OXO Good Grips 11 lb Stainless Steel Food Scale
For seeing the display past a wide bowl
OXO Good Grips 11 lb Stainless Steel Food ScaleA pull-out display helps keep the reading visible under larger containers.
11 lb (5.0 kg), reads in 1 g steps
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Baking bread with fresh-milled flour
Flour milled at home just before baking is whole grain, full of flavour and very active. It absorbs more water and ferments faster than bagged flour. Start 5 to 10 percentage points higher on hydration (our starting point; King Arthur notes freshly milled spelt absorbs more water than aged), rest the dough before adjusting, and expect a shorter bulk fermentation.
Water: start 5 to 10 percentage points above the recipe's hydration and adjust by feel. Time: shorter bulk; watch the dough. Lighter loaf: sift out some bran, or blend with bread flour.
Water and rest
Fresh flour is warm and dry from the mill and its bran soaks up water slowly. Let it cool, mix with generous water, and rest it (an autolyse; 30 to 60 minutes is our starting point) before judging. Starting hydrations by flour are in the hydration chart.
Fermentation
Whole grain feeds yeast and bacteria richly, and fresh flour's enzymes are active, so dough ferments faster and can turn slack if over-fermented. Use a little less starter or a cooler dough, and judge by the bulk fermentation signs.
Sifting and blending
Sifting through a fine sieve removes some bran for a lighter loaf; use the bran for dusting baskets. Blending 30 to 50% fresh flour with bread flour is an easy start. See home grain mills for the equipment.
Questions bakers ask
Should fresh milled flour rest before baking?
Many home millers bake with it the same day with good results; others let it rest. Either way, adjust the water and watch fermentation.
Equipment for this job
Keep what you own when it does the job. These are the other exact models we profile.
OXO Good Grips 11 lb Stainless Steel Food Scale
Mockmill 100 Stone Grain Mill
For milling flour for one or two loaves
Mockmill 100 Stone Grain MillA home stone mill with corundum-ceramic stones that mills about 100 g of wheat a minute.
About 100 g of flour a minute
Mockmill 200 Stone Grain Mill
For milling flour for several loaves a week
Mockmill 200 Stone Grain MillThe faster Mockmill: a 600 W motor mills about 200 g of wheat a minute through the same stones.
About 200 g of flour a minute
NutriMill Harvest Stone Grain Mill
For fresh whole grain flour from a mill that can stay on the counter
NutriMill Harvest Stone Grain MillA countertop stone mill in a bamboo body with corundum stones and a 450 W motor, set by one knob from cracked grain to fine flour.
450 W stone mill, coarse to fine