Grain Mill question??

[Cinnamon]

My grain mill just arrived! And thank you all for posting the link for it, what a great price.

I have a few questions, I have oat groats and steel cut oats. What settings do I use for making these into flakes and how many times do I run them through it? Also, what other grains can I make into flakes? I saw spelt and wheat berries at the health food store and wonder if anyone has used it for other things than oats.

It will be so nice to have raw oatmeal, also what recipes have others used that they enjoy? I am thinking to make some type of bread in the dehydrator too, with the flakes or maybe to grind up the oats or other grain into a flour.

Thank you!! :)

[PixieGreen]

Hey Cinnamon

I run oat groats through twice on setting "3" for rolled oats. I find I don't need to soak as long if I do it this way, though if you roll them through once they most resemble common rolled oats. Out of laziness I roll the groats then soak, but you can soak the groats overnight before rolling if you prefer.

I use rolled oats for oatmeal, cookies, crackers. I've been experimenting with using oat flour as a creamy thickener to replace nuts in soups and sauces for lower fat and expense. I grind the rolled oats into flour to make cookies. I've never tried steel cut oats, but it's a simple matter to run a few through the roller and see what your favorite would be.

On one description of the roller it said one could use it to make bulgar wheat but I haven't tried it. It has been so many years since I've eaten bulgar [not even sure if I'm spelling it correctly] I don't have a clear pic in my head of what it's supposed to look like. But if you try to make it the soft wheat berries would probably have a more mild flavor than hard.

I've used the roller to make sprouted kamut flakes. It is best to run these through just slightly damp, otherwise they are too thick to fit between the two rollers. I use the flakes in crackers/ thin bread slices. Yummy with honey and coconut butter. :)

Christa

[Rawkinlocs]

Like Christa, I usually run them through #3 twice to get them as flat as I like them. I do both whole and steel cut oats and I have found that steel cut ones are kinda like "Quick Cook" oats we used to buy whereas the whole oat groats are more like the "Old Fashioned" - I find that steel cut ones take a shorter time to soften when I put my water in where the whole oats take a little longer to get them the way I like them.

So far, I haven't used the mill for anything else other than oats, but it says it can do bulgar, rice (to make rice flour), wheat, etc. I just don't have a need for anything else yet, but I like Christa's idea of oat flour as a thickener.

[Cinnamon]

Thank you both for your suggestions! I put the groats through the mill on setting 3 twice and wow, perfect! I can't believe how well the mill works, I am very impressed with it. I soaked the oat flakes, added cinnamon, banana and blueberries and wow breakfast was wonderful!!

I will try the bulgar next, and then make a salad out of it like tabouli, one of my favorites. I have so many ideas now, and for using the oats in other ways too like in cookies, breads and crackers, also love the soup idea to keep the fat content down too in some recipes. Fun!

Thank you again, I appreciate your help!

[oodlesofoilsetc]

Everyone,

When I first came to this board I re-read all the old posts. I want to thank you for your earlier discussion on the grain mill, and the link to the 'sale' mill. I bought it and have been sprouting the oats, dehydrating them, then flaking them.

I'd appreciate some clarification from those of you with more experience. Do you usually sprout your oats (1-2 days) then dehydrate them before flaking? My dehydrated ones could never 'stand' being flaked 2 or 3 times, they're half flour now as it is when I put them through the mill.

Christa, what do you mean when you say you use the kamut 'damp'? I just soaked some (24 hours) to put in my granola and haven't dehydrated them yet.

Thanks!
Jillian from North Dakota