How to Make Bread Flour and More at Home

How to Make Bread Flour (and More) at Home

Using Freshly Milled Whole Grains

Your best option is always milling grains by category, based on what you’re baking — not chasing flour labels.
That said, sometimes you’ll want to translate a legacy recipe that calls for bread flour, cake flour, or all-purpose flour.

This guide shows you how to do that with fresh-milled flour — without losing the nutrition, flavor, or structure that makes home milling worth it in the first place.

👉 If you haven’t already, start here:
Grains by Category → https://justmillit.com/grains-by-category/

First, a Mindset Shift (This Matters)

Commercial flour names exist because:

• the bran and germ are removed

• the flour is standardized for shelf life

• additives and bleaching agents are used to force consistency

When you mill at home, you’re working with the whole grain, so instead of copying labels, you choose grains based on function.

Think in terms of:

• Bread

• Pastries

• Pasta

Everything else is a variation.

How to Make “Bread Flour” at Home

Commercial bread flour = hard wheat with the bran and germ removed.
Fresh-milled bread flour = hard grains, whole and intact.

Mill:

• Hard white wheat

• Hard red wheat

Fresh-milled bread flour has more absorption, more flavor, and more nutrition than store-bought bread flour — which is why recipes must be adjusted accordingly (and why your base recipes already are).

How to Make Pastry Flour / Cake Flour

Commercial pastry flour is usually:

• lower protein flour

• often have cornstarch added

You can skip all of that.

Mill:

• Soft white wheat

• Soft red wheat

  This can also be made with ancient grains like:

• Spelt

• Barley

• Rye

• Gluten-free grains (for pastries)

These grains naturally produce a tender crumb without additives.

How to Make All-Purpose Flour (and Why I Rarely Do)

All-purpose flour is a compromise flour — meant to work “okay” for everything.

When milling at home, it’s usually better to:

• choose hard grains for bread

• choose soft grains for pastries

• skip AP flour altogether

If you must approximate it:

Mill:

• A blend of hard + soft grains

• Start with 2 parts hard wheat : 1 part soft wheat

But again — category-based milling gives better results.

If you want an ancient grains version, try milling Einkhorn for anything calling for all purpose flour.

How to Make Self-Rising Flour

Self-rising flour is simply soft flour + baking powder.

Mill:

• Soft wheat, spelt, barley, or rye

Then add:

• 1 teaspoon baking powder per cup (125 g) of flour

Use this for quick breads, biscuits, and muffins.

How to Make Semolina Flour

Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat, known for its golden color and firm bite.

Mill:

• Durum wheat

  For an ancient grains version:

• Khorasan (Kamut), Emmer, or a blend of the two

• Grind slightly finer than cornmeal

Ideal for pasta and some rustic breads.

How to Make Semola Flour (Twice-Milled Durum)

Semola is a finer version of semolina.

Mill:

• Durum as fine as possible in your stone mill

  For an ancient version:

• Khorasan (Kamut), Emmer, or a blend of the two milled as fine as possible

• Optional: sift and re-mill

It is not necessary to double mill durum for great pasta.
I mill it as fine as my stone mill allows and use it successfully for both extruded and hand-shaped pasta, including angel hair.

How to Make Chickpea Flour

Mill:

• Dried chickpeas

⚠️ Important:

• Only mill chickpeas if your mill is rated for them

• Stone mills like Mockmill and NutriMill Harvest can handle chickpeas, but always confirm with the manufacturer

How to Make Gluten-Free Flour

Mill:

• Sorghum

• Quinoa

• Buckwheat

• Rice

• Amaranth

• Millet

Avoid oily seeds in stone mills:

• Hemp, chia, flax → use a blender or steel burr mill

⚠️ Celiac Safety Warning
If you have Celiac disease:

• you must use a dedicated gluten-free mill

• never mill GF grains in a mill that has processed gluten

Can I Buy Fresh Whole Grain Flour?

It’s not ideal — but if needed, buy from a local mill offering 100% extraction flour, shipped fresh with storage instructions.

A good example:

• Janie’s Mill → https://www.janiesmill.com/products/whole-kernel-bread-flour

Follow storage instructions carefully to preserve nutrition.

How Much Grain Makes 1 Cup of Flour?

• 1 cup flour = 120–130 g

• I use 125 g per cup

Grain weighs the same whole or milled — only volume changes.

That’s why I mill and bake by weight, not cups.

👉 Full breakdown here:
https://justmillit.com/how-much-grain-do-i-need-for-1-cup-of-flour/

The Big Picture

This site isn’t about chasing flour labels.
It’s about:

• methods

• base recipes

• intentional variations

Once you understand that framework, recipes stop being rules — and start being tools.

Sometimes the simplest answer really is the best one.

I’m Dr. Mel — reminding you that baking gets easier when you Just Mill It.