Going gluten free with a Nutrimill?

[FourOaks]

What can I use my Nutrimill for if we go GF or very limited gluten? (Let's pretend that I don't have at least 150 lbs of wheat berries sitting in the basement:glare:)

 

So if I want to use almond flour, oat flour, coconut, and whatnot -- can I do any of my own grinding in the Nutrimill (and possibly make in bulk and freeze some)? If so, how do I go about getting what I need to grind? I had to order the wheat berries and have them shipped or pick them up -- is it the same for other things?

 

Thanks for any help anyone can provide!!

[besroma]

If I remember correctly, you would not be able to do almond flour or any nuts due to the oils in them.

 

I know you already have the Nutrimill. I use mine to grind flour, so I'm not sure about the oats. But, I also have a Vitamix and am thinking it would work for you on the other things you want to grind.

[meggie]

From my Nutrimill owner's manual

 

Nutrimill will mill the following:

 

Wheat (hard and soft)

Buckwheat

Split Peas

Popcorn

Sorghum (milo)

Trticale

Rye

Rice

Millet

 

 

Use caution when milling the following (fill the hopper no more than 2/3-3/4 full as they produce more flour volume):

 

Dried lentils

Dried Sweet Corn

Dried Pinto Beans

Dried Green Beans

Dried Mung Beans

Legumes (generally)

Dried Garbanzo Beans

Quinoa

Oat Groats

Spelt

Barley

Soybeans

Chickpeas

Kamut

 

 

DO NOT mill any of the following:

 

Oatmeal

Flax Seed

Sunflower Seeds

Nuts of any kind

Coffee Beans

Spices

Rolled or Steel Cut Oats

Sugar

Dried Fruits

Dates or Raisins

Sesame Seeds

Sprouted Legumes

Sprouted Grains

Sprouted Seeds

 

 

I used it to grind a bunch of brown rice. Then I used that rice to make the All Purpose Flour and Pancake Mix from the cookbook, "Cooking for Isaiah." I put the mixes and the leftover flour in freezer baggies and keep them in the freezer. It's been working well so far, though I may need to make more soon. I made a white sauce last week and used brown rice flour to make the roux. I *think* it thickened more than regular wheat flour would have, but I'm not totally sure. In any case, it was tasty and it worked. I haven't tried the AP flour as a substitute in any of my regular recipes, though I have used it in the book. In all honesty, going gluten free has been the easy part of our new diet. It's the dairy free that's been hard.

 

So if you want to do oat flour, you can grind the oat groats, but not the oatmeal. If you want to do almond flour, a Vitamix can handle that. Not sure how to do coconut, tapioca or potato flour. I would look at azurestandard.com and see if they deliver anywhere close to you. I live near a Winco and I get most of my stuff there or at a Sunflower Market in the bulk section. Someday I'll actually do an Azure Standard order.

Edited August 14, 2012 by meggie

[stripe]

Aside from wheat, I've used mine to grind rice (VERY loud!), lentils, mung beans, and some sort of millet. I did all of those in small or moderate quantities, not huge amounts at all.

[FourOaks]

Okay, now I need to get those books listed on Amazon. (Again, let's just pretend that I haven't spent a ton of $$ already on the whole-wheat bread baking books:glare:)

 

I must admit that much of what you all are talking about is foreign to me as I am just now considering limiting the gluten intake of my family.

 

What else do you do with rice flour? Can it be used to make any type of a bread-like product (bread, rolls, biscuits, flatbread, pizza crust, etc)?

[Miss Cornelia Snook]

I have a grinder which I used for wheat back in the pre-celiac days. However, I won't use it for gluten-free flours now because I am positive they'd get cross-contaminated from the wheat flour still in the mill.

 

FourOaks, most GF flours have to be combined with others in order to get a good working flour. My go-to flour includes tapioca starch, rice flour, potato starch, corn starch, and xanthan gum. A single flour alone won't give you the same or similar results as wheat flour.

[meggie]

Okay, now I need to get those books listed on Amazon. (Again, let's just pretend that I haven't spent a ton of $$ already on the whole-wheat bread baking books:glare:)

 

I must admit that much of what you all are talking about is foreign to me as I am just now considering limiting the gluten intake of my family.

 

What else do you do with rice flour? Can it be used to make any type of a bread-like product (bread, rolls, biscuits, flatbread, pizza crust, etc)?

 

 

When used as a thickener, rice flour by itself was fine. But you generally can't just substitute rice flour (or any other flour) for wheat flour in regular recipes. The all purpose flour combination in the Cooking for Isaiah book calls for white rice flour (but I used brown and it's been just fine), potato starch, xanthan gum and tapioca flour. Batters are generally wetter since there's no gluten to give the bread structure.

 

If I were you, I would check out some GF books from the library. The Cooking for Isaiah one I've liked so far. She does have recipes for bread, pizza, doughnuts, pancakes, waffles, cornbread, etc. There's a book I got called Gluten Free in Five Minutes that's been ok for the one thing I tried it for. The premise of that book is using just one flour plus baking powder as a leavener and cooking it in the microwave. I made a bread that used brown rice and tasted ok but had a wonky aftertaste. I gave it to the boys and they didn't notice anything. Since you can't make very many servings at once, I don't use it often.

 

Anyway, check out a couple of books, find a recipe or two to try (or a mix to make). Then I would go to Walmart or a health food store and see if they have any of the other flours or gums or grains that you need. Then try a batch. I wouldn't buy a bunch of stuff right off the bat. A friend gave me a recipe for coconut flour pancakes. :ack2: is all I can say about those

[stripe]

What else do you do with rice flour? Can it be used to make any type of a bread-like product (bread, rolls, biscuits, flatbread, pizza crust, etc)?

 

I actually don't grind rice in it anymore. The type of bread I make, I now soak the rice first and grind in a food processor. I used the millet for a porridge, and the lentils and beans in other foods, not a bread. But I know a lot of gluten free breads have lentil or such flour in them. (I am not gluten free, can you tell?)

 

I always wanted to grind corn but haven't yet. Honestly I haven't used it in 2 yrs but I really want to. That irritates me.

[Shelsi]

I don't have a food mill so can't answer your question but if you're going GF for gluten intolerance or celiac then I personally would not use a mill that's been used for gluten flours previously. It would be mega cross contamination.

[FourOaks]

Thanks for all this info ladies.

 

I am not going GF/low gluten due to celiac for anyone in our family, but I do think it may be causing some issues and I feel it's definitely worth giving it a try.

 

I really want my kids to go low carb and I think one of them needs to cut out gluten as well.

 

I'm going to start putting some books on hold at the library and trying some recipes to see what I can come up with.

 

A BIG part of the problem is the way I was brought up eating -- therefore my kids have been brought up in a similar fashion (although quite a bit better than what I was). My kids aren't veggie eaters -- because my hubby and I didn't eat many veggies. I am getting much, much better, but now I have kids who don't want to try them or just say they don't like them after one bite. Same with beans -- we don't eat really anything with beans.

 

I'm really going more with the "either we eat this or we don't eat" because I think that is truly the only way we are going to be able to do this. KWIM?

[meggie]

Thanks for all this info ladies.

 

I am not going GF/low gluten due to celiac for anyone in our family, but I do think it may be causing some issues and I feel it's definitely worth giving it a try.

 

I really want my kids to go low carb and I think one of them needs to cut out gluten as well.

 

I'm going to start putting some books on hold at the library and trying some recipes to see what I can come up with.

 

A BIG part of the problem is the way I was brought up eating -- therefore my kids have been brought up in a similar fashion (although quite a bit better than what I was). My kids aren't veggie eaters -- because my hubby and I didn't eat many veggies. I am getting much, much better, but now I have kids who don't want to try them or just say they don't like them after one bite. Same with beans -- we don't eat really anything with beans.

 

I'm really going more with the "either we eat this or we don't eat" because I think that is truly the only way we are going to be able to do this. KWIM?

 

 

What if you tried a "Eat three bites and then you can be done" for new things or things they don't like? That way they actually try some and can start getting used to it. You know how they say some kids need to try things 10-15 times before they start liking it? Well I'm pretty sure I had to eat red peppers about 100 times before I started liking them. The repeat exposure sure helped.

 

Maybe a compromise would work better than an ultimatum? At least that's what we had to do with Pigby. We would say, "Eat this or go hungry until your next meal" and he would gladly go hungry. But he really needs that exposure. He put up a huge fuss at first, but one time, DH even got like 10 bites out of him just by saying "Here's another one". Pigby had stopped counting and never complained so DH just kept going

Edited August 15, 2012 by meggie

[FourOaks]

Yeah, except my kids aren't really young -- they are 14, 12 and 7. The 12 year olds are the best at trying things. They aren't the problem. The 14 yr old is the absolute worst and then the 7 year old.

 

It's my oldest who is the worst about REFUSING to try ANYTHING and not liking ANYTHING. That has got to change and I think that with her it's going to need to be the "eat it or eat nothing" strategy. She's too old to be given the "3 bite" rule. I'm just trying to stock the good stuff and if there is nothing else, then there is nothing else.

 

I will be using the "3 bite" strategy with the youngest though.

[BlueTaelon]

I just found this book! http://www.amazon.com/The-Gluten-Free-Gourmet-Bakes-Bread/dp/0805060782/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344984655&sr=8-1&keywords=Gluten+Free+Gourmet+Bakes+Bread+Book

 

I have to get it. I hate not having bread.

 

Awful book imo, I've had really great luck with this one though http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Baking-Classics-Annalise-Roberts/dp/1572840994/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344994232&sr=8-1&keywords=gluten+free+baking+classics

[BlueTaelon]

What else do you do with rice flour? Can it be used to make any type of a bread-like product (bread, rolls, biscuits, flatbread, pizza crust, etc)?

 

Rice flour is really good for dusting baking pans, thats about it. It tends to give baked goods a gritty texture with the flavor of cardboard and the weight of a brick.

 

 

FourOaks, most GF flours have to be combined with others in order to get a good working flour. My go-to flour includes tapioca starch, rice flour, potato starch, corn starch, and xanthan gum. A single flour alone won't give you the same or similar results as wheat flour.

 

 

 

Agreed, I find those flours great for denser things like pancakes or waffles but light fluffy stuff like breads not going to happen unless your using superfine blends.

[meggie]

Yeah, except my kids aren't really young -- they are 14, 12 and 7. The 12 year olds are the best at trying things. They aren't the problem. The 14 yr old is the absolute worst and then the 7 year old.

 

It's my oldest who is the worst about REFUSING to try ANYTHING and not liking ANYTHING. That has got to change and I think that with her it's going to need to be the "eat it or eat nothing" strategy. She's too old to be given the "3 bite" rule. I'm just trying to stock the good stuff and if there is nothing else, then there is nothing else.

 

I will be using the "3 bite" strategy with the youngest though.

 

Ah, gotcha! Sorry, I completely forgot to think about that part. Yeah 14 would be a really tough age to try and figure out. I hope she gets over her stubbornness. FWIW, the things I've tried so far from the Cooking for Isaiah book I've really liked. The texture in the pancakes or waffles tends to be more....gummy (I think) than their regular counterpart, but I think they still tasted good. The cornbread was really good tasting, but I wouldn't recommend using it as sandwich bread like the author recommends. That was a big, crumbly (albeit tasty) failure. We're relatively new at this, so I'm no expert by any means, but I don't think I could recommend that book enough. The biggest taste issue has come from the almond taste since we now use almond milk. Even that is getting overcome the more we eat it. The author uses rice milk, so I don't know if that would be an issue, maybe it doesn't have as strong a flavor. Even DH, who was completely against the idea of going GFDF and was adamant that he wasn't going to give it up completely, is starting to think that he might give it an honest effort and see if it helps with some of his issues. I don't make separate stuff for him for dinner, he eats what we eat. He hasn't been disappointed so far. Sorry I'm rambling now. Good luck.

[stripe]

Rice flour is really good for dusting baking pans, thats about it. It tends to give baked goods a gritty texture with the flavor of cardboard and the weight of a brick.

 

It needs an enormous amount of liquid. You have to make things designed to enhance its qualities, not just throw it in as a wheat substitute.