Lalitha- Sorry, I don't have any experience with, or information about, the mills you are inquiring about. One rule-of-thumb I can share: stones grind finer than steel burrs, and an impact mill the finest flour of all, and that's about all I can help you with; other than a great respect for German workmanship and they are indeed very handsome mills. The price would be my biggest deterrent. Even though I have a couple stone mills, I also keep extra stones for the mills because they can chip, flake and break (check for stones and grit in your grains/seeds/beans before adding them to the mill hopper), or glaze over from too much moisture in your grains/seeds/beans. The stones are also made from a variety of things, including man-made "stone". When using a stone mill, you may need to mill the grain on a coarse setting, and then run the flour through again on a finer setting in order to get the fine flour (especially necessary for making cakes and a fine-crumb for yeast/naturally-leavened breads. How an impact mill works: "Impact grinders use rows of 'blades' placed in circular rows on metal wheels. One wheel turns and the other wheel is stationary, like the stone grinder. But this is where the similarity ends. The two wheels are aligned so that the rows of blades intermesh, running extremely close, yet never touching the blades on the opposite wheel. The rotating wheel turns at several thousand RPM. As grain is fed into the center of the fixed wheel, the interaction between the two wheels `impacts' the grain and pulverizes it [Grainlady note: the grain "explodes" rather than being crushed] into fine flour as the grain works its way to the outside of the wheels." For REAL sandwich bread--- I would suggest purchasing a Pullman (Pain de Mie) Pan (a square pan with a lid). This pan will allow you to make that crustless, close-grained bread that will help you transition from commercial sandwich bread to homemade. A close-grain crumb is what you want in order to be able to cut thin slices, hold moist spreads (without dripping through a hole), and still be able to hold together to eat out-of-hand. That's the more-or-less "technical" characteristics for sandwich bread. A more open crumb is best used for toast. All those lovely places to hold melted butter and jam. I have a 1-pound Pullman Pan (perfect for hubby and me), and a 2-pound for when the house is full of family visiting. Another tip for making a fine-crumb bread is to add the fat early during mixing. The fat coats the gluten, similar to making short-crust pastry. If you want a more open crumb (as well as more loft), add the fat late in mixing, after the gluten has developed. For making 100% whole wheat bread (or multi-grain where one of the grains is wheat), I suggest using hard (spring or winter) white wheat over red wheat. White wheat flour has a mild flavor and lighter color and is less acidic-tasting than the flavor associated with "whole wheat bread" made with red wheat varieties. White wheat has the same plant traits and nutrition as red wheat varieties, it's just missing the genes for the bran color. There are three genes that make up the bran color. Early varieties of red wheat (such as Turkey Red) had all three genes and are very dark in color (bran, flour and finished product) and a strong "whole wheat" taste. Most of today's varieties of red wheat have one or two of those genes, while white wheat has none. I use and store both red and white varieties of wheat. Step back a generation or two and use a sponge method over the quicker straight (or direct) dough method. You'll find you get a finer texture. The "wait" gives the bran in the wholegrain flour time to soften (the hard sharp shreds of bran can actually cut the gluten strands), and you'll get a high-rising loaf of bread. According to "CookWise": "Researchers suggest that an ideal standing period is 2-1/2 hours." I typically use an overnight sponge with 100% wholegrain flour works well to lighten the bread. If I'm in a hurry, I use a 2-1/2 hour sponge with good results. I also add 1/4 t. ascorbic acid per loaf to counteract the negative effects from Glutathione (found in wheat germ) on gluten-development. This will help prevent baking those squatty loaves of 100% whole wheat bread. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: King Arthur Flour - Pullman Pan

Ok, I think I can do the nuts. I bought 2 bags of frozen raspberries today. I'll probably do both bags. I don't have anything but a tea strainer, unless a wire mesh collander will work. Looks like a screen on a wire basket frame. Will that do? I'm making Glenda's Alaskan Cole slaw with the almonds. The raspberry sauce is for cream cheese pound cake. First time I went to Alaska I went on a fish cookout and this slaw was served and I absolutely loved it. So I named it AK cole slaw. Alaska cole slaw 5 cups shredded cabbage **I buy the preshredded plain, no carrots, etc at WalMart 1/2 cups almond slivers, toasted 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries 1/2 cup celery, diced**don't use 1/4 cup chopped green onions, white and green parts 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper **don't use This is the creamy dressing I used and it works great: mix 1/2 c mayo with 2 Tbl cider vinegar **I used white wine vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, salt and pepper to taste Pour over coleslaw right before serving and toss JUST TO COAT Combine cabbage, almonds, cranberries, celery, green onions, and green pepper in a large plastic bowl with a snap-on lid. Combine all dressing ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Pour dressing over slaw just before serving. Stir well This recipe is courtesy of Glenda who posts on the Kitchen Table Forum, and sometimes here. The Cream Cheese Pound Cake is the Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake from the March 2011 issue of Southern Living Magazine. I make it plain, as DS is allergic to strawberries, and we can do whatever we want with it plain. I also don't use the almond extract in it, just extra vanilla, cause DD borrowed my almond extract for Christmas cookies and still has it. Mom's pineapple upside down cake just came out of the oven. It will be a miricle if it turned out right! Tami

Sorry, I haven't, but 'Toasted Almond' caught my eye.....is it a pumpkin-ish color? I saw a beautiful room on "Sell This House" (hgtv) which was painted this color, but they didn't say the paint brand. I've been wondering about it myself. Hope you get some responses (with pics!). Tracey

Hi Lucy -- This sounds totally delicious, but I have one question. It sounds like the second layer of cranberry sauce goes on top of the last batch of batter. Since this is baked in a tube pan / bundt cake pan, when the cake is flipped over, this would leave a layer of cranberry sauce at the bottom, which I would think would get kind of messy when plating / serving? Does that last layer of cranberry sauce kind of sink into the cake when baking? Emily