Mill
Flour production
In 8 steps from grain to flour
1. delivery
Due to the strategic location of the mill, it is possible to buy the grain directly from the producers, the farmers and estates from the region. This avoids long transport times and saves CO2 emissions.
2. quality control
Each delivery of the harvested grain undergoes a precise quality inspection. The moisture, hectolitre weight, protein content, gluten content and trimming are examined. Furthermore, the grain is checked for pest infestation and various diseases.
3. storage
After completion of this testing routine, the grain is stored in different silo cells on the basis of quality. A multitude of silos and large storage rooms give the possibility to separate the grain especially according to the individual quality characteristics in order to obtain an optimal raw material for our mill. The silo cells in which the grain is stored are equipped with sensitive temperature measuring devices which immediately indicate any change in the grain temperature. Furthermore, each silo is ventilated and cooled to ensure optimal storage of the grain.
4. cleaning
The wheat and rye stored in the silos is taken to the mill as required, where it is first carefully cleaned. During the “black cleaning” which takes place first, stones, soil and weeds as well as foreign grain are separated from the grain to be milled by means of aspirateurs and trieurs.
After the “black cleaning” the grain is moistened (= wetted) in order to make the husk of the grain more elastic, so that the subsequent separation of husk and endosperm is easier. In the subsequent “white cleaning”, air is used to remove dust and chaff as well as shell fragments from the previous peeling process.
5. grinding, sifting and sieving
During the milling process, which is now beginning, the grain is placed on the first roller mill, the so-called “grist mill”, where the grain is broken up. The grain passes over more roller mills and at each one it is further crushed. This grinding process is carried out with pairs of rollers that rotate against each other at different speeds. The flutes on the rollers gently break up the grain and thus partially separate the flour kernel from the husk.
After each milling cycle, the cut grain is transported by air through pipes to plansifters. Plansifters are vibrating boxes containing a number of superimposed sieves of different mesh sizes through which the material to be ground passes. In the process, the smaller parts of the flour fall to the bottom, while the coarser parts are returned to further grinding in a roller mill.
In the semolina cleaning machines, parts of the coarse meal are separated from the husk, which is present in the mixture, by air. The semolina produced is pure coarse endosperm particles. However, these could be further crushed at any time to produce grippy or smooth flours.
The products at the end of this cycle are bran (hull parts of the grain) and various types of flour, which are stored in flour silos.
6. quality control
A regular and complete control from purchase to storage, production as well as during packaging by our own laboratory guarantees a continuity in the quality of the flours and cereal products, which are natural and free of any chemical additives.
7. packing
The flour stored in the flour silos is transported by air via pipelines to the individual packing stations.
The flours required for small packs (household flours) are filled into 1 kg packs in an automatic packaging plant and then packed into units of 10 kg. These flours are available in stores (supermarkets and department stores).
For bakeries, the flour is sent to the bulk packaging plant, where it is packed in 25 or 30 kg bags.
8. delivery
Both the small packages and the bags are transported to their destination by the company’s own trucks.
Large bakeries and industrial companies need the flour in bulk. For this purpose, it is transported from the flour silos to loading cells and from there to the flour tanker.
Grain size
The grain size indicates the degree of fineness of the flour. A distinction is made between smooth, non-slip and universal flour.
Smooth flour has a very fine grain. Flour with a coarse grain size is called coarse-grained. One speaks of a universal when the flour consists of 50 % smooth and 50 % grippy flour. You can see the grain size by rubbing the flour between your thumb and forefinger. The distinction according to grain size is only made for household flours. Bakeries work exclusively with smooth flours. Even abroad, almost only plain flour is known.
The use of flours with different grain sizes depends very much on the individual user. Universal flour, as the name suggests, can be used in modern cuisine for any kind of food.
Type
The type number indicates the mineral content of the flour. The lighter a flour is, the less bran is contained in the flour. The darker the flour, the more bran there is in the flour. The type is determined by burning 100 g of flour at 900 degrees in a laboratory oven. The remaining ash in milligrams is called the type number.
Type 700 means that 700 mg (=0.7g) of unburnable minerals are contained in the flour.
Grinding stages & by-products
Bran – hull parts of the cereal grain
meal – unhulled grains which are coarsely crushed (“ground”)
semolina – grains are ground less small than with flour
haze – degree of comminution between semolina and flour
Flour – finest degree of comminution