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

As I understand it, southern grits are made from dent corn--it has a soft endosperm and makes great grits. On the other hand, polenta and other types of corn meal are made from flint corn. Here's a posting from another site which is said to have originated at Anson Mills website, although I couldn't find it there just now: "Dent or Flint? Corn is classified by the type of starch (endosperm) in its kernels. The premier mill corn of the American South, known as dent (the name derives from the dent that forms on the top of each kernel as it dries), has a relatively soft, starchy center. Dent corn makes easy work of milling--it also makes phenomenal grits. "Flint corn, by contrast, has a hard, starchy endosperm and produces grittier, more granular meal that offers an outstanding mouthfeel when cooked. One type of American flint--indigenous to the Northeast--was, and remains, the traditional choice for Johnny cakes. In Italy, flint has been the preeminent polenta corn since the 16th century when Spanish and Portuguese treasure hunters brought Caribbean flint to the Piedmont on ships." The first corn was taken to Italy in the hold of ships to hide gold and other treasures from pirates on the high seas. However there were famines and the people used it for food. Finding that they liked it, they began to cultivate it in Italy and another New World crop became part of Italian cuisine." Be that as it may, both polenta and grits are cooked corn meal mush made from slightly different forms of corn. As far as the flavor of grits, it depends on both the freshness of the grits and the particle size. Good grits are larger and take a long time to cook; the smaller the particle size, the more quickly they cook and the more likely they are to taste like library paste. (Instant grits are an abomination.) But the most important part of the preparation has been mentioned by the late Lewis Grizzard, and that is to serve them 'with enough butter to choke a goat'.

Since I am a biology teacher, this is my favorite quote from the article, " (During our recent 90-minute phone interview, peppered with talk of polycrops, cryogenics and other scientific jargon, this reporter quickly developed a newfound appreciation for his high-school biology curriculum.)" I wish more reporters would have paid attention in biology class, I cannot believer the drivel I read in a lot of articles these days.

I need breakfast. Could skip lunch and even dinner but breakfast sets me up for the day. Monday through Friday: A serving of hot whole grain cereal (Bob's Red Mill 7-Grain is my fav) In winter I add a chopped apple while it's cooking. In summer, it's seasonal berries instead. I top w/ a tiny drizzle of real maple syrup, some steamed skim milk and a smattering of toasted walnuts. On the side I have a small fruit cup of chopped citrus w/ a dollop of yogurt. One cup of coffee with frothed skim milk. My DH loves a hearty breakfast - I don't like heavy or meaty food in the morning. On Saturdays he gets his fix at a breakfast place near our home which has a "Cheers-like" atmosphere. He always gets poached eggs on their homemade hash smothered in hollandaise with buttered rye toast on the side. I enjoy socializing with the workers & regulars, but I can't start the day with a meal like that! Sunday morning - every Sunday morning - it's crepes made by DH. I make crispy bacon to serve on the side and prepare seasonal fruit to put on top or have in a fruit cup with yogurt. The crepes are drizzled and rolled with real maple syrup. I serve marmalade or jams for those who like that as a topping. In summer when I pick berries I make fresh blueberry or raspberry syrups. Lattes for adults & the kids get chocolate milk on Sunday mornings;) The Sunday morning crepe breakfast/brunch is a "thing" with our family. We've done it since our kids were little and now our grandkids look forward to it, too. My weekday staples -