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Summary (final) of mills for grinding own GF flours - I received a LOT 
of e-mails about various grain grinders/mills. Thanks so much! 
Particular thanks to Mr. Ard for the gift of a Whisper Mill which I 
received yesterday!!!  Below is a summary of the input I received:

There are extensive posts about the best grain mills at the Delphi 
Celiac forum.  Here are the threads:

 
http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=celiac&msg=69398.1

 
http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=celiac&msg=69960.1

http://forums.delphiforums.com/celiac/messages?msg=66800.1

 
http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=celiac&msg=65897.1

The threads are from Celiac Dephi Forum, not from the Listserv, but I 
remembered there had been a few informative discussions about the mills, 
so, it's why I gave them to you.

I bought a Vitamix machine recently to do this.  They showed me a demo 
of it grinding rice into flour - it seemed pretty fine.  I haven't tried 
it myself to see if it is as fine as Bob's red mill yet.  It is at least 
as fine as Arrowhead Mills rice flour. (Costco had the best deal that I 
found on Vitamix.)

You need a special dry container on the Vitamix machine to do this.

I love my Vita Mix. Used it in fact last night to grind up buckwheat, 
millet and almonds for flour for making bread! I suggest checking on 
line. I got mine years ago as a gift. I use it often for grains and 
smoothies.

I  use my vita-mixer when I need to grind. But you can find most all 
flour of any kind at Indian and Oriental stores.

I purchased a VitaMix over 10 years ago and didn't really purchase it 
for the purpose of grinding grains, but that is one of the major uses 
for it now. I love it. I know they're expensive but they are a VERY 
versatile machine.

I use the Vita Prep vita mix...a professional grade (US made and 
manufactured) "blender" -- it's the best investment I ever made.  It has 
a choice of three "bowl" sizes...and it has a wonderful motor...it is 
the Mercedes (so to speak) of osterizers... It makes flours like an 
absolute dream.  It's worth every penny I spent on it...it is 
indestructible.

I got it (Vitamix) at a restaurant supply house, but you can order it 
directly from the manufacturer (in Cleveland, if I recall..) go to their 
webpage. I use it constantly to make smoothies and all kinds of other 
things...Not sure what it would cost now...but I have used it so 
constantly for so many years, that the initial expenditure has been well 
worth it, to me.  It is simply an incredible piece of equipment.

I have a K-Tec Kitchen Mill. It has ground up many a rice kernel these 
last 4 years, as I bake a lot for other people.  I grind my brown and 
white rice - haven't tried corn, as we are sensitive to it.  It was 
about $150 when I got it back in '05, but they're a little more now I 
think, unless you catch it on a great sale. I would NOT get a used one, 
as the cross-contamination issue would cause a lot of problems if 
someone ground something else before you.

When we first started our business and were sending out samples we used 
the Family Grain Mill on this page - you can flake / make rolled grains 
or make flour.  http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/index.aspx#Nutrimill It 
is very durable.

A caveat - I once tried to grind garbanzo beans in a Cuisinart and they 
broke through the plastic bowl.  I would like to find a way to grind 
pinto and navy beans, since these are now hard to find with the closure 
of Heartland Farms.  I look forward to reading the responses you receive 
and summarize.

I use a Whisper Mill.  I think they're now called Wonder Mill.  I have 
been very pleased and not had any problems.  I also have heard very good 
things about the NutriMill.  You need to buy a grinder that is made to 
grind wheat, and then use it only for gluten free items.  I grind both 
brown rice and small white bean flour in mine with great results - I use 
the finest setting I can to let the rice/beans go through, and the flour 
is great.  They will cost you a bit - they are available in my area for 
around $200-$300, but you shouldn't ever have to buy another if you 
treat it right.

The heavy duty WonderMill wheat grinder, (like the WhisperMill and Magic 
Mill III Plus wheat grinders, both no longer available), has the 
capacity to grind over 100 pounds of flour in an hour. (Try that with 
your old stone grain mill) You don't have to worry about overloading the 
WonderMill grinder because of it's large 1250 watt motor. The most 
powerful heavy duty micronizing impact wheat grinder, flour mill 
available. The WonderMill, like the Whisper Mill and Magic Mill, is not 
only a wheat, barley and rice grinder, but will also grind legumes and 
beans as large as garbanzos. Flour is deposited directly into the 
WonderMill grinder canister that can be moved to the refrigerator, a 
feature unique to the WonderMill. Additional canisters are available for 
purchase.  Cost $239.

The Nutrimill Wheat Grinder is the premium of the electric grain mills. 
Priced at $269.99, this flour mill can grind very fine flour and also 
has a little more adjustability than the Wondermill Grain Mill ($239) or 
the Blendtec Wheat Grinder on the coarse side, as the Nutrimill can 
grind as coarse as a corn meal consistency. Quieter than the Blendtec 
Flour Grinder and about the same as the Wonder Mill on noise level. This 
flour mill will grind pretty much all non-oily grains, and has no manual 
option, though the manufacturer has considered making one. It is just 
not available yet. This Grain mill has a 22 cup capacity, stainless 
steel grinding blades and a self cleaning milling chamber. An excellent 
selection it you like all the features of the Wonder Mill, but are 
willing to pay a little more to get a little more versatility on the 
coarse grinding side of the spectrum.

I have an actual grain mill from Bosch.  It was much more expensive than 
a coffee grinder, but it does grind the rice or other grains to a
fine flour suitable for baking.


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