The photo above shows the Family Grain Mill flaker opened: It takes only about ten seconds to remove the front half of the flaker like this, making it extremely easy to inspect and clean after use.
The flaker can be used with many grains. Softer grains flake best. Most of our customers who buy the flaker mill use it as an oat flaker, to turn oat groats into oatmeal. The finished product is not like the paper-thin oats commercially available... oats flaked with the Family Grain Mill oat flaker are thicker, chewier, and fresh -- with no preservatives added. You start with oat groats. Oat groats are oats with the kernel's indigestible hull removed. Pleasant Hill Grain offers oat groats here.
Wheat can also be flaked. Soft wheat (available here) works best in a flaker. You can also run hard wheat through the flaker, but hard wheat mainly shatters rather than being "flaked." If you want to, you can soak hard wheat for 12 hours in a LITTLE water to soften it before flaking. The procedure is: Put 1 teaspoon of water (no more) in a jar with a cup of wheat, then shake vigorously so that the water is uniformly distributed. If any water runs to the bottom of the jar, it must be drained out. Allow the wheat to sit 12 hours so the water is fully absorbed into the interior of the kernels. It's important to never run anything that feels damp through the flaker. Also, after doing this procedure with hard wheat, be sure to open the flaker when finished to be sure the roller mechanism is clean. Any damp residue would cause corrosion over time, which would not be covered by your warranty.
This oat flaker mill can be operated by hand crank or motor drive base. Whichever drive option you choose (and many of our customers purchase both), the oat flaker snaps onto either drive base in seconds. Other milling and processing options for the Family Grain Mill include a grain milling head, food processor, and a grinder for meat and other foods. Operation could not be easier: Just pour oat groats into the large hopper (illustrated at link below), turn the crank or flip the motor drive switch, and flaked oats drop into your container beneath the oat flaker. The quality and fit of this German-made flaker mill are outstanding. |