Learn all about where to buy wheat berries and other bulk grains so you can mill your own flour right at home.
I absolutely love purchasing grains in bulk and have been milling my own flour for over 12 years now. If you are new to freshly milled flour you can learn all about how to mill your own flour at home in this post.
The first question I get from people who want to start milling their own flour is which grain mill to buy. For more information on that, check out my Mockmill vs. Nutrimill comparison.
The second question is where do you buy wheat berries.
So, let’s dive in to where to buy wheat berries and other bulk grains. Plus, I’ll go over the best ways to store the wheat berries once you have them.
Benefits Of Buying Wheat Berries
Store for a long time – It is best to use wheat berries within 3 years, but with the right storage conditions, wheat can last decades.
Healthier – Grains lose their nutritional value pretty quickly after milling. Since flour at the store needs to be able to sit on the shelves for long periods of time, the healthy parts of the grain are removed during processing. By milling them yourself, you are not only get super fresh flour, but also more nutrients.
Can be cheaper than flour – I find this especially true for organic grains and more specialty grains.
Preparedness – Since grains can store for a long time, you can easily store a lot of grains for your food storage. It is a great way to build up a pantry.
Variety – You may be able to find a greater variety of wheat berries like spelt, einkorn, and other ancient grains, than you may be able to find in pre-ground flour.
My Favorite Grains To Purchase
Soft White Wheat Berries – Good for cookies, cakes, muffins, and quick breads. It is a little softer and has less gluten than hard wheat.
Hard White Wheat Berries – This type of wheat is good for breads. It is due to a greater amount of gluten, which gives bread more structure.
Einkorn – This is my go to for a recipe that I’m not going to ferment. Einkorn flour is one of the oldest heirloom varieties of wheat and it contains less gluten than a more modern wheat. This makes it much easier to digest. Find some of my favorite einkorn recipes here.
Spelt – Another heirloom wheat that I’ve been loving lately. It is absolutely delicious in this spelt sourdough bread recipe.
Kamut – Is a non-hybridized, non-GMO flour that is grown organically and full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. I love kamut bread.
Oats – A breakfast staple that I also love to buy in bulk. It can be very inexpensive when purchasing in bulk. The cheapest I’ve found is at Azure standard. A 50 pound bag of organic rolled oats comes out to $1.06 per pound.
Popcorn – Not only do we use this to make popcorn, but I have also mill it to make cornmeal to make homemade sourdough cornbread.
Rye – Rich in fiber, lower on the glycemic index, and less gluten than regular flour, rye is a great choice for bread making, I love this sourdough rye bread recipe.
Where To Buy Wheat Berries
There are multiple places online and locally that you can find wheat berries to purchase.
Mockmill
Great variety of grains and specialty wheat berries, however, shipping isn’t free and can be quite expensive.
Azure Standard
Probably one of my favorite places to shop all things bulk food! Wheat berries are no exception. Not only do they offer a great variety of grains, but they have the cheapest price and free shipping.
You can read more about other items I like to buy in bulk from Azure in this post.
Country Life Natural Foods
I’ve purchased through Country Life Organics many times. You can get free shipping on all orders over $99. Currently, hard white wheat is about $2.19 per pound for a 25 pound bag.
Jovial
Jovial currently only sells einkorn wheat berries for $44.49 for a 10 pound bag. Free shipping for all orders over $99. This comes out to be slightly cheaper than purchasing flour.
Amazon
Amazon offers wheat berries in bulk. Their prices are slightly more expensive than some other places, but most of the brands do offer free shipping, especially if you are a prime member.
Local Natural Grocery Stores
While ordering online can be a great and convenient option, I love shopping locally whenever possible. Sometimes local grocery stores offer a great bulk section where you can buy bulk grains from a bin. They may even be able to order larger quantities at a great price if you ask.
Amish Stores
Another place I’ve had success has been from local Amish stores. We used to have one about 30 minutes away, and twice a year I would head over to purchase many bulk items such as raw honey, grains, and raw butter.
How To Store Bulk Grains
How you store your grains depends on how long it will take you to go through the grains.
Short term storage – If storing for up to 6 months, wheat berries can just be stored in a glass container, or plastic bucket with a tight lid preferably in a cool (40 to 60 degrees F) dark, dry place out of direct sunlight.
I like to keep them in 5 gallon buckets with a gamma lid (these lids are much easier to open than the lids that 5 gallon buckets come with). This is airtight and will keep them fresh for a long time.
Long term storage – If you are wanting to keep them fresh for a long period of time, think 30 years, then I would suggest adding five 300cc oxygen absorbers to your 5 gallon bucket. They can also be stored in mylar bags. Add one 300 cc oxygen absorber per gallon mylar bag.
Oxygen absorbers help keep the environment in an unfavorable condition for any bugs. You can also freeze the grain for a 3-5 days and then thaw to kill bugs. Some suggest doing this another time 30 days later to kill any bugs in a later cycle.
Storing Freshly Milled Flour
Once wheat berries have been milled into flour, the flour only stays fresh for up to a week. This is because when milling at home the bran, germ, and endosperm are still intact and contain oils which will go rancid fairly quickly.
Keep fresh flour in a container (preferably glass or plastic) at room temperature for about 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
A good indicator if the flour is still good is by smell. If it smells off, then toss it.
FAQs
Currently Costco doesn’t sell wheat berries (this also may be local Costco specific). However, some stores do offer a really great deal on organic flour.
Buying wheat berries in bulk can be cheaper than flour. I find this particularly true with organic grains.
I started with a Nutrimill flour mill and then recently switched over to the Mockmill. You can see a comparison between the Mockmill and Nutrimill here.
Where can I purchase large containers of whole wheat grain i live in Ripon California
I’m wanting to be able to make food from the grain to nurious my family and friends please help me find a place to get some please
TY! Judy Harvey
I cannot afford an electric mill so I am researching the “Back to Basics” hand crank mill. What are your thoughts on this type of mill. BTW it is just my husband and I
Do you have to soak the Einkorn grains before milling into flour? If so, what the best way to do that?
You don’t have to soak them!
Hi Lisa, Just wondering if there is a link anymore for the 5% discount on the Mockmill. Thanks
What is the comparison in terms of measurement of the store bought flour to the freshly milled flour? Will 5lbs of wheat berries equal 5 lbs of fresh milled flour?
It should measure pretty close.
Thank you so much! I’m brand spanking new to milling and have been purchasing my grains from BreadBeckers in Georgia—which is quite costly since I live in California! No fault of the Beckers that shipping costs are outrageous! Now, because you’ve led me to Azure Standard, I’ll be able to pick up my grains locally! Woot! Thanks again! I have a WonderMill and love it! Have you ever tried one? 🙂
P.S. Isn’t it wonderful to know that when we mill our own flour, we are eating according to God’s way for us in the Bible? Whole wheat berries are so nutritious you can literally live off of them if needed, just as they did in the Bible during the famine. The secret is in the germ and bran which store-bought flours and breads have sifted out, not to mention adding-in toxic things. Also, I can now eat wheat for the first time in YEARS because there is no gluten sensitivity with freshly milled whole grains!! Yippee! 😀
Glad you’re loving Azure as much as I am! I have not personally tried out that mill, but I’ve heard good things about it. Yes! I love looking at it that way.
Good advice! Have you found purchasing wheat berries from azure is cost effective as opposed to buying from store as flour?
Azure has some of the best prices. Also, buying flour from the store is different product than freshly milled flour. I could buy 20 lbs of all-purpose flour for $17 at Costco and 25Lbs of hard white wheat berries for $37. So it is more expensive, but they are used in different ways and the wheat berries will last many years and contains more nutrients that all-purpose.
What’s a good grinder mill to use to grind the berries down?
I like to use the mockmill!
If I use fresh milled wheat berries for sourdough starter and recipes would the measurements be the same? I am planning to weigh it. I have heard fresh milled measurement is different than store bought flour, however I can’t find any measurements or info on that.
If you are making a recipe that calls for whole wheat flour, then the measurements would be the same. Otherwise, you may have to make adjustments to the amount of flour and/or liquid. It just depends on the recipe!
I’ve noticed my bread turns out more dense when using wheat berries compared to store bought all purpose flour. Any tips?
Whole wheat flour will definitely make things more dense. You can try adding less flour or more liquid.