What to look for in a home grain mill

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If you’ve ever thought about milling your own flour, you might have looked at a home grain mill. After such a thought, you might have promptly been overwhelmed by a lot of info.

I’ve had my KoMo Fidibus Mill for almost two years, and I wanted to tell you about what to look for in a home grain mill so that you can make an informed decision when you’re ready for it.

There are a lot of home grain mills out there, and not every one is good for everyone.

In this guide, we’ll go over why you might want to mill flour at home, what types of grain mills are available, and we’ll consider some other things that’ll help you decide what’s best for you such as how much you make and for how many people.

Ultimately, I hope it’ll help clear up some confusion about milling at home.

What to look for in a home grain mill

Why would you want a grain mill?

There’s always been a thought out there that, “The whiter the bread, the quicker you’re dead.” Now, I think there’s a lot of fearmongering in this quote, but there is something to be said about making a concerted effort to eating and making breads with actual whole grains in them.

Our food supply is far from perfect in the US. When we buy flour at the store, Lord only knows how long it’s been sitting on the shelf. Once upon a time people used to be able to purchase their flour from a local mill. Sadly, few of us have that luxury. Milling your own flour can be a way to cut out the middle man and get access to fresher, better quality flour.

Not only that, having whole grains on hand to mill allows me to have a wider variety of flours I can bake from. I always have rye, oat groats, hard wheat, and soft wheat on hand. Others love using ancient grains like spelt, emmer, einkorn, and farro.

The best part of freshly milled flour is the flavor though! I’ve always thought that store bought whole wheat flavor tasted, well, rancid. Not so with fresh milled wheat. It literally just SMELLS fresh because it is!

Types of power

There are manual and electric mills. Both have the capacity to adjust the texture of the final flour from fine to coarsely cracked grains. This is really important as the fineness of a flour will determine a baked good’s final texture.

Manual grain mills

Manual mills are not necessarily less expensive than electric mills. They can be fun to use. I remember the grain mill that was in my great-grandma’s Hoosier cabinet. By the time I was born, it was a long time since she had ground anything in it, but we still loved playing with the crank!

Most manual mills clamp on to a counter or board. This will give you some leverage as you grind your grain.

The nice thing about manual mills is that they will work anywhere. You need no power, no power conversion (that you might need for mills made outside of the US) to worry about. Just crank and go.

Some manual grain mills to consider:

KoMo hand grinder
Wonder Junior Deluxe
Family Grain Mill
KoMo grain flaker: not exactly a mill, but it will flatten grains like oats into flakes. If you’re an oatmeal lover like me, this is an intriguing one!

Electric grain mills

Electric grain mills have the advantage of being able to grind a lot of grain in a short amount of time.

Some can be rather noisy (we’ll get into that further down), but no more than other kitchen appliances. My blender is so much more noisy, for instance.

For me, electric is the way to go. I’m typically multitasking in the kitchen, so it’s nice to be able to get my mill going, then turn my back on it to start on another step in a recipe.

Ways that grain is ground in home grain mills

Impact Mills

Impact mills are typically the least expensive mills out there. They work by basically exploding the grain as it filters down across several rows of stainless steel blades.

Impact mills grind very quickly, but they tend to be noisy.

The upside is that they are less expensive than other types of mills.

Wondermill and the Nutrimill classic are both well-trusted mills. I have friends who have had both and never had an issue.

The one thing I don’t love with either of these is the plastic housing and collection areas. It’s nice that the Wondermill has a kind of closed system so that flour is not going all over the place, but I wish that it was made from metal or wood.

Impact mills also generate more heat than stone mills, which can destroy some of the beneficial nutrients in the grain.

Steel Burr Mills

Most manual home grain mills are steel burr mills. They turn slowly, so they are very quiet. Many have the ability to be connected to a motor for faster milling with less effort.

Steel burr mills work by grinding grain between two steel plates. One plate is stationary, and the other moves as the crank works.

While steel burr mills can produce fine flour, they generate more heat than stone mills, which, again can destroy some of the beneficial nutrients in the grain.

Stone Mills

Stone mills work by grinding the grain between two mini grindstones. These stones can be made of hard materials such as ceramic-corundum, quartz, or granite.

Some stone mills are known for producing a coarser texture flour than other types. That being said, I’ve never had an issue with the fineness of the flour from my Komo Fidibus. Like other grain mills, stone mills have settings that allow you to switch from very fine flour to coarser cracked grains.

fine ground flour, medium grind flour, coarse flour on a tray

Stone mills are both very quiet to operate, and they do not produce much heat in the grinding process, ensuring that your grain holds on to all the good nutrients.

Grain mill attachments

There are grain mill attachments that will stick right on your stand mixer. This is a great option for someone just wanting to try out milling flour at home.

They’re also very small and don’t take up much space. Be careful though as they can be rough on your Kitchen Aid motor. The Mockmill for instance is a tiny stone mill, while the KitchenAid KGM is a small impact mill with the lowest price out there for mills (just $120).

Minor factors to consider when you choose a home grain mill

Noise in operation

I’ve already alluded to it, but how noisy mills are in order from least to greatest: steel burr, stone mills, impact mills.

I wouldn’t pass up an impact mill for the noise. As I said, my Blendtec blender is a monster noisemaker, and it’s a trusted, well-used friend in my kitchen (just pass the earplugs!).

Grain capacity

This is another minor thing to think about. Consider how much grain you can physically fit into your mill at a time.

As a home baker, I’ve never sat an thought I was missing out because my Komo Fidibus can’t grind the 12 more ounces the Komo XL can at one time. If I had a bakery, I might change my mind. For me it made no sense to buy a mill that’s almost twice the price just for a little bit more capacity.

It is possible to just do two batches of grinding your flour. It doesn’t take that long!

What’s your mill made of and how durable is it?

This to me is a much bigger concern.

If you’re going through the trouble of milling your own flour, I think it behooves you to buy a mill that’s made with non-toxic materials. With all the research coming out about microplastics, I try to avoid any and all such products in my cooking and baking tools.

This is the primary reason I chose a KoMo Mill. They’re handmade in Austria, mine is from beech wood. I’d personally rather spend a little more one time so that I had a quality made tool that’s plastic free.

Other mills are made with eco-friendly materials which are some kind of blend of wood and plastic. It probably doesn’t change the quality of your flour, but I don’t want to play guessing games. I just prefer to remove the plastics entirely.

Still other mills are made with stainless steel (yay) insides and plastic outsides (less yay).

Cleaning

On a typical day, cleaning my KoMo Fidibus is super simple. Because it’s a closed unit, I only need to brush out the spout and wipe off the outsides. Super simple. KoMo’s manuals state specifically that your warranty becomes null and void if you open it up yourself.

Other cleaning considerations:

Nutrimill classic cleaning
Wondermill cleaning
Nutrimill Harvest cleaning
Family Grain mill cleaning
Brush for the Wonder Junior Deluxe: cheap handy tool to brush out the tight spots on this mill.

Aesthetics

Again, the look of a mill shouldn’t be a reason to reject one mill over another, but it may be something to think of.

Consider the look of your home grain mill if it’s a kitchen appliance that is going to sit out on your counter. If you’re putting it away after use, who cares?!

Where to buy a grain mill

Amazon: they have a limited selection of a few mills. Often they are out of stock, but that seems to be the case at reliable sellers of grain mills like Pleasant Hill Grain.
Pleasant Hill Grain: Awesome customer service and great information more than what I can give you on making a good decision on a mill. They have a fantastic selection of pretty much every brand out there and many accessories you can’t find elsewhere.
Nutrition Lifestyles: good selection of KoMo mills and a few others.
DO NOT BUY FROM Ebay: I love Ebay for many things, but truly, do NOT try to buy a mill off of Ebay. I tried and almost got scammed. Thankfully Paypal noticed something weird and it ended well. My guess here is that a mill is a higher ticket item ergo perhaps something more attractive to bad people.
Facebook Marketplace: I almost bought a mill from a lady locally. It would have been a great deal and it would have saved me money, but somebody beat me to it.
Extreme Wellness Supply: great selection of manual mills, Nutrimill, Mockmills, and Hawos.

Prices for various brands of home grain mills as of March 2025

KitchenAid KGM grain mill attachment(be sure it’s marked KGM as this is the KitchenAid manufacturer and not a knock off mill attachment): $119.99
The Kitchen Mill: $229.95
Mockmill stand mixer attachment: $240
Wonder Junior Deluxe: $299.95
Wondermill grain mill: $329.95
Mockmill 100 and 200: $354-435
Nutrimill Harvest Mill: $449
KoMo Fidibus Medium: $499
KomMo Classic Mill: $579

Why I chose the KoMo Fidibus Medium mill

I love my KoMo Fidibus Medium mill. I chose it for the solid wood construction which fits my overall vintage design aesthetic, the good reputation of KoMo mills, the quiet operation of the stone millstones. At the time that I ordered, the KoMo mills were backordered for a while, and the Fidibus medium was the one that was available the soonest.

I hope that answers some questions for you if you’ve been considering getting a grain mill. While a grain mill can be a bigger investment, it’s a tool that’ll last a long time. As it makes getting fresher, better tasting, cheaper flour, your grain mill will be sure to be making better bread and baked goods for your family and friends.

Got your mill? Let’s bake some fresh milled goods: