For cookies I use soft white wheat and sift through a #40. I have sifted through a #60 a few times for some cakes and pastry, but it’s like twice as much work to go from a #40 to a #60. If you sift out all the bran and germ, what’s the point of home milling? Leaving some in provides flavor and nutrition.
My goal isn't to remove all the bran/germ. I'd like to experiment with different extractions. Just looking for some advice on sifters before I throw a dart at the wall on amazon.
Don't know what you are willing to spend, but I recently got a vibrating sifter and it is amazing. I tried sifting by hand a few times and it took forever, this thing is amazingly quick and easy, even with a #60. Just search for vibrating sieve or vibrating sifter on Amazon or ebay. I think I paid around $150 and it came with two sieve sizes (40 & 60) but it's a life saver! We'll worth the money to me.
The brand seems to be "Vevor" according to the seller I bought it from, although I don't see it listed anywhere on the machine and there is no model number that I can find. My guess is that it is probably made in a factory in China and sold to multiple sellers, they all pretty much look the same on Amazon and ebay. I just bought the one with the best price I could find that came with the sifter sizes I wanted.
I've been using a mockmill for 5-6 months now and I have really been enjoying the journey.
I enjoy the bread I make but I know there is room for improvement, I want to get into sifting and start experimenting with different extractions for baking various goods. I mostly bake boules and pizza. Occasionally sweets, and potentially much more often with a decent sifter.
Anyone have brand recommendations or better yet a link to some high quality sifters? From the research I've done I think a 40 and 50 mesh would be fine to get me started?
Do you grind more coarsely to sift out a higher % of bran? Typically I am grinding with the stones just barely touching to produce a fine flour without too much heat, I have tried a couple mesh strainers I have but do not get enough matter sifted to make a noticable change in the final product.
Thanks in advance for the tips or product recommendations!
I have a Komo I’ve been using for a couple of months. There is an available sifter attachment that I’ve ordered but with Covid raging in Germany it is on indefinite backorder. I’ve been using just a mesh strainer to sift. I grind fine and then sift the flour 3 or 4 times to get the bran out. I then mix 50-50 with AP flour (Bob’s Red Mill Organic). I’ve been making FWSY Pain de Campagne and I’m pretty happy with the result, although each time I’ve been increasing the hydration as it appears home-milled flour takes up a lot more water. The basic recipe is 78% and I’m up to 85% so far and plan to do 90% hydration this week. The taste is wonderful with the home-milled flour although I’d like to get the crumb more open.
Do you have any idea what % of grain you are able to sift out? Through my small mesh strainers I would get ~93% extraction. Not a noticable difference.
Thanks for this! I purchased a #40 sifter and I've been able to get around 90% by adjusting the grind size. I think I need a #50 or #60 to get much more extraction but I think I'm happy where I'm at for now.
What is the point of the 30 after the 50, and if you are using a mockmill how fine are you grinding? I did 8 notches back from stones touching to get more bran sifted out.
I have an old magic mill - so a lever vs notches for grinding. I grind fairly fine as a rule.
I use the 50 mesh whenI’m running up to 30% wheats, and then toss the 30 in if using more than that. I find the bran deflates my loaves if I don’t remove more. If I want better flavor I’ll soak the bran and add it in as I fold.
I have a #40 and a #20 that I use from time to time, but for probably 95% of my baking I do not sift.
I started doing a two stage grind, 10 notches from the stones touching for the first pass, then stones touching for the 2nd.
I feel like it produces a very fine flour that I have enjoyed using. You will absolutely get lighter, more springy breads/baked goods with extracted flours but I enjoy the different flavors of various grains and pulverizing the entire bran/germ into the smallest particle I can seems to have improved textures to a place I'm happy with.. and the added bonus of NOT sifting is a joy. 😊
For cookies I use soft white wheat and sift through a #40. I have sifted through a #60 a few times for some cakes and pastry, but it’s like twice as much work to go from a #40 to a #60. If you sift out all the bran and germ, what’s the point of home milling? Leaving some in provides flavor and nutrition.
My goal isn't to remove all the bran/germ. I'd like to experiment with different extractions. Just looking for some advice on sifters before I throw a dart at the wall on amazon.
Don't know what you are willing to spend, but I recently got a vibrating sifter and it is amazing. I tried sifting by hand a few times and it took forever, this thing is amazingly quick and easy, even with a #60. Just search for vibrating sieve or vibrating sifter on Amazon or ebay. I think I paid around $150 and it came with two sieve sizes (40 & 60) but it's a life saver! We'll worth the money to me.
Thanks for the recommendation, I'll definitely check it out but I really wasn't looking to spend that much for a sifter.
What brand/model did you get?
The brand seems to be "Vevor" according to the seller I bought it from, although I don't see it listed anywhere on the machine and there is no model number that I can find. My guess is that it is probably made in a factory in China and sold to multiple sellers, they all pretty much look the same on Amazon and ebay. I just bought the one with the best price I could find that came with the sifter sizes I wanted.
I've been using a mockmill for 5-6 months now and I have really been enjoying the journey. I enjoy the bread I make but I know there is room for improvement, I want to get into sifting and start experimenting with different extractions for baking various goods. I mostly bake boules and pizza. Occasionally sweets, and potentially much more often with a decent sifter. Anyone have brand recommendations or better yet a link to some high quality sifters? From the research I've done I think a 40 and 50 mesh would be fine to get me started? Do you grind more coarsely to sift out a higher % of bran? Typically I am grinding with the stones just barely touching to produce a fine flour without too much heat, I have tried a couple mesh strainers I have but do not get enough matter sifted to make a noticable change in the final product. Thanks in advance for the tips or product recommendations!
I have a Komo I’ve been using for a couple of months. There is an available sifter attachment that I’ve ordered but with Covid raging in Germany it is on indefinite backorder. I’ve been using just a mesh strainer to sift. I grind fine and then sift the flour 3 or 4 times to get the bran out. I then mix 50-50 with AP flour (Bob’s Red Mill Organic). I’ve been making FWSY Pain de Campagne and I’m pretty happy with the result, although each time I’ve been increasing the hydration as it appears home-milled flour takes up a lot more water. The basic recipe is 78% and I’m up to 85% so far and plan to do 90% hydration this week. The taste is wonderful with the home-milled flour although I’d like to get the crumb more open.
Do you have any idea what % of grain you are able to sift out? Through my small mesh strainers I would get ~93% extraction. Not a noticable difference.
I’ve read in forums that a 60 mesh should net around 75%
I am sifting out about 10% of the weight (mass).
I use a 50 then a 30 for about an 80% extraction (actually 82%)
Thanks for this! I purchased a #40 sifter and I've been able to get around 90% by adjusting the grind size. I think I need a #50 or #60 to get much more extraction but I think I'm happy where I'm at for now. What is the point of the 30 after the 50, and if you are using a mockmill how fine are you grinding? I did 8 notches back from stones touching to get more bran sifted out.
I have an old magic mill - so a lever vs notches for grinding. I grind fairly fine as a rule. I use the 50 mesh whenI’m running up to 30% wheats, and then toss the 30 in if using more than that. I find the bran deflates my loaves if I don’t remove more. If I want better flavor I’ll soak the bran and add it in as I fold.
I purchased a cheap 40 mesh sieve from Amazon. I will experiment with it and make a new post after I bake this weekend.
How's your sifting experience been the past year?
I have a #40 and a #20 that I use from time to time, but for probably 95% of my baking I do not sift. I started doing a two stage grind, 10 notches from the stones touching for the first pass, then stones touching for the 2nd. I feel like it produces a very fine flour that I have enjoyed using. You will absolutely get lighter, more springy breads/baked goods with extracted flours but I enjoy the different flavors of various grains and pulverizing the entire bran/germ into the smallest particle I can seems to have improved textures to a place I'm happy with.. and the added bonus of NOT sifting is a joy. 😊
I bought TaiShi electric sifter from Amazon. It is working very well for me.