in stores? Read below to find out or check out my links below to learn how to mill your own flour, substitute grains and more.

Parts of the Wheat Berry

1. Bran

Wheat Bran is high in fiber, protein and healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. It is used by itself as a dietary supplement to improve constipation and IBS symptoms.

2. Germ

The smallest part of the wheat berry, germ is packed with protein, B-vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and iron.

2. Endosperm

Endosperm is primarily made up of carbohydrates, fats and trace amount of protein, vitamins and minerals.

Early freshly milled flour

Early flour would have been milled as needed, even with the invention of large stone mills. People would bring the grain to the local mill, have it ground and bring the freshly milled flour home to bake with within a short time. Why is this important? Well in order to understand that we need to break down what makes up a single kernel of wheat.

What is the wheat grain

Wheat is made up of three parts. The bran, germ and the endosperm. Most of the nutrition is found in the bran and germ. The bran is high in insoluble fiber essential in aiding your ability to digest the wheat. The germ is packed with protein, vitamins and minerals, folic acid, antioxidants, vitamin E and so much more. The final part of the wheat grain is the endosperm. This is made up primarily of carbohydrates and trace vitamins and minerals.

Invention of Steel Rollers

Around 1870 AD grind stones were replaced with steel rollers. These rollers would roll in different direction essentially shattering the grain rather then grinding it and were able to produce far more flour in a much shorter amount of time. Because they were able to mass produce flour, the shelf life was becoming an issue. Freshly milled flour has a very short shelf life before it begins to break down and the germ oil begins to go rancid. With the invention of rollers, grain mills were able to strip the germ and bran while milling preventing the oil from getting into the flour. This process left only the endosperm behind, a beautiful white flour, devoid of nutrition.

The impact of white flour

In the 1930s it began to be discovered that due the the lack of nutrition in the flour, people’s health began to decline; especially the poor who’s main source of food was bread. Once full of almost all the nutrients needed to survive, flour was now a dead carb and cases of diseases, especially those caused by lack of vitamin B, began to rise.

What were once considered “rich man’s diseases”, likely due to the wealthy having access to finely sifted flours for pastries, became widespread as refined grains took over our diets. This shift led to a rise in neural tube defects in infants, linked to folic acid deficiencies, and digestive issues such as colon cancer.

Once they discovered the flour was at fault for the decline, synthetic versions were added back into the flour. Notably Iron, Niacin, Thiamine, Folic Acid and Riboflavin. This became what we now know as ‘enriched flour’.

Why should you make the switch to freshly milled flour

It is no wonder that removing the components of the wheat berry that allow you to digest it has brought about rising cases of IBS, gluten intolerance and celiac. Bran and Germ also slow the breakdown of starch into glucose, maintaining a steady blood sugar rather than causing sharp spikes. Bleaching aside, the nutrition in today’s food is seriously lacking which is why my family and many others are beginning to mill our own flour and replace store bought, preservative packed food with nutrition packed, farm to table foods.