How to Choose the Best Grain Mill for Your Needs

Milling your own grain is one of the simplest ways to improve the flavor, nutrition, and reliability of your baking. Fresh flour behaves differently—in the best possible way—and once you get used to it, it’s hard to go back.

But choosing a grain mill can feel confusing fast. There are manual mills, stone mills, impact mills, and even blenders that kind of work. Instead of listing specs and charts, let’s look at this the way real home bakers decide:

How does this fit into my kitchen, my baking habits, and my life?

I’ve used nearly every type of mill over the years. What follows is a practical, lived-in way to choose the right one—without redundancy or decision fatigue.

Start With This Question:

“What do I want this mill to do most often?”

Everything flows from that.

If You Want a Mill That Lives Happily on Your Counter

(Quiet, clean, easy, everyday use)

Stone burr mills are the easiest mills to live with day-to-day. They’re compact, relatively quiet, and give you excellent control over flour texture—from cracked grain to fine flour.

This is the category most home bakers are happiest with.

Stone mills are ideal if you:

• bake bread regularly

• want simple cleanup

• value texture control

• don’t want a loud appliance

Important nuance:
Most stone mills cannot mill popcorn. The Nutrimill Harvest is an exception and is rated by the manufacturer to do so. Mockmill and most other stone mills specifically advise against popcorn.

Stone mills cannot mill oily seeds or nuts—that’s a hard stop.

My experience:
After years with several models of Mockmill, the Nutrimill Harvest genuinely surprised me. The quick access to the stones, thoughtful design, and ease of use make it one of the easiest stone mills to care for. All stone mills I’ve used are capable of producing very fine flour—the difference is how pleasant they are to use regularly.

If You Want Speed, Superfine Flour, or Popcorn Flour

(Fast, powerful, not subtle)

Impact (micronizing) mills are built for speed and fineness. They use high-speed metal fins to pulverize grain into very fine flour, quickly.

This is the right choice if:

• you bake cakes or pastries often

• you want the finest possible flour

• you need to mill popcorn

• speed matters more than noise

Trade-offs:

• louder than stone mills

• no coarse or cracked grain options

• more “appliance-like” presence

My favorite impact mill:
The Nutrimill Impact stands out for ease of use and storage. It’s simpler to operate than older impact mills and stores more efficiently than most. If I were choosing an impact mill today, this would be it. For very large families, the Nutrimill Classic is ideal

If You Want One Mill That Can Do Everything

(Including oily seeds, nuts, and power outages)

Manual mills are the most versatile mills available—but they demand more from you.

They’re the only mills that can safely handle:

• oily seeds (like flax)

• nuts

• off-grid or no-power situations

They’re ideal if:

• you value durability over convenience

• you want one tool that can handle anything

• you’re okay with physical effort

• you like tools that feel built-for-life

They are not quick or subtle, and most people won’t want to use them for everyday flour once they’ve experienced electric mills—but they’re unmatched for versatility. I've not used any of them, so here are a few known good ones:

• Country Living

• Diamant

• Wondermill Jr. Deluxe

• Green Power by Lehman's

If You’re Just Getting Started (or on a Tight Budget)

A high-powered blender can mill grain. I know—because I did it for six months.

It works, but:

• cleanup is tedious

• consistency varies

• flour can warm up

• it often discourages frequent baking

If you already own one, it’s a reasonable temporary solution—especially if you can find one used. Just know that most people who enjoy milling eventually move to a dedicated mill. Brands I can vouch for and have personally used to mill the flour are Vitamix, Blendtec, and the Pampered Chef Deluxe Cooking Blender (my fave with a glass carafe).

How Much Space Does This Really Take?

Instead of thinking in inches, think in presence.

• Stone mills feel like normal counter top appliances

• Impact mills are taller and louder but fast

• Manual mills usually need mounting or storage space

If you want something that quietly becomes part of your kitchen rhythm, stone mills win.
If you want power and speed, impact mills earn their space.
If you want maximum flexibility, manual mills demand commitment.

A Simple Way to Decide (No Overthinking)

• Bread, simplicity, everyday use → Stone mill

• Pastries, popcorn, speed → Impact mill

• Seeds, nuts, no electricity → Manual mill

• Just testing the waters → Blender (temporarily) or KitchenAid Attachment

There is no perfect mill—only the one that fits your baking life.

Final Thoughts

Choosing a grain mill isn’t about specs—it’s about how often you’ll use it and how enjoyable it is to live with. The best mill is the one that makes you bake more, not less.

Freshly milled flour changes everything: flavor, texture, nutrition, and confidence. Once you find the right mill for your kitchen, it becomes one of those tools you wonder how you lived without.

If you’re purchasing through Pleasant Hill Grain or Lehman’s, be sure to use the current discounts available.

Choose the best one for your needs. Below is the full list and not just my faves.