8 Reasons Why Stoneground Flour Is Better Than Regular Flour

Stone milling, the act of grinding grains into flour, has been around for centuries and is the traditional method of making the flour that we all use daily in our bread, cookies, pies, and pastries. In modern times, grinding our daily flours is left to the commercial millers to produce what we need.

8 reasons why stoneground flour is better than regular flour.

1. It has more nutritional value
2. Stoneground has better flavor
3. Produces The Best Sourdough Bread
4. Stoneground Lasts Longer
5. You Can Mill It Yourself
6. Support Smaller Mills
7. Most Likely To Be Organic
8. Greater varieties of grains

Many flours are made from various grains, seeds, and nuts, all milled through different means. Stoneground, grain mills, even using your food processor or coffee grinder to grind your grains are acceptable methods to use. Why is there a debate around which method is better, and why is stoneground flour better than regular flour? Is this a fact or an opinion of those who use these flours often?

Reasons Why Stoneground Is Better Than Regular Flour

The statement that stoneground flour is better than regular flour can evoke a broad debate on the topic. 

This fact indicates that not everybody’s experience with stoneground flour has left them enamored with the product.

However, the general consensus is that stoneground flour has some characteristics in its favor that make some people prefer it as their flour of choice due to health concerns, aspects of flavor, and their preference for using this type of flour for specific processes and baking endeavors.

The topic’s outcome is that it finally comes down to personal preference rather than any definitive rules.

The aspect for debate arises when people try to force their opinions of stoneground flour on others who do not see it in the same light. For this reason, the information related here is our opinion on the topic, rather than a fixed rule that we are trying to impose on anyone.

Where possible, we use the fact, and where appropriate, we offer our opinion on the topic.

What Is The Difference Between Stoneground And Regular Flours?

To change the grain into the regular flour or stoneground flour that we use for baking and cooking daily requires a process that is called milling. Stoneground milling is an entirely different process from roller milling (that is used to make regular flour). 

With stoneground milling, the grain is ground between two stones until it produces whole wheat flour, which is coarser in texture compared to regular flour.

Roller milling grinds the grain between two steel rollers, crushing the grain and removing the outer bran section of the grain, producing a much more refined flour compared to stoneground flour. 

Why Is Stoneground Flour Better Than Regular Flour

Grain, nuts, and seeds can be ground into flour and used in many recipes to create the food that we eat daily. While many cooks use regular flour as their first choice because of the availability, the cost, and the versatility of the regular flour, there is a move towards using healthier, alternative, stoneground flour in everyday cooking and baking. 

These alternative flours are becoming more in demand not only by professionals but also by the home chef and baker.

Regular flours can be substituted with stoneground flours in almost all recipes, either swapping out the entire measurement of the regular flour or only using a portion of it. 

Stoneground flours are becoming more popular as people become more health conscious and aware of what they are putting into their bodies. Here is our list of reasons why stoneground is definitely better than regular flour!

1. Stoneground Flours Have More Nutritional Value

Stoneground flours are thought to be more nutritional as they contain the germ, the bran, and the endosperm of the grain. The healthy fats and nutrients in the grains are not damaged as much during this process as the stones absorb the heat and not the grain, which means the flour retains all the goodness of the grain. Coarser textured flours have a lower GI as the grains take longer to break down in the body.  

Regular flour is ground using high-speed rollers, which heat the grain and strip off the bran and the germ, stripping the minerals, fats, fiber, and vitamins from the flour.

Because the nutrients in the grain have not been stripped away by processing, stoneground flours are an excellent choice for the health-conscious as they contain low GI indicators and contribute to aiding in various health problems in the following ways:

• Weight loss. Whole grain flour can assist in the reduction of body weight.
• Diabetes. A reduction in risk factors for diabetes by aiding in maintaining blood sugar levels.
• Cardiovascular disease. Reduces the risk factors by assisting in lowering cholesterol.

Does Stoneground Flour Lose Nutritional Value?

There is some debate over this subject amongst those who are staunch users of only stoneground flour products and those who find it acceptable to use regular flours.

Everyone agrees that bread is an important staple food eaten by many people throughout the world daily. Should it indeed contain the best nutrients for such an essential food item and not lose any due to the milling process?

Using the stone mill to grind all the grains ensures that they stay at room temperature and will also maintain the integrity and nutrition of the grain.

Many people feel that regular flour is good enough because vitamins and nutrients are added to the flour after the milling process to replace the nutrients lost during milling.

The milling process for stoneground flour does not cause a loss of nutrients from the flour. This means that the stoneground flour retains more of the natural nutrients and vitamins contained in the grain, and additives are not required.

2. Stoneground Flour Products Taste Better

To capture the authentic flavors, aroma, and taste of stoneground flours, use them on the same day that they are milled, if possible since this is when its flavor is at its best! Many tasty foods can be created using stone ground flours:

• Pizza. Make a delicious thick dough and add your favorite toppings and cheese.
• Pancakes. The batter is thicker and has more taste than using regular flour.
• Bread. Bake loaves of bread and delicious banana and nutty whole wheat bread.
• Cookies. Crunchy cookies, what could be better than warm cookies fresh out the oven!
• Breadcrumbs. Use your leftover breadcrumbs to give your pork and chicken a crumbed coating before deep frying.

3. Stoneground Flour Produces The Best Sourdough Bread (Our Opinion!)

The best flour for baking sourdough bread is organic, and the best organic flour is stoneground! Use stoneground flour for your sourdough starter and taste the difference! Stoneground flour produces a denser, coarser textured loaf because it is better suited to slow fermentation.

Because much of the natural flavor is retained in the flour during the milling of stoneground flour, it produces a nuttier flavor and thus creates a more flavorful sourdough bread.

The stoneground flour can be used to make the sourdough starter and bake the bread, and, in our opinion, this makes for a much tastier loaf of bread. 

4. Stoneground Flour Lasts Longer

Oxidization is a process in flour that is a result of heat generated during the milling process. Modern milling processes create a lot more heat than traditional stoneground techniques.

The additional heat generated in modern milling heats the oils that are contained in the germ. This heating causes oxidization of the germ and the oils contained in it and causes the germ to turn rancid. 

When this oxidation process occurs, it affects the longevity of the resulting flour and negatively impacts the vitamin content of the flour. For this reason, modern-milled flour needs to have vitamins added to it to enhance its nutritional value.

Stone grinding of grain is done in smaller quantities, allowing for a more even distribution of the fats contained within the germ, which helps decrease spoilage of the flour.

Because stoneground flour does not have this heat component during the milling process, the germ and the internal oils are not affected in the same way. This minimizes the risk of oxidation, which increases the shelf-life of the flour, improves the flour’s nutritional value, and, best of all, preserves the flavor. 

Even though stoneground flour can last a while, the flavor is best when it has been recently ground, which is one of the reasons for our next point!

5. You Can Mill It Yourself

Growing your own fresh food is a trend that is making huge waves across the planet and is becoming the latest healthy thing to do. 

This is a significant trend and one well worth following, and not just for the sake of following the trend. It actually does have health benefits for you and your family.

Many homesteaders and even backyard food growers are trying their hand at growing their own grains and producing their own stoneground flours.

Note: If you are interested in milling your own bread, have a look at my article “Full Guide to Milling your Own Flour at Home (Why, How, Pros & Cons)“.

This allows you to know precisely what has gone into your food, from the use of non-GMO seeds to the types of fertilizers and pesticides that have been used on the crop.

In our ever-growing health-conscious communities, producing your own food is growing in popularity, especially in people who have existing health problems and want to make sure that the food they are consuming offers them the best possible value and nutrition. 

Note: If you want to mill your own flour at home, check out my guide “Best Grain Mill for Bread Flour: Full Buyers Guide“.

6. Support Smaller Milling Operations

Support the home industries and smaller milling operations in your area. Try to find a local home industry mill and purchase your fresh, stoneground flours directly from them. The smaller millers can source their own grains, which means that they can be more selective in what they use and where they buy from.

Most communities have local markets on a Saturday morning, supplying fresh fruits, vegetables, and home-baked goods to the local shoppers. By purchasing your flours and fresh produce from them on a weekly basis, you don’t need to buy in bulk. This means that you will have fresher produce each week, saving you money as you don’t need to throw away rotting produce that you have not had time to use!

By supporting your local growers and millers, you will not only be buying fresh, chemical-free produce, but you will also be bringing money into the local area and helping with cash flow for the local growers and millers.

Note: If you are using freshly ground flour, here are 5 tips for you!

7. Stoneground Flour Is Most Likely To Be Organic

Organically grown grains and the bread and food products made from them are becoming more available to the consumer. The trend among many people is to know which chemicals and additives are going into the food that they are going to consume. 

People are turning away from commercially produced goods in favor of the smaller farmer and home grower, as they tend to farm and grow their produce without using chemical pesticides and growth enhancers.

The practice of using stoneground mills is generally used by the smaller farmers and home growers who cannot produce the same quantities as the more prominent commercial farmers. The smaller millers, however, are more concerned with producing a healthier, chemical-free product to a more niche, discerning market. 

The smaller milling operation is not governed by the same rules that the commercial millers are regarding the nutritional quality of their flour products.

Commercial millers are obliged to add many vitamins and minerals to the flour to enrich the product, whereas the smaller miller is free to use the grain as is, without any additives.

Stoneground milling is becoming an acceptable method of milling by the more prominent commercial millers, but they do still have to follow the accepted standards and add the required additives.

8. Many Types Of Grain Can Be Stoneground

Stoneground is a method of grinding down any grain, not just wheat grains. There are many other products that can be ground down into flour and used to create delicious baked goods or simply used as additional flour in any product.

Some of the alternative flours on the market are ground from using:

• Rice
• Potatoes
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Tapioca
• Amaranth

The advantage of using these alternate flours is that people who have allergies or intolerances to certain foodstuffs, such as gluten or nut allergies, can use these flours to make their favorite loaves of bread, cookies, pastries, and any food that was previous off-limits due to their allergy!

Alternate flours are healthier when they are stoneground as the goodness of the entire grain is used in creating the flour. Purchase small quantities of the flours while you are learning how to use them, as they do go off quickly unless kept in the refrigerator, but only for a few days.

Does Stoneground Flour Oxidize?

As we have already mentioned, the oxidation process is a by-product of the heat that is generated during the milling process.

Because the stone grinding process is much slower, the same amount of heat is not generated during the process, so there is less chance of the flour oxidizing, turning rancid, and going bad.

This also means that many more of the inherent nutritional values of the grain stays within the flour and does not get destroyed by the oxidation process.

When Is The Best Time To Use Stoneground Flour?

The best time to use stoneground flour of any kind is straight after it has been ground when it is still light and fluffy! Freshly ground flour produces the best results in any product. 

If you don’t get around to using the flour straight off the grinder, you can use it within three days (use at room temperature), or it will keep in the refrigerator for seven days. 

Kept out of the fridge, it will go rancid after three days on the shelf. Store any leftover flour in the freezer for up to six months. Make sure the flour is stored in a sealed container to avoid contamination.

Note: For more information on what flour to use for sourdough bread, read my article “Which Flour to Use for Sourdough Bread: A Complete Guide“

Conclusion

Stone mills can be heavy and cumbersome and can take up a lot of space in your kitchen. If you are an avid fan of stoneground rather than regular flours, perhaps a do-it-yourself kit would not be the best thing for you. Instead, find a good supplier of stoneground products and buy directly from them.

Fun fact: Roman millers sifted their stone ground flour to create a whiter bread for their wealthier Clients! 

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