I'm not mo sgal, but found this online:

"The GrainMaster WhisperMill has been designed to mill the following items: Wheat hard and soft, Oats, Rice, Triticale, Dried Pinto Beans, Dried Green Beans, Popcorn, Split Peas, Buckwheat, Rye, Millet, Sorgum (Vilo), Dried Mung Beans, Soybeans, Dried Field Corn and Chick Peas

The Whisper mill WILL NOT mill the following and will VOID THE WARRANTY: Sugar, Sunflower Seeds, Nuts (all types), Dried Fruits (including dates and raisins), Sesame Seeds, Coffee Beans, Peanuts.

Hi laxsupermom - - I wish I was one who ground a lot of beans and could be more helpful to you! But alas, it is something I have rarely done. You have a wealth more of experience than me in this area.

I made my own rice cereal and baby food when my kids were babies. Occasionaly I mixed in dried lentils and kidney beans with brown rice which I ground to make their cereal. And now that they are grown up I haven't experimented much with beans.

I purchased an Ezekial bread mix packet and used that to make brownies a few weeks ago and it was a huge hit with my unsuspecting children! I know there are many people who grind for more than health benefits. They grind for allergies as well. I know a search on gluten-free will give you more ideas than I can. I wish I could be more help to you!

I've included a link to the Breadbackers website (where I buy my grain) and they talk about a bookbook that might help you.

Good luck! I hope you find some tasty options for your son. I can't recommend getting your own mill enough. It has been crucial to getting rid of allergies in my family. My kids are so healthy we only go to the doctor for yearly well visits and it makes them sad to only see a doctor they love once a year! :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Gluten-free cookbook

Thanks rhome. Chick peas and garbanzo beans are the same thing and I'd have to think that fava beans can't be that different than pinto beans. I'm going to have to look into getting a WhisperMill as soon as DH lifts the ban on crazed kitchen spending.

Just so you know, laxsupermom, that the company that made Whispermills has disappeared, and with it took any benefit we had from their 'lifetime guarantee!' Anyway, the new one to look at is the Nutrimill. It's what I'll get when my Whispermill dies.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nutrimill info

And to mo sgal...I guess you don't need to be sending me your Ezekiel recipe since I see now that you bought the premade mix! There are just so many different Ezekiel recipes out there, I was hoping for one that was 'tried and true.' :-)

mo sgal, thanks for the link. I'm always looking for new recipes. It's interesting to read about your families allergies. My 3yr old's food allergies disappeared after we went gluten-free. I don't know if it was a coincidence and he grew out of them or if there's a connection because we're all eating better. We went gluten-free because of my 11yr old's ADD. I can't wait to get a mill because it costs me $10 in flour every time I make a batch of brownies.

rhome, thanks for the nutrimill info

I second the recommendation to get a Nutrimill. I love mine. It can mill 5 pounds of flour in 5 minutes.

However, you can not mill flax seeds in it. Don't ask me how I know this. :-)

The replacement for the WhisperMill is the WonderMill. I researched long and hard between the WonderMill and the Nutrimill and decided on the WM.

The height of the NM was not going to work for me and it is significantly louder. My good friend has one and I do envy it's larger hopper and canister, but it can be a bit messy during milling at times. I don't ever mill huge amounts - so the WM works perfect. And when I say "quieter than the NM" I mean it's equivalent to only a small plane taking off as opposed to a massive jet airplane!! :-)

Our allergies were seasonal and switching to freshly milled whole grains got us all off allergy medications! It's awesome!

And I second - don't mill flax seeds! Ma-bookreader is right! I have a dedicated coffee grinder just for that! But I have milled the Ezekial mix with beans and I do lots of corn for cornbread! I'm in the South - we LOVE our cornbread! :-)

Laxsupermom - - I hope you're able to get your mill soon! $10 for flour for brownies just breaks my heart for you!! But I applaud your hard work at finding what worked for your family and taking the time to cook in a fashion that blesses you all!!

Interesting...I guess when I last looked at my options, the "Wondermill" wasn't around yet, because it was just when the "Whispermill" people disappeared. It's nice to know there may be a way to get mine fixed if it has a problem, rather than buy new.

Now, did anyone take over making the Dimension 2000 mixer the same company sold? I'm 'stuck' with one of those with its 'lifetime warranty', but no one to honor it, too. That one needed repairs every once in awhile while the co. was still in business, so I'm sure it'll die on me sometime...and the lid is broken.

rhome410

When your Dimension 2000 mixer dies (and I hope it doesn't), I would recommend the Magic Mill DLX. It's such a workhorse. I use it every week for bread baking.

Do you use your MM DLX for cookies, cakes, etc? I LOVE my 24 yr old KitchenAid, but it's too small (4.5 qt) to do the large bread batches, and even multiple batches of cookies, like we would like. My dream is to have one, tilt-head mixer -with a beater that does the 'planetary motion' like KA- that will do everything. But I'm less and less sure that's possible. I can't spend $1000 for a commercial 10 or 12 qt, but I'm not sure a 7 qt Viking or Cuisinart will do the job I need...and I don't want to spend, especially, the Viking price and be disappointed!

The blender on my Dimension 2000 threw part of its blade, and the lid for the mixer part is cracked, and will no longer lock on, so I have to stand and push it down to keep it in place during kneading. The loss of the blender isn't big, but the loss of being able to make 4 or 5 loaves of bread at a time, would be!

rhome, have you looked at the 6qt Kitchenaid pro mixer? You can find it for as low as $300ish on sale sometimes.

Thanks everyone for all the info. I love GW! I'm going to convince DH we need a mill. (I'm not spending money, I'm saving money)

I make cookies in the MM DLX. There is a different plastic bowl that is used along with a whisk attachment.

I use the metal bowl for bread baking and it can hold 5 lbs of flour to make 5 loaves of bread.

My only regret with it is that it does not have more attachments so that I could use it for even more things. It does come with attachments that you can buy in addition, but they are not ones that I'd really use.

It is expensive, but it really is a well made machine.

I really think you will save money by getting a mill, laxsupermom. And you'll have fresher flour! I thought, at one time, that the KA Pro 6 mixer would be the answer to my wishes, but I have done a lot of research on it and there are WAY to many complaints about it overheating and plastic parts melting or breaking. I just can't take the chance on that one.

Thanks for the additional info on your DLX, ma-bookreader.

THERE'S our grain grinding thread! I couldn't find it anywhere! :-)

Laxsupermom, you WILL save money getting a mill. In only 20 cooking sessions of $10 each you will have paid for a WonderMill!

As far as big mixers go: I threw down a huge chunck of change at one time and bought my mill and the Electrolux DLX Kitchen Assistant Mixer at the same time. This mixer holds 15 pounds of dough and I can make six loaves of bread at one time. Although I usually make four loaves, cinnamon rolls and lots of dinner rolls for the week instead.

It's pricey, but it's sturdy, big and a real workhorse. We have friends who have had one for almost 20 years and it's still cranking out bread!

Here is a link that might be useful: Electrulux DLX mixer at Mountain Tops Milling

I aws wondering where this thread went to also!

I know very few people who use such a large mixer and/or mill their own flour. It is nice to chat with a few like-minded folks. Today I ordered 200 lbs of Prairie Gold grain and 50 lbs of soft wheat. The price hike is a kicker!

Yikes! 200 pounds? I've only ever ordered 50 pounds at a time. I guess I'm a lightweight! I really do need to get back in the habit of grinding and baking on a more regular basis now that I have a house again, and a better kitchen than ever. DH supports getting a new mixer, too...YAY. If I don't have to stand there and hold down the lid, I might use it more.

Any particular kind of soft wheat that you all recommend?

And if you're all still with me...What waffle maker do you like? We have 2 small ones we have to use at once, and then it's still a lot of waiting for us all to get waffles. I was excited to see that Cuisinart has a 6 slice one, but there are very mixed reviews of it. We like traditional waffles, as opposed to Belgian, and it seems that most bakers on the market right now are for Belgian.

Other question: Coffee maker? We don't drink it often, but when we do we want it to be good...And we have a dear friend who loves a wonderful, rich, strong cup of coffee, and it's important for me to offer him that. (He installed all our carpet and vinyl for free, as well as being a great friend otherwise) I saw that someone on the Appliance forum highly recommended Technivorm, but not sure I'm ready to spend $250 for a coffee maker. On the other hand, considering our Black and Decker has lasted us 24 years, it's not a purchase we'll be expecting to make again soon, and I want it to be a good decision.

Still waffling on mixers. I know the two of you above love your Electroluxes, but in the research I've done over the past few years getting ready for this moment, it just never seemed like the best choice for me. I am thinking the Bosch is probably the way I need to go, but am also tempted by the 7 qt Viking, which Acountryfarm uses and loves for her family of 13. I can see that replacing my KA on the place of honor on my baking counter...The Bosch would live in a drawer. Not only is the Viking more attractive (I know that shouldn't be a big deal), but it's the type of mixer we like to use for baking other than bread, so it'd be nice to have one mixer rather than 2. Hmm.

Anyway, since we are like-minded on some things, I thought maybe you'd have some thoughts on these things that would help, too. Thanks.

I really do have a life and do other things. But I was looking more into baking today.

Here are the questions I've come up with:

-Can you sub in any other grains for some of the wheat flour in bread recipes, as desired? I know you can with spelt, oat, and rye flour, but there are others I'm not so familiar with. I add in cracked grains, nuts, and seeds all the time, but haven't tried some of the other flours.

-Favorite baking and/or bread cookbooks? I have one, tried and true, whole grain bread recipe that I vary by what I add in, but I have never been able to make artisan or French bread right, although I make a decent pizza crust. Today I watched the video on making artisan breads in 5 minutes a day, but, of course, would want to do it with whole grain, rather than all-purpose flour...So was wondering about any good cookbooks with instructions I can understand and accomplish while being interrupted every few minutes with kids' issues and questions...In other words, easy and with pictures! ;-)

Tried to mill chick peas/garbanzos in the WhisperMill today and no luck. They were too big?

Hey Rhome,

I've never milled chick peas before! Bless your heart! Like I've said above - I don't do many beans, so these beans being large are the first time I thought about something not fitting!

I buy all my grain from the Breadbeckers who are located near Atlanta. They are a Christian homeschooling family whose business is located near Atlanta. They come each summer to our resource fair and I buy all the grain and other supplies I need for the year at one time. I drove to one of their free demonstration classes in Atlanta once to learn more about making better bread, making tortillas and pasta.

They demonstrate using the Electrolux and Zojiroshi bread maker (which I also have and LOVE!) Next year at the fair I'm going to get the automatic pasta maker and begin making lots of our pasta using the freshly milled wheat! They have several waffle makers available, but I don't know if they are standard or belgium makers. I bought 250 pounds of wheat and all the gluten, lecithin and sea salt I needed for the year to make bread.

So, 2008 I'm getting settled back into baking in my new kitchen, 2009 is learning pasta and 2010 I'll get into tortillas! (Baby steps!!) :-)

My favorite cookbooks? I love the Breadbeckers cookbook - I use their basic dough recipe and it's awesome. I also love a cookbook called "Wildflour" by Denise M. Fidler. She uses the Bosch machine you're considering.

I'm going to go to YouTube and see if there are any videos on using the Electrolux vs. Bosch. I'll let you know if I find anything.

I tried milling the beans, because I'd found a thread on the cooking forum about using milled beans as 'instant' refried beans or dip. Thought grinding the chickpeas would allow us to make quick hummus. I was able to grind some pinto and black beans so we could try the quick refried beans...but we haven't done it yet.

On the site where I was looking at mixers, etc., I saw a tortilla press and wondered how useful one might be. We use tortillas a lot, but they're the big, white ones from Costco, so I'd like to try whole grain ones instead. Started to wonder if my dd's krumkake press would work just as well! I obviously have more to investigate regarding tortilla making. :-)

I think what has become my favorite, basic bread recipe is a combination of one from a booklet that came with my mixer and one from Denise Fidler's site.

I'm not sure I'll ever get into pasta making. To make enough for this crowd, it seems it'd take more room than I have to dry it all. Maybe when you get into it, and get all sorts of good hints to make it work just right, you can tell me how 'easy' it is and convince me to try it. ;-)

Laxsupermom - Any luck talking your husband into a mill yet? :-) I hope you've been successful!