Most of us have never seen a stone grain mill except maybe touring a historic plantation so our thoughts on what this is may be wildly antiquated. First off, you will not need a mule or a water wheel to turn the stones on your mill!
But seriously. Around 2005 I learned about freshly milled whole grains and I was able to go to Bread Beckers in Georgia (where I lived at the time) and see the WonderMill in action. A rather utilitarian machine, very loud and taking up a fair bit of counter space, however, it is effective at milling flour. So my journey began in home milling and making fresh bread.
Today, in the United States, we now have access to many stone mills.
Using a stone grain mill
So how long will you be waiting for your grains to become flour? The Mockmill 200 (Basic, Lino and Professional) mills about 200 grams of soft wheat per minute (Frederick). The Mockmill 100 line (Basic and Lino) mills about 100 grams of soft wheat per minute. Komo Mio/Classic mills at about 227-255g per minute. Having both, the difference is minimal from a time standpoint.
Now you may wonder how many grams are in 1 C of flour? It depends on the grain. Here is a sheet to help you gauge what that looks like for milling and baking a variety of whole grains.
Cleaning your mill - stones are self-cleaning/sharpening
These mills are really quite rugged and ready for hard work. First, your grain mill's stones are designed to clean themselves if you set your stones to a coarse setting from time to time. If you are regularly using your mill to fill your pantry, after each use give the mill a few firm taps on the side to dislodge remaining grains. Using a brush, you can clean out the chute.
The Mockmill line of stone mills can also mill many spices (Can I Mill It?) and the Komo does many spices too, some of which will flavor your flours, which can be good but not always. We have eaten some Ranger cookies with a hint of cumin!
Running about 1/2 C of white rice through your mill on coarse on down to fine, total of 6 passes, will do a very good job cleaning your millstones. Here are all the ins and outs of set up and cleaning for Mockmills and here is the best I can find on the Komo mills - this information comes with your mill and is easier to navigate.
Many people recommend a pastry brush but this Zibra Trim brush is nice and dense and ready for the job!
The Simply Filled Pantry offers the entire line of Mockmill grain mills at special pricing for our community. Most people find it helpful to see the mill in person - just reach out to set up a free demo. Also feel free to reach out for a few additional steps to address troubleshooting any cleaning issues.