Ugh…boring…well, actually this is what folks often think, when it comes to whole grain baking. The imagination of those heavy baking-bricks (that serve just to kill some nasty flour moths) with the closest crumb possible is more than terrifying.
Mill it, bake it, enjoy it, repeat it
We’ll stop that right now! #brotokoll joins the home-milling revolution – there is no better way to start into a flavor- and breadful new year!
Is there a difference between whole grain and whole grain? What kind of maybe unknown but healthful components can be found in freshly milled flour? And how comes that someone decides to build houshold mills? I found a real entrepreneur for all my questions – the Prince of Milling and King of Mock’n Roll: Wolfgang Mock
Happy reading & happy baking!
The beginning
I built my first mill, when I got annoyed about a mill which I had bought earlier (Elsässer grain mill). That was in 1976.
The annoying part was (there are still some grain mills facing this issue nowadays) that the freshly milled flour was blown out of the mill by the still hot cooling air of the mill’s engine.
This process causes a totally unnecessary but forced oxidation, which has to be avoided while freshly milling grains (imagine a chopped apple – it would quickly turn brown while being exposed to the hot air of a hair dryer).
A friend of mine, Harald, joined me and together we spent numerous weekends with the development and finally we built a new mill. My at that time 6 year old daughter named it: “hawo” (abbreviation of our names: Harald & Wolfgang) and HAWOS Kornmühlen was born. Actually it was Harald’s goal becoming a mill builder. Not mine.
All home grain mills, leaving hawos‘ factory (except 2 models) are based on our development work which we had done here in Otzberg.
After leaving hawos I develeoped the technology for Fidibus Mills, together with Thomas Mohr who joined my company in 1991. This was the foundation of my company Wolgang Mock GmbH.
Another company „KoMo“ was built up together with Peter Koidl from Austria. Business goal was selling Peter’s „Penningberger mills“ and my Fidibus mills.
The best-in-class technology of Fidibus mills attained a lot of attention – we implemented this new standard into Peter’s mills and also the well known company „Schnitzer“ asked us for implementing it into their Schnitzer mills. The clou was that we used stones for milling, with enhanced adjustment possibilities plus a far better engine.
Shortly summarized, most of the leading mills on the market are based on my development work while (still) teaming up with Thomas Mohr.
Trends
How do you see actual trends Wolfgang? On the on hand the strong movement back to artisanal bakers and on the other hand the rapidly growing number of homebakers – but also people with allergies?
I am very happy about the actual movement towards homemade bread. But still – that does not necessarily mean that folks are using freshly milled grains for their bakes. Even if the same people normally tend to use fresh products (like fruits, vegetables, dairy products…) they often still buy „old“ whole grain flour.
On the pro side of freshly milled whole grains are:
- No lesion of oxygen-sensitive vitamines, fatty acids and secondary plant compounds (including flavorings). Last mentioned ensure a better taste in freshly milled grain products – it’s pretty much the same aspect like with freshly milled coffee
- No lesion of heat-sensitive vitamines, essential amino and fatty acids and again secondary plant compounds – in meals, made of freshly milled raw grains (not baked)
- Freshly milled grains are an important source of food for a certain type of bacteria in our colon – the microbiota. They follow us during our entire life
We also have to highlight the increased effectiveness of non heat-treated dietary fibre. That’s why it is advisable to consume at least once daily a meal based on raw grains (in my case that’s “Wolfgang’s Muesli”).
This is the only way we are able to benefit from grain components, that are still undiscovered by modern science (and might be undiscovered for the next decades). We had the same situation with the already mentioned secondary plant compounds. 35 years ago, their importance was totally unknown and we weren’t aware of it.
These plant compounds are essential components of human nutrition. 90-95% of these substances are arriving without any kind of transformation together with all kind of dietary fibre in the colon. Within the last 35 years, roughly 100.000 of these substances were identified. We are able to consume around 5.000-10.000 of those. However, we have to choose the right foods, that provide us with sufficient secondary plant compounds.
The problem is, that we are not able to benefit from the compounds in a direct way. More precisely: it is necessary that they are consumed by our colon’s bacterias first! The products of metabolism that are created during this process aid our health.
Freshly milled grains contain a lot of secondary plant compounds, such as phenolic acid, that may protect us from colon cancer.
As already previously explained: it is absolutely necessary that bacteria consume the compounds first. This process of decomposing the compounds will create all the enzymes and micro-substances that are so good for our health.
Feed me and I ll feed you! – as the saying goes…
Are there any disadvantages?
None that would be caused by traditional cereal cultivation. However, modern varieties are cultivated with the goal of perfectly adapting the grains to the requirements of the processing machines. This is what contributes to a series of disadvantages:
Cultivation of so called high-performance varieties lead to an increased content of Amylase-Trypsin-Inhibitors (ATIs) in wheat. “The genetic code of heritage wheat already allowed the production of ATIs. But the point is, that modern varieties contain two or three times the amount of the ATIs in heritage grains; if we look at spelt – we are talking just about the half ATI amount compared to modern wheat” – that’s the result of Detlef Schuppan’s* scientific research about indigestible protein components. “There is a huge relevance of ATIs in wheat, barley an rye. Their existence is firmly connected with the gluten content. (*David Schuppen is head of the Institut of Translational Immunology, Mainz, Germany)
Professor Schuppan’s team discovered that the Amylase-Trypsin-Inhibitors are the main resposible factors causing indigestion. These protein components appear in grains as natural antibodies against parasites. But as they coexist together with gluten, their effects were hard to dfferentiate so far. So, combining the ATI impact with shorter dough-fermentation-times in industrial production environments (time is money) – we end up with those baking products that cause indigestion troubles, 12% of human population suffers from. As we already know, we are able to avoid these problems by allowing enough fermentation time (that’s the case when the dough ferments at least 5 hours or longer). However, people suffering from celiac disease are an exception – they have to totally skip gluten-containing food.
Mockmill
Mockmill: You have two types of mills in your portfolio – what are the differences and which type should homebakers look for?
Both models are perfectly made for homebakers. For larger milling quantities I’d recommend the Mockmill 200 – which is capable of producing 200g of finest flour per minute (coarsely ground even more).
What is so special about the Mockmills?
Grain mills are just as good as their grinder – and just as cheap as their casing.
In addition to that, these are our main 3 advantages at Mockmlill:
- Thomas Mohr, working with me now for 27 years – in my opinion he is THE expert for stone grinders all over Europe. For our Mockmills he succeeded in enhancing the grinder surface while ensuring a much finer grinding result
- Casings made of wood cost up to 5 times more than our casing made of regrowing raw materials
- During my entrepreneurship I have built and sold household-mills to more than 200.000 happy customers who joined the freshly milling journey
Are you a homebaker? Which is your favorite grain mix for milling?
During the first years I used to make 100% rye (freshly milled) breads. Today I rather prefer a mix of 60-80% rye and 20-40% spelt. Sometimes I replace spelt by purple wheat, which has an immense leavening power. Total fermentation time is around 20 hours. This mix leads to a much lighter crumb than you achieve with a 100% rye bread. And I can skip any kind of soaker – as I would use it whenever baking with high portions of rye. My grandchildren love my bread creation. So I get pretty busy as I also bake for my daughters and grandchildren as well – but it is so much fun!
Do oyu have any special hint for #brotokoll followers while milling with one of the Mockmills?
At the finest asjustment level, there should be just a minimal noise caused by the stone-contact. This ensures finer grinding while preserving the stones. So make sure that during the grinding the stones are not rubbing onto each other.
Thank you Wolfgang for your time and for making #brotokoll a part of this new milling revolution – We wish you a lot of success for all future products and projects!.
What about you? When will you start your milling journey? Check out all further information about Mockmill and their mills on their WEBSITE , Facebook and Instagram.
Mock’n Roll Series
That was it? Oh no…this interview was just the kick off for a brandnew #brotokoll recipe series:
Stay tuned for a baking adventure full of flavor, which might change your whole baking (a huge thank you to Mockmill for providing me with one of their mills for testing) – here we go with some preview of my #brotokoll Mock’n Roll recipe lab
The first recipe of the new #brotokoll Mock’n Roll Series is ready to be baked by you! HERE is your way to “Roasty Little Bread Riding Hood”.
By the way: join me on Instagram and Facebook. Any new recipe to be published soon here on the blog? You’ll see and know them first!
Happy milling & happy baking!
