By the mid 1800’s, there were thousands of stone mills providing the local communities with fresh flour from locally grown wheat. The town miller, using stone grinding technology, milled the varieties of grains grown by local farmers providing sustenance for the community. It was wholesome and fresh and made hearty, delicious bread and baking. It couldn’t travel far or be stored too long due to the short shelf life of the bran and the oils in the germ.
At the rise of large scale roller milling techniques in the late 1800’s a new era of prestigious white flour products changed the baking landscape. Nutrients were removed along with the healthy oils and dietary fiber and you had flour that could sit on the shelf for ages and travel the world! Whole grain flours became unpopular and too rustic. Light, nutritionally void, flavorless white bread was the prize.
Thankfully, a century and a half later we are realizing Wonder Bread is not so wonderful. The wonder of rustic whole grain breads and freshly milled flour have caused a new excitement amongst bakers and non-bakers alike to learn the old but new craft of baking bread.
Thankfully, some 45 years ago my mother went ‘against the grain’ and started milling her own flour from the wheat grown by my father on our Canadian farm to bake her bread. She passed that legacy on to me and it was a natural choice for me once I had my own home to find resources for grains, purchase a home mill and make my own bread with freshly milled flour. I am still learning the art and craft of bread baking after 34 years with the amazing varieties of grain becoming available to the home baker.
So why is freshly milled flour so much better?
Here are a few reasons:
Nutrition! Whole grains left intact contain a storehouse of nutrients, fiber, and complex carbohydrates that can be preserved for many years. But once the kernel of grain is opened up and exposed to the air, oxidization begins to take place. Basically the nutrients begin to dissipate into the air and the nutrient dense oils in the germ begin to go rancid. Freshly milled whole grain flour contains all the bran, the germ with its rich oils, the starches that so beautifully work together to give you the the full benefit that grains have to offer.
Synergy! The whole is better than the parts or even the sum of the parts. Each of the nutrients in a kernel of grain has a purpose and they all work together to give you what your body really needs. One nutrient helps the other become absorbable by your body. Take part of the kernel away and you have an imbalance. Consume only the white starchy endosperm and your body digests these simple carbs quickly turning them into sugars which cause sugar spikes and crashes. Not good! Bran is the companion that when combined with the starch, slows down digestion so your body has time to grab those delicious nutrients it has been craving, and then slowly releases the energy produced from the complex carbs.
Taste! Bold, earthy, buttery, subtle, complex! Hearty, satisfying, sustaining. Fresh, not stale and rancid. Flavors with character instead of bland and tasteless.
Today I made muffins with freshly milled Kamut and freshly milled buckwheat with added spelt bran and my son said they couldn’t get any better than that!
© Gathered Grains 2026
