The grinding wheel attachment system
A stone mill of the ‘Moulin Astrié’ type has two millstones:
- the fixed grinding wheel known as the ‘dormant’ wheel
- the oscillating or ‘flying’ grinding wheel
And it’s the system for attaching the ‘flying’ grinding wheel that’s innovative.
This is because the flying wheel is not fixed, but is suspended by an oscillating system.
So it’s not the weight of the flying millstone that crushes the seed to make flour, but the gap between the fixed and flying millstones that allows the seed to be unrolled to extract the germ and all its components.
It’s the distance between the grinding wheels that determines the grind.
Depending on the grind you want, you can adjust the distance between the grinding wheels. In this video, we’ve recorded the way the flywheel oscillates so you can see for yourself.
How do I adjust the gap between the wheels?
It couldn’t be simpler!
You have a crank that allows you to move the grinding wheels towards or away from each other. We explain it in this video:
Why does the fact that the seed is not crushed but ‘unrolled’ change everything?
In a nutshell, the fact that your seed is unrolled rather than crushed will produce a flour that :
- retains all its nutritional qualities
- is easier to digest
- is more nutritious
- is a local flour
- is non-oxidised
- has greater added value
Want to find out more?
We have written an article on this subject which we invite you to read: “When the seed is no longer crushed but unrolled: the Astrié invention that makes all the difference!“
Techniques borrowed from the milling industry to create a coherent mill
Over and above this invention, which we owe purely and simply to the Astrié brothers (who gave their name to this type of stone mill), there is also an overall reflection on the mill.
Pierre and André Astrié were no strangers to the world of milling, so they borrowed different techniques and technologies from different tools to create a coherent mill.
By way of example, they drew inspiration from other machine tools to propose :
- one-handed flow adjustment
- sieving
- sieves can be changed in a jiffy
All these techniques and solutions have now resulted in a machine (the stone mill known as the ‘Astrié Mill’) that is consistent, reliable and robust, with virtually no after-sales service.
What makes the Astrié mill made by Astréïa different?
At Astréïa, we are committed to :
- fully and completely respect the Astrié invention
- provide you with a stone mill that complies with safety and hygiene standards
- to share with you our experience in the field as cereal growers
- share with you our experience in the field as a farmer-baker
- support a company that respects its employees
- advise you on the best way to set up your mill to meet your objectives
- give you the benefit of our global vision and expertise, from wheat to flour
- deliver the mill best suited to your ambitions and expectations
- to share our mission with you: that of an autonomous farming world
We’d like to tell you more about the way we work. To do so, read on: ‘Astréia: the authentic Astrié mill, a company committed to the farming world in the broadest sense’.
