Name: Spreading the Feast Gathering
Start: 2025-07-11T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-07-12T23:59:59-05:00
Location: LaGrange, KY

This topic has 25 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 6 months ago by missingtheshire.

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November 17, 2011 at 4:29 pm
missingtheshire
Member
Hi ladies I know some of you grind your own grains for flour, as we bake a lot and I like to keep a supply of flour in the house, can you tell me the benefits and downside of buying buckets of ready made flour and the whole grain which you grind. I am aware obviously of the nutritional benefits of grinding fresh – but am curious as to which direction I should go with this. I do not have a machine to grind grain with and am trying to decide which direction to go in. I am a complete novice in this department, but decided it must be more economical to buy in buckets rather than grocery store bags – and I am seeing trouble in the future with the economy so am trying to do some sensible things – all and any advice gratefully received – can you base your responses on the financial side of things rather than the nutritional – because that is more of my concern and I know about the nutritional but want all sides of the discussion. Thanks ladies – Linda
November 17, 2011 at 5:06 pm
Sara B.
Participant
I’ve been wondering this, too. I wanted to put a list of food storage things on my Christmas list this year, but I don’t know what to put on there! Especially for bulk things like flour, sugar, pasta, and dried beans. Where do you buy a whole bucket of flour???
November 17, 2011 at 5:09 pm
missingtheshire
Member
I have used Auguson Farms, but I am sure there are more – it does not hurt to have some supplies and I have been pleased with the quality of what I bought. I use all the things I buy and store some – have bought beans, sugar, flour, milk, eggs, butter and all have been very tasty….but I know there are experts on here at this, so I wanted some more advice like you…..
November 17, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Tristan
Participant
Wheat stores for up to 25 or 30 years in buckets and is still nutritionally worth eating/using. Flour does not store that long without losing nutrition. White flour stores longer than wheat flour, but is nutritionally bankrupt. Wheat flour spoils in just a few months or less because of the oils.
November 17, 2011 at 5:26 pm
Sara B.
Participant
Interesting info, Tristan. Thanks! I think I will pass that along to my dh and put a wheat grinder on my wish list.
November 17, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Tristan
Participant
🙂 It is amazing to see that leaving food the way God made it when we want to store it can bring such a long-lasting result, isn’t it?
November 17, 2011 at 5:43 pm
sheraz
Participant
Here is another post, Linda. You may have already read this, but it includes places where you can purchase them.
http://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/grinding-flour/page/2
November 17, 2011 at 5:43 pm
missingtheshire
Member
My flour in buckets is used up before it can go off, and I buy wheat flour fresh, I am just now looking for longer lasting storage, so I think the whole grain will be better for that – now whether to get a hand or electric grinder…I am leaning toward a hand as I cannot afford both and would like to make sure I have something if power goes off. What else do you like to store longer term? By the way how is the baby coming along and how are you Tristan, I am praying for you both. Linda
November 17, 2011 at 5:46 pm
art
Participant
We have buckets of whole grain and grind it ourselves. I haven’t done a study about whether it saves money. I mean it saves us money because of our special grain needs–allergies. I think it would save anyone money though.
A few years ago, places like Bob’s Red Mill were not charging actual shipping fees and we got several hundred pounds of grain and they sent it in giant paper bags. We put it into buckets we bought from Emergency Essentials (beprepared.com).
So we were running low and had to look somewhere else because if I ordered from Bob’s (I love their grain by the way), we would have to pay more for shipping than we would for the food, literally.
Emergency Essentials only charges $12.00 for shipping whatever you buy!! So we ordered over 600 pounds of oat groats in 15 buckets they call superpails. They have a mylar bag lining and an oxygen absorbing packet. They are meant for long term storage. We paid $12.00 for shipping and Fed Ex Freight brought it on an 18 wheeler to our house. They had the 15 buckets on a pallet and they left it on the street behind my car and we brought them in ourselves. The driver said that it cost $90 just for him to lower the lift gate and use the little motorized thing to roll it off, and $60 just to drive it there on the truck, and we really paid only $12.
So if you have to have anything shipped, I would go with Emergency Essentials. The grain itself didn’t even cost more and it was already packed for me.
As far as flour, we get our special flour a couple hundred pounds at a time from Purity Foods and they don’t charge as much shipping as other places either. But I don’t think they sell wheat flour.
I bought a grain mill a when we started this a few years ago, and I think I paid about $250 for it. I use it absolutely all the time and it is fabulous. It’s electric. I also have a hand grinder which is a TON of work. If I had to use that only, I don’t know how long we would spend grinding. I think it’s a smooth one though, and others are even more work. But it doesn’t take long to crack grain for cereal which we love. Both the grinders are Wonder Mills.
Hope that’s helpful.
November 17, 2011 at 6:02 pm
missingtheshire
Member
Art, thanks for that info and Sheraz for reminding me of the link. I wish there were somewhere local where I could get some of this stuff, because shipping can get expensive. I seem to live in an area devoid of people who can, or bake from scratch or at least they are keeping themselves to themselves lol. I would love to have some local guidance but we don’t seem to have it. Thanks for the tips, and I guess I will have to look at an electric mill, and save for both. I appreciate your comments:)))
November 17, 2011 at 6:16 pm
chocodog
Participant
I buy flour in 25# bag and use a Gamma- Seal lid. The Gamma Seal lid keeps the flour ect… from going bad, stale, ect… It attaches to a large 5 gallon bucket. You can put it on a 7- gallon bucket also. I bought my bucket at Menard’s.. I bought the Gamma-Seal through Country Life. You can probably get them on-line fairly cheap. I paid about 5.99 for mine. What I did was take a rubber malot and pound it onto the bucket and then screw the lid on. However, after one wouldn’t go on I turned the bucket upside down with the lid on the floor and stood on it. It went on so much easier and I didn’t have to frustrate myself with all the pounding. 🙂 I have one for cane juice crystals, 2 for oats, one for brown rice and one for white rice. You may want to get a 7 gallon bucket for oats. So for less than $10 I have a really good storage bucket that seals in freshness. you just have to unscrew the lid. I buy my stuff in bulk and save myself time. If you do grind your own flour this is a good route because it seems to stay fresh. Good luck and I hope this helps.
November 17, 2011 at 6:55 pm
LillyLou
Participant
I mill my wheat too, mainly for the reasons Tristan stated above; after 24 hours of the outer shell being broken, wheat begins to oxidize and turn rancid due to the oils. I would say one of the best resources for info. on the subject, both nutritionally and economy wise, will come from Sue Becker at Bread Beckers. She’s very versed in both areas, which is why they began this business/ministry in the first place. Just look through her articles, and maybe e-mail her with specific questions. Oh, and as far as buckets go, I second the gamma lids! Just make sure you are using buckets suitable for food.
Hope that helps!
LillyLou
November 17, 2011 at 7:00 pm
missingtheshire
Member
I have some of the buckets with the Gamma Seals, I just need to get some mylar bags for them – can anyone recommend a good sealer? Thanks for all this info, it all helps me:)))
November 17, 2011 at 7:03 pm
Bookworm
Participant
I only store wheat, and I refrigerate or freeze what I won’t use up in a few days after grinding. I don’t need to keep flour and even if the oils in the WW flour don’t go rancid, then the nutrition still deteriorates pretty quickly. I want nutrition, not just calories, so we store wheat. Plus there are LOTS of things you can do with wheat that do not even involve grinding. Cereal, substitute for meat, substitute for pasta . . . . I make wheat’n’cheese.
I really think having an electric mill is a plus. We do also own a manual mill, and one that can be attached to a bicycle for power, but most hand mills are VERY VERY wearing to actually use. I wore my arms out one day for three cups of flour! I have nice teen boys now to operate it and they do much better, but in a long-term emergency we’d have to hook it up to the bike so I could use my legs instead of my arms. I LOVE my electric mill and use it every few days since I only grind what I know I’ll be using in that time. It even has a name. 🙂 (His name is Jefferson.) LOL
I second Emergency Essentials, they are SO reasonable on shipping. I use them for many things. I’ve also used Montana Wheat before, when we got a whole bunch of us together in two adjoining towns and the place only charged us $100 shipping for an entire semitruck load of food–worked out to about $10 per family! That was a great deal.
November 17, 2011 at 7:15 pm
missingtheshire
Member
Bookworm I see the point about the hand crank version lol, I would likely be too worn out to make anything after all that turning lol. I will look at some mills and see what I can afford. Is there a good recipe book for using these grains in the manner you describe, I would not know how to begin. I have bought from Emergency Essentials, they are reasonable, but I love Auguson Farms – they have the sweetest and kindest people in customer service and I rather like that in this impersonal world. I think it helps if you have like minded people around so you can buy in bulk like that – most people look at me like I am off my rocker talking about food storage around here! By the way I like Jefferson, what a great name – Linda