Best Grain Mill: Mockmill vs. NutriMill

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. 

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.

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.

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