Baking with Whole Grains {Nutrimill Review}

I’ve been wanting to start incorporating more whole grains into my baking. Especially since Logan is such a picky eater, but he will eat lots of baked goodies, I thought that would be a great way to get some extra nutrition in him. Enter the Nutrimill Grain Mill.

I had heard about this mill from my Aunt who’s been using it for the same reason. I thought, wow, this sounds perfect! I should really look into getting one of these. Think of how much more nutritious my Zucchini Apple Spice muffins would be for Logan if I could use whole grain flour! And cookies and brownies! All things he loves that range in how good (or not good) they are for you. So I shamelessly wrote Kitchen Resource to ask if they’d be interested in a product review. They weren’t able to participate at this time, but were nice enough to point me in the direction of an online retailer – Pleasant Hill Grain – who might be interested. And guess what? They were interested! Within a week I recieved my very own refurbished Nutrimill Grain Mill along with several 1 lb. samples of the different grains they sell.

The machine itself has some great features that just make for a really smart design. Like how the spot where you insert the bowl that catches all the ground grain has a little “yes” and “no” double check so you know if the bowl is inserted properly. Hint: if it lines up with the “no,” you’re going to have flour spraying all over the place when you turn the machine on.

Another convenient feature I love is the way the cord stores inside the machine itself. There’s nothing I like less than I mess of appliance cords all tangled up in my kitchen cabinets.

Besides the design being so smart, the machine is super easy to use! Easy to understand instructions for operating make it a breeze to learn how to use the Nutrimill. Are you curious about what grains you can and cannot grind in the machine? There’s a great list in the book, so no guess work on your part. What about how many cups of flour are produced for each cup of grain? It tells you that too! The actual process of grinding the grain is really straight forward.

Assemble the machine, place grain in the hopper, put the lid on, turn the machine on and select how coarse you want the grain ground. And then you get beautiful, freshly ground flour! Doesn’t that sound easy?

My only complaint is that it does make a little bit of the mess on the counters. Luckily I had set up right next to the kitchen sink – and I think I’ll keep doing that in the future – so I just swept the excess into the sink when I was done.

If you don’t have storage space, that might be an issue if you’re considering the Nutrimill (or probably any grain mill too). It takes up about as much space as a Kitchen Aid stand mixer would. I have a shelving unit in my garage right by the door, so that’s where I plan to store the Nutrimill.

And how do baked goods taste with freshly ground flour? Wonderful! The zucchini apple muffins are still a hit and you can’t even tell a difference. My favorite Rustic Bread tastes a bit earthier, but so delicious and really hit the spot for grilled cheese with homemade bread and a bowl of roasted tomato soup after last night’s cold weather.

This morning for breakfast I had a simple toast using bread made with the hard white wheat flour. It was hearty without being heavy and a great, fast breakfast (when the bread is already made) for a busy Saturday morning.

Thanks, Pleasant Hill Grain, for the opportunity to try out the Nutrimill. I love it!