I finally bought a grain mill after thinking about it for several years. This move isn't quite as extreme as it may seem. Whole wheat berries last for thousands of years. But once you grind them, the oils start to decay immediately. After a couple of days, the oils that give the flour both its nutrition and taste are in pretty sad shape. Since I bake all my own bread and it's all whole wheat (minus the occasional baguette), I decided that grinding my own whole wheat flour made sense. Here are some wheat berries in the grinder. (Note that I didn't buy a hand-crank mill. I may be eccentric but I'm not crazy.) The mill grinds 12 ounces of grain in 2 or 3 minutes. It makes a high-pitched whine a little like a dentist's drill. The flour that comes out is extremely fine. The first time I ran the grinder, I didn't seal everything correctly and my kitchen started to look like a woodshop with all the flour dust flying around. Even when you use the mill prop...
My thoughts on the Atlanta food scene, with occasional forays into the world beyond. We talk about both restaurant reviews and recipes.