I Cried When I Learned About Fresh Milled Flour (From a Dietitian Who Didn’t Know!)
- Christa Joy
- May 28
- 6 min read
I’ll never forget the day I discovered the truth about fresh milled flour. I cried! Real, unexpected tears, not from sadness, but from the overwhelming realization that even after years of working as a dietitian, I had been missing something so foundational, so powerful, and so… simple.
Speaking of simple, if you want to take a hands-on class with me, scroll to the bottom to see my Food Workshop schedule!
I thought I knew all there was to know about bread. After all, I’ve spent decades reading nutrition labels, studying food science, and helping people understand how to read a label. But no one ever told me that you could mill your own flour to make bread. And no one ever told me how much better tasting and how much more nutrition fresh milled bread is.
I graduated with my Masters knowing how to analyze a food label and even how to counsel people on healthier habits, but somehow, I missed one of the most transformative, nourishing, and simple changes a person can make in their kitchen: grinding whole grains at home and baking with fresh flour.
What I have learned is that fresh milled flour isn’t just about baking. It truly is about restoring real nutrition to the food we eat every day. Milling flour takes me back to how God designed us to eat with pure, simple, wholesome ingredients and loads of nutrients!
Truly it had bothered me for years why so many people were told to go on a gluten free diet, that topic can be a whole blog post in itself. Basically, what I learned is that people have been eating flour/gluten products their entire life and since it wasn’t a product created that God intended for us to eat, our bodies have rejected the store-bought flours/breads.
It is with great joy to learn and share that unless you have true celiac disease you can eat bread again! And it is wonderful, so wonderful!!
Why Fresh Milled Bread Is So Much Healthier
The difference between store-bought flour and freshly milled flour is night and day. Most commercial flour has been stripped of the bran and germ, the parts that contain fiber, healthy fats, and essential nutrients like Vitamin E, B vitamins, and important trace minerals. In other words, the parts that feed your body.
Back in the early 1900’s, manufacturers came up with a design to mill the flour on a grand scale so the individual families didn’t have to mill their own flour and saving the mom’s lots of time.
Why have manufacturers stripped these important nutrients away? Simply stated, to extend shelf life. Once flour is milled, the oils in the germ can go rancid over time. So the food manufacturers remove them, often bleach what's left to make it white, and enrich it with a few synthetic nutrients to meet minimal standards. But it’s a far cry from the original whole grain.
The flour on the shelves truly isn’t the same product as fresh milled flour.
One key learning I found is that within 3 days of milling wheat berries, whether that is at home or in a large mill, most the vitamins are lost. Just three short days is all it takes, how long has your flour been sitting in your cupboard? I know I used to keep flour on my shelf for a year!
The Nutrients We Miss Out On
When you mill your own flour, you're working with the whole grain. You’re capturing the bran, germ, and endosperm, nothing removed, nothing lost.
You get:
All the natural fiber to support digestion and gut health
Healthy fats that are anti-inflammatory
B vitamins and Vitamin E that support energy, skin, and brain function.
Actually fresh milled flour is known to have the richest source of vitamin E!
Antioxidants that help fight disease
Hard White Wheat Berries 
Fresh Milled Flour from Hard White Wheat Berries
I had spent years recommending “whole grain” products, not knowing that most if not all shelf-stable whole wheat flours had already begun to oxidize and degrade long before reaching the consumer.
It broke my heart to realize I had missed this key piece of information. But this new knowledge also fueled a deep excitement: if I, as a dietitian, had never been taught this, how many other people are still in the dark?
And in a beautiful parallel, this whole, unprocessed gift reminds us of what Jesus said in John 6:35 (NIV):
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Just as Jesus nourishes our souls fully and completely, fresh bread made from whole grain nourishes our bodies in the way God designed from the beginning.
Help! I Want To Mill My Own Flour! Where Do I Start?
Here are a few ways to start exploring fresh milled bread in your own home:
Buy a grain mill – There are many small home mills on the market, sadly they are all expensive (starting at $300) but it is well worth the investment to improve your health!
My favorite is Mock Mill 100 which is an electric stone mill. Sadly, as of the time I am writing this post, it’s been out of stock in the USA for months! https://thebiblicalnutritionist.com/product/mockmill-100-grain-mill/
Another mill you can try is WonderMill which you can find here https://www.thewondermill.com/ . It's an electric steel mill and it is fast! I personally would only recommend this mill if you are making a lot of bread products every week. Some really love this mill but I love my Mock Mill more. It's a personal preference really.
The two mills I use! Both have great benefits and a few drawbacks!
Start simple! Start with hard red or hard white wheat berries. These are great for sandwich bread.
If you love to make cookies and cakes then also consider purchasing soft white wheat berries. My favorite place to purchase these berries are Sunrise Flour Mill. Their wheat berries are organic and are considered Heritage Wheat. I have been buying from them for four years! You can get 20% off your order with my affiliate link here: https://www.sunriseflourmill.com/CHRISTA72045
Use your fresh milled flour immediately – Fresh flour is best used within 24 hours for the highest nutrient value. I like to use the fresh flour within 1-12 hours but if I can’t then I freeze the flour, usually I only freeze ½ cup to use for dusting bread or on the cutting board for kneading.
Bake simple breads – Start with an easy sandwich loaf or a no-knead artisan boule. Here are my three favorite bread recipes.
Hands down my favorite recipe Simple No Knead Bread Loaf Made With Fresh Milled Flour
Simple No Knead Bread using Hard White Wheat Fresh Milled Flour - Recipe from Grains in Small Places, see link above!
Learning this no knead sandwich loaf recipe which is literally stir and pour from Heavenly Homemakers was a game changer. I didn't start making bread until 4 years ago so I was nervous to jump in. This recipe gave me confidence! Whole Wheat Pour-and-Stir Bread
No Knead Stir and Pour Sandwich Bread from Heavenly Homemakers. So easy!
When I discovered Lovely Bell Bakes, my baking with Fresh Milled Flour improved immediately. She has incredible tips and new techniques to me! Although her recipe isn't for a new baker, if you have made bread before then I recommend you check out her website for lots of recipes. This is my favorite go to soft sandwich loaf but it takes 3 hours start to finish. https://lovelybellbakes.com/easy-whole-wheat-sandwich-bread-no-additives-needed/
Fresh Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread using Hard Red Wheat Berries - Recipe from Lovely Bell Bakes, link above
Store grain berries in a cool, dry place – Unlike flour, berries before milling store for years and don’t lose nutrients. After opening the bags, I store my wheat berries in glass mason jars.
Buy a good thermometer! Any thermometer will do the job but I prefer to have a fast reading digital thermometer. I had to throw out on beautiful loaf of bread in the beginning because I underbaked the loaf. Never again! I always take the temperature now. Aim for 200-210°F!
Want to Learn how to Make Bread using Fresh Milled Flour?
If this resonates with you, I’d love to invite you into my kitchen. I love teaching in-person fresh milled bread baking classes in my home and around the local area of the Twin Cities, Minnesota. These classes are simple, encouraging, and built for beginners and experienced bakers alike.
You'll learn:
How to mill your own flour
Which grains to use and why
How to bake bread that nourishes your body and your family
My passion now is helping others rediscover the ancient wisdom of whole foods and bread made the way God intended—pure, unprocessed, and full of life-giving nutrients.
Final Thoughts
I cried because I wished I had known this sooner. I cried for the lack of knowledge and for spreading misinformation for years. I also cried tears of hope, because it’s never too late to learn, to nourish differently, and to share what we've discovered.
Fresh milled flour isn’t just a trend. It’s a return to truth. And once you taste real, living bread made from flour you milled yourself… you’ll never go back.
Interested in taking a class or want to host one in your area? Then please reach out to me to learn more or check my current class schedule.
Let’s bake something truly nourishing—together. Send me an email at christajoyministries@gmail.com
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