Do you want to pick the best grain mill and are overwhelmed with the choices? Come learn the differences between the Mockmill vs. the NutriMill for the best small flour mill for home use.
Ready to mill your own flour at home? If you are ready to make fresh milled sourdough bread, whole wheat pizza dough, and freshly milled cinnamon rolls, the first thing you’ll need is a grain mill.
Choosing the right grain mill can feel like a daunting task. I’ve put together the pros and cons of the more popular electric mills, the Mockmill and the NutriMill classic.
Once you choose your mill, make sure you check out my post on where to buy wheat berries.
Benefits Of Milling Your Own Flour
Nutrition Benefits – Store-bought flour has the wheat germ and bran removed, which takes out the beneficial nutrients. Fresh flour is packed full of vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and is easier to digest.
Grains Last A Long Time – Grains in their whole form are very shelf stable. When stored properly, wheat berries can last up to 30+ years.
Preparedness – If you want to build a more sustainable and well prepared food supply, having a family grain mill and storing wheat berries is a great place to begin.
Best Grain Mill: Mockmill vs. NutriMill
The Mockmill
Pro’s of the Mockmill
- Beautiful – This was the first reason I switched, which is a little vain. However, it really is beautiful and I can leave it out on the countertop, making it more convenient for everyday use.
- Smaller Profile – The slender profile of the Mockmill allows me to leave it out all the time without feeling pressed for countertop space.
- More Convenient – Since it doesn’t take up much space and has that small profile, I have no problem leaving it out on the counter all the time. This makes grinding flour so convenient, and I find myself using it so much more because of its ease of use.
- Stone Grinder – Stone mills grind grain between two stones which allows it to have more settings. You can make fine flour with the stones or use a coarser setting to crack grains or spices, so it has more versatility. The corundum-ceramic stone burrs are also self sharpening.
- Easier To Clean – To grind the flour, you just turn on the machine, add the grains, and it shoots the fresh milled flour right into a bowl. All you do is clean the bowl after use.
- Able to Re-mill Grains – Say you want to make homemade cornbread and you run the corn kernels through the grinder and find that the flour is a coarser flour than what you need. With the Mockmill, you can re-mill the grains at a finer setting, where you cannot re-mill coarse grains with the NutriMill classic.
Con’s of the Mockmill
- Smaller capacity – The hopper is smaller, so it holds a smaller amount of grain at a time compared to the NutriMill.
- Price Point – It is definitely pricier. If you are wanting the best electric grain mill and price is of concern, I would go with the Mockmill 100 in the white housing. It’s not as pretty as the birch wood, but it will get the job done. I find all the of benefits of the Mockmill worth the extra cost, as it is something I use consistently.
- Turn On The Grain Mill First – This isn’t a big deal, but you do have to turn the grain mill on before adding the grain. If you add the grain first and then turn it on, it will not work and you will have to take the whole thing apart and put it back together.
The NutriMill
Pro’s of the NutriMill
- Large Capacity – I can easily fill the top portion up with grain and turn on the NutriMill, walk away, and come back with the large bowl filled with flour. Whereas the Mockmill has a small funnel that holds grain, so it can’t make quite as much at a time. But as long as you have a large bowl, you can still make a lot of flour.
- Price – You can find the Nutrimill classic for a more affordable price.
Con’s of the NutriMill
- Larger Profile – It is much bulkier in stature and takes up more space. Not only did I not want to leave it on the counter because of its looks and its size, but it also took up a lot of room in the cabinet.
- Not As Convenient – Since it isn’t as pretty, I kept it stored away in the bottom cabinet. Every time I wanted to grind flour, it had to be lugged out to grind. Even though this process isn’t super cumbersome, it did prevent me from grinding flour more often.
- Impact Mill – While this isn’t technically a con, it does limit its versatility. An impact mill essentially grinds the grain between two stainless steel fins that crack it into flour. The Nutrimill does heat up the grain more due to this type of grinder, but the studies have shown it heats it up less than 120 degrees, so it doesn’t impact the nutrients much.
- Harder To Clean – Since the Nutrimill has a bowl with a lid, you have to pull it out, detach it, then clean the separate parts. I didn’t wash it super often, but it is much harder to clean compared to the Mockmill.
- Produces More Dust Than The Mockmill – It tends to be more dusty compared to the Mockmill. Also if you do not make certain that the bowl is completely pushed in, you will have flour everywhere.
NutriMill Harvest
There have been newer NutriMill grain mills that have come out in more recent years. The NutriMill Harvest is a stone mill that has a look similar to the Mockmill, but is more budget friendly. While it may not be as efficient, it is a great option if you want an aesthetic and capable mill for baking.
FAQs
Yes. It can be significantly cheaper to mill your own flour, especially when buying in bulk. It is also less expensive depending on the type of flour. Being able to store whole grains for longer without them spoiling is also very cost effective.
There are many choices out there; I absolutely love and adore the Mockmill.
You can technically make flour if you have a high speed blender like a Vitamix. Check out my post on how to mill your own flour for more information on the ways you can mill flour.
The Mockmill 200 can mill grain twice as fast as the 100 model, and the 200 also has a slightly larger hopper capacity.
It can mill food-grade corn (not popcorn), wheat berries, rye, barley, oats, medium dried legumes, spelt, kamut, einkorn, brown rice, millet, quinoa, and some spices (must not be oily).
I am brand new to flour milling, so please excuse my ignorance if this is an obvious answer. Does either of these mills require a dedicated, branded canister, or can you simply put your own appropriately-sized bowl under the output spout without much mess or loss of product?
You can put your own bowl underneath the mills!
I really wanted the mockmill until I found out corundum is actually made of aluminum oxide, the same substance that you make aluminum out of. Since my family has dementia and alzeimers and many huge studies have linked aluminum to alzeimers I am glad I didn’t.
Is the corundum in the stones that grind the grains? And therefore would put aluminum into the flour? Trying to understand before we take the leap.
Thanks!
I’m curious as well.
I contacted the company on this comment and this was their response. Corundum is Black Oxide of Aluminum, which its totally inert, It is used internally in surgical implants because it is non-reactive. The grey and white oxides are reactive, and are associated with Alzheimer’s.
Can you speak to the noise levels of these two machines, please? I have small children that startle easily with loud noises and I’m curious to know if either one is any louder than a burr coffee grinder.
Thanks!
They’re both about the sound of a coffee grinder or a blender blending an icy smoothie.
Hi First stuff do you have a code for the Nutri mill? Second question is where do you purchase your grains. I was on azure standard website and I couldn’t find a specific area for bulk grains.
What are types for just general all purpose flour?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UI37N8?ascsubtag=amzn1.infl.us.product&linkCode=sl1&tag=farmhouseonbo-20&linkId=9e7ceeea75848e42b1e215841d2a9581&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
I purchase my grains from Azure Standard!
I’m in the market for a new mill. In the past, I used a Wondermill but it wouldn’t grind coarse enough for the cornbread texture I wanted. So, I got rid of the Wondermill & have been using my grinding attachment on my KitchenAid mixer. But I’m going to be amping up my grinding needs as I intend to begin grinding cracked grain for my layer feed mix, in addition to my increased bread making. I was looking at the Diamante hand-powered, but it’s $1000. But it will last forever, mills quickly, is built of cast iron, & is aesthetically beautiful in a vintage style. I do have a countertop to bolt it too. I also like that electric power isn’t needed. I’ve read several Mockmill reviews and they’re all positive. Do you think the Mockmill could keep up with milling 40# of feed per month in addition to flours for the family baking, without overtaxing the grinder? Do you think grinding 40# of cracked grain monthly might be too extreme for the Mockmill?
It could cause some wear on your Mockmill!
Hello Lisa! Thank you for your review! Have you any experience with the Nutrimill? It appears comparable to the mockmill.
Yes. I’ve had both.
I’ve been wanting to start milling my flour. I noticed that Kitchenaid has a grain mill attachment. It is significantly cheaper. I know eventually I will want to get one of the bigger(more expensive) mills but would that attachment be a sufficient start?
I have not tried it so I don’t know for certain. If you are just starting out and want to see if fresh milled grains are for you, it may be a good choice. You may also be able to find a bigger grain mill on FB marketplace or at a thrift store.
I have the Kitchenaid brand grain mill attachment and the Mockmill grain mill attachment for Kitchenaid. I like the Mockmill much better.
Hi! Not sure if you have heard of the nutrimill harvest? Looks very comparable to the mockmill. I noticed the mockmill is made in germany where as the nutrimill harvest has the germany stone grinder but assembled in the us.. do you know if that makes much of a difference in choice of purchase or if you know much about the nutrimill harvest?
Hi! Really appreciate your review! I have an old Danish Diamant with a huge fly wheel to hand-grind (takes 15 minutes to get a cup at a good pace!). However, we now have a family of 10, and it just isnt very practical! Am looking for an electric mill that doesnt heat the grain up too much, and we are all gluten free and prefer teff flour to whole wheat–very small grains! Will your Mock Mill grind this ok and not heat it up too much? The heat makes it go rancid faster….Thanks!–Carol
Wow that takes a long time! I would think it would work just fine to grind teff. You can always check the Mockmill website to confirm it can. It doesn’t heat up the grains a ton.
Victoria, I have the KitchenAid attachment. I would not recommend it. It is terribly slow, almost the speed of hand-grinding, and gets clogged up after several cups of milling. You then have to take it apart and clean it to get the flour to come through again. It’s very frustrating. If I wasn’t so passionate about whole grains, I would have given up. I have a new Wondermill arriving tomorrow. I can’t wait!
P.S. I didn’t see this review until today. Otherwise I might I have ordered a Mockmill instead.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Does the Mockmill grind as fine as regular all purpose flour?
Yes!