Rediscover the genuine taste
and nutritional value
of forgotten flours.
The return of the stone mill for wholemeal flour:
an ancient milling system brought back to the modern era.
Stone grinding is the word that is increasingly read on the labels of flour bags highlighting
the old techniques and bringing back to us the memory of an old mill.
It’s not like that!
The old mills are few and mostly obsolete, especially if we refer to the current
“sanitation” rules and to the “performance” expectations to achieve.
The truth is that today the modern version of the old mills is spreading, ennobled with the latest mechanotronic technologies, guaranteeing the perfect control of the grinding parameters and assuring the result of a “integra in purezza” flour (containing germ, bran and various nutritional contents) where bran and germ are present without being too shredded, without being heated (preserving the nutrional values) and without having the color being changed.
The technique used is always the same as in the past: the wheat is always conveyed to the center of the two stones and from here,
passing through them, it is milled.
At the exit of the stone mill you obtain a 100% wholemeal that, if sifted,
will give flour type “2” or flour type “1”.
What is the perfect flour?
With stone grinding or with conventional roller?
Whole flour or wholemeal flour?
Wheat flour is identified as the product obtained by grinding and sieving.
No reference to the type of machinery used for grinding and so it could be either stone or roller.
Without forgetting that the quality of the flour starts from the beginning of the chain supply, therefore from the field.
Stone mill
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The flour is integral or better still intact because germ and bran blend with the flour releasing the flavor, the aroma and maintaining important nutritional properties, this is the advantage of stone grinding.
The flour is rich of fiber, minerals, vitamin B, vitamin E, proteins and fats.
With stone grinding flour type “00” cannot be produced; because it is not possible to reduce the ash parameters caused by the germ and crust parts that remain present even if sifted.
The shelf life of “integra in purezza” flour (containing germ, bran and various nutritional contents) is more limited due to the germ presence.
Roller mill
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With a roller mill you obtain a white flour, with a very low ash content (00) as well as high capacity to meet the needs of the industry.
In this process whole meal flour is obtained by mixing the flour with the bran, setting the percentages. This is wholemeal flour.
What are ashes in the flour?
The ashes are the mineral part and are mostly concentrated in the external part of the grain. The more the flour is refined the less ash it contains and vice versa, if the flour is less refined it contains more ashes.
This is very important in the classification of flours:
| Type and denomination | Ashes Max |
| Flour type “00” of wheat flour | 0,55 |
| Flour type “0” of wheat flour | 0,65 |
| Flour type “1” of wheat flour | 0,80 |
| Flour type “2” of wheat flour | 0,95 |
| Whole meal of wheat flour | 1,70 |
The stone mill.
The “stone mill” or “stone grinder” or “grindstone” and even the word “millstone” are all synonyms.
It is made of two overlapping grinding wheels. The distance between the two grinders is adjustable to obtain a more or less coarse flour.
An accurate, electronically controlled dosage ensures a propositional flow rate to the grinders speed,
to avoid both low and over charging.
The surface design of the stones facilitate the grinding. The shape and number of slots,
as well as the speed of the active stone, are the secret to obtain a perfect flour.
Hopper
The hopper that contains the grain to be milled is positioned above the millstone case.
Millstone case
It is the container that encloses the millstones.
Upper grinder
The upper grinder rotates and is called “active”.
Dormant grinder
The lower grinder is motionless and called “dormant”.
The new techniques implement the traditional ones.
The cereal grinding phase is implemented today with a prior process called husking; with grinders in abrasive stone the first layers of bran are separated, removing the outer parts of the grain, those contaminated by external agents and therefore loaded with mycotoxins and chemical contaminants.
A little more about wheat.
The word “wheat” comes from the verb fruor (which in latin means “to enjoy”) and triticum from the verb tero (which means chop).
“Wheat” meant as grain, is the common name of the plants of the family of grasses.
What are the mycotoxins?
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by plant spores or foodstuff moulding agents, if ingested by animals or humans, they lead to acute or chronic diseases.
What is the germ?
It is the embryo, the nutritional part of the grain and is fundamental for the growth of the plant.
The germ contains polyunsaturated fats, vitamins B, minerals and antioxidant phenolic compounds.
What is endosperm?
The endosperm is found in the innermost part of the grain and is the nourishment of the germ, that contains starch and proteins. From it are obtained refined flours.
What is the gluten?
Gluten is a lipoprotein substance that originates from the union, with water present, of two types of proteins: gliadin and gluten.
Gluten gives the mixture cohesion and elasticity.
