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While milling fresh flour at home has been around for quite a long time, it’s become more popular in recent years. I was introduced to fresh ground flour close to 15 years ago, but as a single mom with three kids, the start-up costs were prohibitive. I have always cooked from scratch, knowing that homemade food is more nutritious. However as a young cook, I never considered the quality of the ingredients I used in my home cooking. As we become more aware of the quality of our food, including artificial ingredients, we choose to do better. While there are pros and cons to using fresh ground grains, is fresh ground flour cheaper?
Fresh Ground Flour Versus Store Bought Flour
The number one reason to use fresh ground flour is nutrition. When using whole grain flour, you reap the full benefits of the nutrients in the entire wheat berry.
Parts of a Wheat Berry
Whole grains have three parts: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm.
- The bran is the hard outer shell of the wheat berry. It contains vitamin B and other minerals. It is rich in fiber.
- The germ is the part of the seed where a new plant would develop if planted. It contains vitamin E and essential fatty acids.
- The endosperm is full of carbohydrates and proteins that fuel a growing plant.
The bran of the wheat berry is the perfect means to preserve the wheat. Once the bran is broken, or ground, the whole wheat flour begins to degrade through oxidization. Fresh ground flour is most nutrient-dense when it’s used in its entirety. Some home cooks prefer to sift the bran out of their fresh ground flour. This creates flour with a texture more like store-bought flour. However, sifting removes the vital nutrients that the bran provides, and technically speaking means that it is no longer whole-grain flour.
Shockingly 40 to 45% of the wheat’s nutrients are lost within the first 24 hours after grinding. If used right away, those nutrients are locked in through the cooking process. Three days after milling, over 95% of the essential nutrients are lost through oxidation. This means that pre-ground flour, even if it’s whole wheat flour has already lost vital nutrients before you even purchase it.
Commercial Flour
Conventional store-bought flour is highly processed. The bran and germ are removed to give it a longer shelf life and produce a softer product. Unfortunately this strips away most of the health benefits of wheat. The producers of commercial all-purpose flour recognize the nutrients lost and compensate by producing enriched flour. Synthetic nutrients are added back to enriched flour to compensate for the nutrients stripped from the wheat. The bran and germ are sold separately as grain products. I wrote an entire post about flour that explains some of the common terms regarding types of commercial flour.
Cost Breakdown: Is Fresh Ground Flour Cheaper?
Now let’s talk about cost. Is it more cost-efficient to grind your own flour? When measured by weight, a cup of wheat berries is equal to a cup of flour. However most cooks don’t measure by weight, we measure by volume. In the case of volume, a cup of wheat berries is not equal to a cup of flour. The exact conversion from wheat berries to flour varies widely. Some sources state that 1 cup of wheat berries makes as little as 1 1/3 cups of flour. While others state that 1 cup of wheat berries makes as much as 1 3/4 cups of flour.
For myself, I need easy figuring. I stick to the general rule that 1 cup of wheat berries equals 1 1/2 cups of flour. I grind just a bit more than I need to make sure I have enough. Any extra, I store it in the refrigerator, or freezer which slows the oxidation process. The extra is always useful for making a quick roux, or feeding my sourdough starter!
Cost Break Down for 5 Pounds of Fresh Ground Flour
While wheat berries can be purchased from a variety of sources, I purchase my organic wheat berries from Azure Standard. Currently, at the time of the publishing of this post, 50 pounds of organic hard white wheat berries is $64.52. Which is $1.28 a pound for wheat berries.
To make a realistic comparison, we need to compare apples to apples. Let’s break this down per 5 pounds of flour.
- Five pounds of commercial flour contains approximately 18 cups of flour. Based on my 1 1/2 cups of flour per cup of wheat berries, we need 12 cups of wheat berries per 5 pounds of flour. (18 divided by 1.5=12)
- There are 2 1/2 cups of wheat berries in every pound so 12 cups of wheat berries is 4.8 pounds of wheat berries. (12 divided by 2.5= 4.8) Are you still with me?
- This gives me a cost per 5 pounds of fresh ground, whole wheat flour to be $6.14. (4.8 x $1.28=$6.14)
The Cost of Whole Wheat Flour
Remember, we need to compare apples to apples. A 5-pound bag of organic whole white wheat flour from Azure Standard is $9.95 a bag ($1.99 a pound). For giggles, I searched organic whole wheat flour prices on Amazon and got a range of prices, King Arthur Organic Whole Wheat Flour is $19.81 for a 5-pound bag! Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Flour is $16.98 for a 5-pound bag.
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Places like Azure Standard sell ground flour in bulk. A 50-pound bag of organic whole white wheat flour is $75.95 ($1.52 per pound). However, this goes back to the nutrients lost, even if you properly store the flour in the freezer, the natural vitamins were lost 72 hours after it was ground long before you purchased it.
One of the best perks of grinding your own flour is the variety of grains you can use. Experiment with ancient grains or mixing grains to produce different flavor profiles. Consider grinding gluten-free flours, the sky is the limit!
Additional Cost of Using Fresh Ground Flour
While we can see that in an apples-to-apples comparison, the savings per bag of flour is certainly significant, grinding your flour at home has additional expenses. The biggest expense is a home flour mill. There are many options on the market for an electric mill. I love my Nutrimill Harvest Grain Mill! My grain mill is a stone burr mill. Not only can I grind fine flour, but I also have the option to change the settings to grind more coarse grains for things like cream of wheat, grits, or cornmeal. Some may even prefer using a manual grain mill in case of power outages.
Depending on your family size, a large family may need an impact mill that can grind larger amounts of fine flour much faster. However, impact mills are more limited if you want to grind more than just flour. They are not as adjustable as a burr mill. Read more about grain mills in this post.
Grain mills range in price from $199 to $ depending on the features that are most important to you. While a grain mill is a significant investment, it is a one-time purchase. Some people use a coffee grinder, food processor, or high-powered blender with varied success. While all of these options will grind the wheat berries to coarse flour, the extra cost of a wheat mill can make a huge difference when it comes to making fine homemade flour. This could have a significant impact on your success rate and satisfaction level of your baked goods.
Shipping Cost
One of the biggest considerations regarding wheat berries is shipping costs. When I first began to mill my own flour, I ordered my grains from Amazon to take advantage of free shipping options. Buying clubs can be a good option if you can find the wheat berries. Bread Becker Coop was a more cost-efficient shipping option for me when I lived close to a drop location. When we moved I made the switch to Azure Standard. While both have a similar selection of grains, the more frequent drops made it easier to budget my grains rather than having to place a large order all at once. Both Bread Becker Coop and Azure Standard have very low shipping costs which makes them the best option for me.
Time and Energy Necessary for Fresh Ground Flour
The other consideration is your own time and energy costs. Grinding flour in itself just takes a few minutes and uses a minimal amount of power. However, I found the learning curve regarding using fresh ground flour to be more significant than I anticipated. As an experienced baker for almost four decades, it’s like learning an entire new skill! Baking with fresh flour can’t be compared to baking with white flour. They aren’t the same product and it can be challenging to get used to the differences. My husband has eaten his share of heavy, dense breads and flat cookies! Still, once you get the hang of it, the taste and smell of homemade bread can’t be beat!
Consider Your Why
If you are considering a grain mill, think about the main reasons you want to mill your own flour. My main reason for getting a grain mill was from a preparedness standpoint. Whole wheat berries are the best option for long-term storage. was the first time in my life I had ever seen empty grocery store shelves. Should that ever happen again, I wanted to be ready!
I was a single mom for 13 years raising three kids. I completely understand living on a tight budget and not having options. As a young mom, I had friends who ground flour. But considering I could buy flour with the traditional blue and gold label for a much cheaper price, I just couldn’t justify the added expense. Even today, that same blue and gold-labeled flour is about $3.99 for a 5-pound bag of flour. Sometimes, getting food on the table means I do the best I can with what I have and I honestly didn’t realize the significant difference in the quality of the foods I baked. I thought that fresh bread made with any kind of flour was good enough, which sadly is not the case at all.
When you Know Better, Do Better!
The good news is you know better! While it’s a good idea to buy new when you can, a good option to consider is a refurbished mill. You may even get lucky and find a used one as a much cheaper option. Possibly it’s a goal you have to aim for. Choose the best grain mill you can afford and save your hard-earned dough for it (pun intended). Fresh ground flour is the cheapest option when compared to quality whole wheat flour and is significantly better for you. The equipment and time invested is worth the sacrifice for you and your family.
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