More and more people are making their own bread instead of purchasing it at a local grocery store. Whether it be a hobby or out of necessity, making your bread from scratch can be fun and rewarding.
However, investing in a grain mill can be expensive, and if you’ve never ground your own wheat, you may not want to invest in one right away. But, down the line, if you enjoy grinding your grains such as wheat, this product can be very beneficial.
If you don’t have a grain mill on hand, don’t worry. That coffee grinder that’s sitting on your counter grinds your coffee beans perfectly, so why not try it out on wheat? However, before you attempt to grind wheat in a coffee grinder, you may want to know if it will work and what to expect.
Wheat can be ground in a coffee grinder.
You can use your coffee grinder for more than just grinding coffee. You can definitely use your coffee grinder to grind wheat. Grinding wheat in a coffee grinder is an inexpensive way to get freshly ground wheat flour without going to the store as long as you have unground wheat on hand.
Grinding your wheat berries at home may be more cost-effective than purchasing traditional wheat flour or other flour products from your local grocery store. Aside from being more cost-effective, freshly ground wheat is traditionally more nutritious.
Will it affect the taste of my coffee?
When grinding different things in your coffee grinder, there’s always the risk of the taste of your coffee being affected.
Luckily, when grinding wheat, the flavor is rather subtle. Therefore, the taste of your coffee should not be affected. If it is, it will be minimal.
On the other hand, there’s a good chance your flour may have a coffee odor or taste. To avoid your wheat flour smelling and tasting like coffee or your coffee resembling the taste of wheat, be sure to clean your grinder in between uses and when switching between products.
How to grind wheat in a coffee grinder
When using a burr coffee grinder to grind wheat, you don’t want to overfill the grinder. You can always grind more wheat. To start, you should only put enough wheat berries in the grinder so that they fill up to a maximum of halfway.
You don’t need a super fancy coffee grinder to grind wheat. However, if you have a coffee grinder with a timer, you can set that for 30 to 45 seconds and then check the wheat. For those of you who don’t have an automatic timer on your coffee grinder, you can set a time on your phone, stove, or even count.
When putting wheat berries in your coffee grinder, something to keep in mind is that it may not come out as fine as you want with only one cycle. If the powder is not as fine as you’d like on the first go, repeat the process for a second and even third cycle.
Once you’ve ground your wheat into a fine powder, it doesn’t hurt to sift it to ensure all larger pieces are out of your final product. Upon sifting, if you notice there are a lot of larger pieces, running it back through the grinder again won’t hurt.
Pros of grinding wheat in a coffee grinder
Using your coffee grinder as a wheat grinder is perfect if you don’t have a grain mill or don’t want to invest in one. They’re much cheaper options than most grain mills and more cost-effective if you’re not grinding wheat very often.
The taste of your coffee more than likely won’t be affected by the wheat you’re grinding in your coffee grinder.
Cons of grinding wheat in a coffee grinder
Since the majority of coffee grinders come with burrs rather than blades, when you grind your wheat, the flour may not come out as fine as you want it. Usually, it will take more than one cycle in the grinder to reach the fineness you desire.
If you’re regularly using your coffee grinder to grind grains, there is the risk of clogging your coffee grinder. To avoid this happening, regularly cleaning and checking your grinder for blocking should help.
Possible Alternatives
If you’re not interested in using your beloved coffee grinder to grind your wheat into flour, you’re not out of luck. Here are a few great alternatives to grind your wheat into a fine wheat powder.
1. Purchase a Grain Mill
Grain mills were explicitly created to grind all sorts of grains, including wheat berries. As a result, these products tend to be pricier than some of the other alternatives, but if you’re regularly grinding wheat or other grains, investing in this product may be a good option for you.
Because these products are made to grind grains, you usually only have to run your product through the machine for one cycle versus multiple ones with a coffee grinder.
2. Use Your Food Processor or Blender
If you have a coffee grinder lying around, there’s a good chance you have a food processor or blender. You can use these products to grind wheat as well. Both these kitchen appliances work similarly to a coffee grinder.
You may need to run your wheat through them for two or three cycles before reaching the desired fineness. Using one of these appliances can avoid cross-contamination with your coffee grinder, and they’re much cheaper than a grain mill.
3. Purchase a Coffee Grinder Solely for Grinding Your Wheat
Coffee grinders are great options for grinding wheat. If you love how your coffee grinder works when grinding wheat, you can purchase a second coffee grinder that you use solely for wheat.
For those of you who don’t want to clean your coffee grinder when switching between grinding coffee or wheat, this is a possible option. Coffee grinders are typically inexpensive, and you can get a second one without breaking the bank.
