Flour can be in many recipes and as such, various types of flour suit a variety of different recipes. For instance, some recipes may specifically call for milled flour.
If you have never heard of milled flour before, you may be wondering what milled flour is. I did the research, and here is what I discovered!
What Is Milled Flour?
Milled flour is flour that has been milled, and milled flour can feature a variety of grains depending on the manufacturer. Generally, flour is milled to create grain that is more palatable and easier to cook. Many types of grain may be used to create milled flour, and a common example of milled flour is white flour.
Do you want to learn how grain is milled, if freshly milled flour is better, and if you can mill your own flour? Keep reading!
What Is The Purpose Of Flour Milling?
Flour milling is done to dehull grain and ground the grain into smaller pieces, which improves the palatability of the flour.
Additionally, flour milling reduces the cooking time of flour to make it easier for people to use since milling flour creates a finer texture.
Moreover, flour milling is done to easily create other food products in the factory, which is why flour is often milled by most manufacturers.
Additionally, flour is often milled because milling flour improves the shelflife of flour since flour can go bad fairly quickly.
However, it is important to note that flour milling can remove some of the nutritional value of the grain, which is why some people prefer to choose non-milled flour
How Is Grain Milled?
Each variety of grain has a different method for milling, so the exact way grain is milled will depend on the type and purpose the grain will serve.
For instance, milling grain can feature grinding, crushing, or flaking the grain to create the ideal product.
Generally, milling processes involve the grain’s outer hull since the hull has tough fibrous material that is hard to chew and cook.
Depending on the grain and needs, the grains would then be soaked, cooked, or toasted to soften and release carbohydrates like starch.
As for flour milling, flour milling often begins by cleaning the grain then tempering the grain with water.
Next, the tempered grain gets ground to remove the bran and cut the grain’s endosperm using different roller mills.
Additionally, the ground grain gets sifted and divided into various sizes between every roller mill cycle.
If there is any ground grain that is still fairly large, the larger grain will be put into a shaking shifter or purifier then more roller mills until the grains reach the desired size to make milled flour.
What Grains Are Milled?
Generally, if a grain says that it is a refined grain, the grain has likely been milled because refined grain refers to grain that has the germ and bran removed.
Typically, many types of grains can be milled, and some types of grain that get milled are oats, rice, corn, rye, and wheat.
What Are Examples Of Milled Flour?
Some common examples of milled flour are white variations of grain, such as white flour. However, other types of flour like whole wheat flour may be milled as well.
What Happens When Wheat Is Milled?
Generally, when wheat gets milled it means that the wheat has been analyzed and prepared to meet the needs of the desired recipe’s results, and the process can involve grinding, blending, and sifting the wheat.
Normally, milled wheat often produces wheat that is easier to consume and bake since the wheat will be easier to chew and have a reduced cooking time.
However, wheat will often lose some of its nutritional value, such as B vitamins, since the process of milling will remove endosperm and hull of grain where some of the nutritional value is located.
What Is Bread Flour Milled From?
Typically, bread flour is milled from a mixture of hard winter wheat and hard spring wheat, but the exact mixture will depend on the manufacturer and needs for the bread.
Can I Mill My Own Bread Flour?
It is possible to mill your own bread flour at home, but you will need to have wheat berries or whole wheat grain kernels and a grain milling machine.
However, you may use other kitchen appliances to mill your flour, such as a coffee grinder or a food processor, but you may not get the same results as a grain milling machine.
If you have a coffee grinder, you can fill the coffee grinder’s tub halfway full of whole wheat grain kernels and grind for 30 seconds.
Check the flour to see if it has reached your desired consistency and if not, grind the flour for another 30 seconds repeatedly until your flour is finely ground.
Is Fresh Milled Flour Better?
Freshly milled flour can be better than store-bought milled flour since freshly milled flour could contain more nutrients than store-bought flour since the flour will go through fewer processes.
Moreover, freshly milled flour may taste better and be cheaper than store-bought milled flour, but milling your own flour can take some effort.
What Can I Use Instead Of Milled Flour?
Typically, you can use all-purpose flour instead of milled flour because all-purpose flour often has the germ and bran removed like milled flour.
If you know that you are replacing milled hard wheat flour with all-purpose flour, you can use an equal ratio of all-purpose flour for the milled flour.
Check out our other articles to discover what malted flour is, what nut flour is, and what bleached flour is.
Conclusion
Milled flour is any type of flour that has been milled, and the exact method of milling flour can differ based on the grain and needs, but the grain will often be flaked, crushed, or ground to reach the desired results.
Normally, flour is milled to make it easier to eat and bake along with extending the shelflife of the flour, and some people may opt to mill flour at home.