Bob Potts - Miller Training 2014
Food Safety
The premises, as all mills which produce flour for human consumption are subject to certain regulations under FOOD SAFETY (General Food Hygiene) regulations 1995. The mill is bound to keep records of training to demonstrate that appropriate instruction has been given to all members of the mill staff.
The milling of flour is deemed to be a low risk food operation and many of the regulations are common sense. However :-
- Beware of loose clothing, loose buttons, badges, jewellery, long hair, etc. Take all precautions to eliminate the risk of foreign bodies in the flour.
- Always wash your hands thoroughly :-
- Before starting work.
- After using the toilet.
- After handling any waste material.
- Before handling grain or flour.
- After a break.
- After blowing your nose.
- After handling any money.
- Keep yourself clean and wear clean clothing. Remove aprons/overalls prior to visiting the toilet. If you have any skin, nose, throat, stomach or bowel problems - You must not mill.
- Ensure that any cuts or sores are adequately covered with a high-visibility, i.e. blue waterproof, dressing.
- Do not cough or sneeze over the grain or meal as this becomes food.
- If you notice anything wrong or unusual - inform the Head Miller.
The stones which we are using today are "Derbyshire Sandstone Grit".
The grain is Solstice cleaned milling wheat with a Hagberg number of ....... It is important that the Hagberg number is higher than 250 as this is par for quality bread making.
Preparing for a Milling Session
A SENIOR MILLER must be appointed who will be in absolute charge of the mill and will assume overall responsibility for the milling session.
THE SENIOR MILLER MUST READ THE MILLER'S JOURNAL OR DAY BOOK AND ASCERTAIN IF THERE ARE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE MILL OR MILLING EQUIPMENT BEFORE BEING SATISFIED THAT IT IS SAFE TO START WORKING THE MILL.
Before milling commences the following must be checked :-
- Sufficient grain for the anticipated milling is available on the stone floor, and the hopper is full and the grain flows freely from hopper to shoe. Clean bins and sacks are available on the spout floor.
- The spouts to be used are clean and free of any moth, etc.
- Attach a sack under the spout.
- Check the governor drive belt is in place (if required).
- Jobs and duties are allocated to the staff are available.
- Ensure the grain feed hole from the hopper is open to the required amount.
- Ensure there are no foreign bodies in the eye of the stone. Shine a light or put a hand down to the bottom.
- Fill the hopper with grain. NB If using the bell alarm, press the leather strap against the side of the hopper while filling with grain.
- Ensure the shoe is filled with grain.
- Engage the stone nut (High Salvington) and screw the quant bearing into the glut box until tight then unscrew one quarter to half a turn.
- (Lurgashall) Lower the stone nut to mesh and secure the lever on the hook.
- Check the location of electric cables in the (High Salvington) roundhouse if turning the mill.
- Ensure the High Salvington mill is facing the wind for full power. NB In strong wind the sails may have been set with the mill out of the wind.
- Ensure that no person is in range of the sails.
The "Closed to the Public" sign should be displayed on the gate, and the gate locked.
Control of the Milling Operation
The control areas are :-
Windmill (High Salvington)
- The sail area of cloths and shutters.
- The feed of grain into the eye of the stone via the shoe.
- The gap or "nip" between the stones, controlling the speed of the grain to travel along the furrows cut in the stones.
With the mill brake on, engage the stone nut into the glut box and adjust the bearing screw to hold the quant in securely.
What are you about to mill?
The mill is used for making wholemeal wheat flour mostly used in bread-making.
It uses grain from the same supplier and most of this is grown in the home counties of Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Kent.
It is cleaned and tested by the merchant and arrives labelled in 25Kg paper sacks. (Also note that nuts are processed in the same factory and therefore there could be traces of nut from the machinery).
The label contains information as to the variety of the wheat and its quantity.
Varieties of Wheat Grain
Bread making favourites are:-
SOLSTICE, HEREWARD, PARAGON, MULIKA, and, a new one, GALLANT. Although these are used for bread making, they can also make good biscuits, pastry and cakes.
We are using Solstice.
How do we know if the grain is good for bread making?
Commercial millers have developed and use a scale which indicates whether the grain is suitable for bread making. The scale is called the Hagberg Falling Number. The scale is based on the number of seconds that a plunger takes to fall through a sludge mixture of wheat flour and water over a fixed height. The plunger falls slowly if the mixture is thick with starch, however, if some of the starch has been naturally converted into sugar, the mixture will be thinner and the plunger will fall quicker. The acceptable time for bread making is 250 seconds, producing a falling number of 250. Any number below this and the commercial miller will not normally accept it. So, look carefully at the numbers. Average falling numbers are :-
- Solstice - 263
- Paragon - 303
- Malika - 327
- Gallant (a new variety) - 281
- Hereward (which can be used if a high number) - 228
Once the mill has started working you can extract a small sample and feel between your fingers in order to confirm the fineness and texture of the meal. If it is not what you required then adjustments have to be made. If the meal is too coarse,
- The stones may have to be closed a little.
- There could be too much grain entering the stones from the shoe holding them apart - the shoe needs lifting to reduce the grain inflow.
- (Lurgashall) The waterwheel may be racing too fast and the grain is not being ground fully as it should be - the flow of water from the lake needs to be adjusted.
It is a matter of elimination to solve the problem.
If the meal is too fine,
- The stones may have to be opened a little.
- The stones may be turning too slowly, etc.
There is an element of experience in listening to the stones as grinding takes place and the miller will soom tell you where the problem could be.
Packing
Once you have ground the meal it is time to consider the packing, whether for sale or as souvenirs.
Attention should be given to the presentation of the packed flour, as smartly filled packets look more enticing than roughly packed bags of all different heights and shapes.
Tips :-
- When the meals is collected from the spout, it should be allowed to cool if it is warm. This can be achieved by scooping and spreading it in the flour bin prior to packing.
- Labels should all be stuck on the bags at the same height.
- The flour in the bags should be tamped down to a regular height.
- Always seal with the same number of strips of adhesive - say two.
- Always stamp the date in the same place.
- Cloth sacks should all be tamped and tied tightly at the neck first, then the remaining string finished with a double bow.
These things may seem petty but do make an impact on presentation.
