Short on time to read this article? Here’s a summary
- Cylinder mills are generally owned by millers. They enable large volumes of grain to be ground and large volumes of flour to be obtained as quickly as possible. Taste, nutritional qualities and added gluten are often the main disadvantages of this type of milling.
- Traditional stone mills: these are generally known to crush the grain more slowly, resulting in better-quality flour. This is sometimes the case, but beware of the difference between the marketing of authenticity and the nutritional reality of your flour. Do your own tests.
- Astrié-type stone mills: these are known to be the most respectful of the grain, producing local flour that reflects the grain only, without altering the germ or the starch-gluten bonds. Their extraction rate of 80% in a single pass does not oxidise the material and unwinds without crushing.
Option 1: Professional roller flour mills
Roller flour mills came into being after stone mills, in response to the need for higher yields. They found their place in industrial production by offering a particularly high speed of rotation for the cylinders, which enabled large quantities of flour to be produced. The problem is that this speed of rotation also heats up the grain excessively, causing it to lose all its nutrients. So, when it comes to producing quality flour, the battle between the roller mill and the stone mill immediately gives the upper hand to the stone mill!
But since there are so many types of stone mill on the market… here are a few tips to help you find your way around!
Option 2: Professional stone flour mills
Tyrolean’ mills
In the family of mills with stone wheels, we find the ‘Tyrol’ type mill. Made in Austria, these millstones are made from Naox stone. This stone, which comes from Greece, is particularly well known for its highly abrasive qualities. It also contains a very hard rock called corundum, which enhances the abrasive qualities of the grinding wheels.
Some manufacturers choose to use granite to reconstitute the grinding stone. What’s more, depending on the output you need, you can choose different sizes of grinding wheel: they come in diameters from 30 cm to 160 cm.
However, the grinding wheels on Tyrolean mills have a tendency to move apart. For this reason, they should always be fixed on a central axis: the quality of your professional mill depends on ensuring that the manufacturer meets this essential technical specification.
Since they are self-sharpening, they require no special maintenance, and can be changed every 30 years.
The main disadvantage of this type of mill is the level of abrasion on the millstones, which is considered to be too high. In fact, the millstones grind the whole grain: germ and kernel included. The result? You end up with a flour that is richer in cellulose and less easily digestible.
Note, however, that if you want to devote yourself primarily to growing small spelt, for example, an ancient cereal rich in nutrients, the abrasiveness of the Tyrol mill will give a particularly interesting result, as it is a harder grain.
Samap’ mills
Another member of the family of professional stone flour mills is the Samap mill. Made in Alsace, like the mills in the Tyrol, it features millstones made from reconstituted stone (corundum and Naxos), bonded with a cement rich in natural magnesium.
With this type of mill, the grinding wheels are curved and auto-affutable. Smaller than the Astrié mills (which we’ll talk about next), the grindstones range in size from 20 to 35 cm in diameter. Their output ranges from 60 to 150 kg/h. This output will vary depending on the motor and the finesse of the grind you wish to obtain. Even though this type of mill has a high rotation speed, the flour does not heat up, thanks to a fan cooling system.
A word of warning, however: with this type of professional flour mill, the sifting process is separate from the mill. This can have a major impact on your yield.
Astrié mills: 3 reasons to choose them
If your aim is to create rich, nutritious flour, your quest for the ideal professional flour mill will lead you to the Astrié mill. There’s no doubt that the properties of its Sidobre granite millstones will win you over! But to really understand, let’s take a closer look at why this professional flour mill is the one for you…
Reason no. 1: Easier to digest flour
With the industrialisation of cereal production, flour has become less and less digestible. So-called ‘hybrid’ cereals are to blame, with their ever-increasing gluten content, a guarantee of bread with great puffing power.
Yes, but what consumers are looking for these days is not so much bread as the size of a hot-air balloon, but bread they can digest… and that can quickly become a real challenge!
Grind the husk of the grain to make it digestible
The Astrié professional flour mill is a real step forward for farmers, millers, bakers and cereal producers who want to offer consumers easily digestible flour.
This professional flour mill sands the husk of the wheat kernel to extract the protein-bearing cells and incorporate them into the flour. And it is these protein-base cells that contain the enzymes that enable starch hydrolysis.
In short, the Astrié mill does away with the need to grind seeds, making them easier to digest and healthier! A unique milling process, which is good news for those who were wondering how to offer consumers quality flour…
What about gluten-free?
One of the issues we’re also hearing more and more about is gluten-free. In just a few years, digestive problems linked to gluten have multiplied, and celiac disease, intolerance and sensitivity to gluten are becoming more and more common, all around us.
And bakers sometimes find themselves hand and foot tied to a gluten-filled cereal, unable to find a mill that can produce a flour that respects consumer health.
The good news is that the Astrié mill can also produce gluten-free flour! To comply with the regulations governing the production of gluten-free foods, your mill must be entirely dedicated to this type of production. In that case, you’ll need a second mill, in a separate room, to produce gluten-free flour.
If your budget is more limited, you can simply opt to buy just one Astrié mill, but two bluteries. One will be used to produce gluten-free flour, and the other to produce gluten-enriched flour.
It’s as simple as that: all you have to do is
- disconnect the mill from the sifting mill that produces the gluten flour,
- clean it thoroughly with water and
- connect it to the second sifting mill, which is located in a room dedicated to the production of gluten-free flour.
In fact, your gluten-free flour must never come into contact with a product that contains gluten: rigour is essential!
This procedure should be followed as soon as you switch from one production method to the other. It’s quick and easy, and allows you to cater for a growing segment of customers who can no longer feed themselves with traditional white flour.
Reason no. 2: A mill that respects the grain
The flour produced by the Astrié professional mill is full of nutrients. In fact, by not crushing the grain, but unrolling it, all its nutritional properties are preserved. And that’s exactly what consumers are now interested in: finding the trace elements, vitamins, minerals and fibre that are good for their health!
With roller mills, it’s impossible to respect the properties of the grain. In fact, the major nutritional benefits of wheat lie in the germ. When you use a roller mill to crush the grain, all or almost all the properties are lost, and you end up with a white flour with very (too) limited benefits.
Reason no. 3: Better taste
Thanks to the quality of the flour produced, the Astrié professional flour mill allows you to rediscover the flavours of farmhouse bread, pasta, crêpes, galettes and biscuits of yesteryear. The cereals are respected, allowing you to create preparations with exceptional products that make a real difference to your customers.
Rye flour, wheat flour, durum wheat flour, soft wheat flour, maize flour, spelt flour, buckwheat flour, chestnut flour… With the Astrié type mill, you can grind all these cereals: the solutions for offering taste to your customers are therefore infinite!
Combining taste, quality and digestibility in flour is a real challenge, and one that the Astrié mill meets with flying colours. Wholemeal flour, gluten-free flour: whatever type of flour you want to produce, the Astrié professional mill has the solution. A return to good, nutrient-rich products that respect consumers’ health is THE way to win back their hearts!
