The Wondermill Junior: It can do anything!

I think it wasn’t until I’d purchased my eighth bucket of wheat that it suddenly dawned on me that I had no way to grind it. Buying the wheat was the easy part! Figuring out what to do next, well, that took a little more thought. I knew I wanted a manual mill but wasn’t sure which brand to buy. I knew what I was looking for, though: a sturdy mill and one that produces the maximum amount of flour with the minimum amount of work! I found the perfect combination with The Wondermill Junior.

Grinding wheat is hard work, both on the person as well as the mill. I’d used a lesser quality mill before and always worried it would fall apart from all the jiggling. The Wondermill Junior, in comparison, is built like a tank. Even when my son had worked up a sweat grinding a cup or two of wheat and said, “My arms are going to fall off, Mom”, that solid piece of machinery just sat there and snickered. It’s double clamp system secures it to any table or counter-top; it’s not going anywhere.

The mill is small enough to be portable, and its extra long arm allows for a comfortable cranking motion. Everyone in my family gave it a try, and all of us were able to produce finely ground flour within a few minutes. The Wondermill Junior Deluxe comes with both steel and stone burr heads to provide versatility and customized results.

In a past Instant Survival Tip, I warned against using a grain mill with anything other than wheat unless the manufacturer specifically states otherwise. Here is where the Wondermill Junior really shines. It can grind herbs, rice, corn, coffee, spices, beans, and more. In fact, it can be used to make nut butters. The versatility of this mill will help make the most of foods typically found in food storage pantries.

I have the Deluxe model and recommend it over the Basic model because it includes the Double Clamp Table Mount. That feature, alone, is worth quite a few extra dollars. Additionally, you receive the Stainless Steel Burrs as an option to the stone burrs, a Flour Guide that helps direct the ground food into a container, and a cleaning brush.

The Wondermill Junior is in the low $200 price range, placing it quite a bit above budget hand mills, but this is a purchase for the long haul. One you’ll be glad to have on hand in a crisis. I highly recommend it as the hand grain mill of choice.

(15) Readers Comments

Jamie
May 11, 2011 at 4:19 am

We just bought a Country Living Grain Mill and love it! It too is rock solid and withstand the apocalypse! We use a ton of flour, so it was time to invest in something heavy duty when our little starter mill wore out. How awesome that yours will make nut butters though!

Reply
Steph
May 11, 2011 at 6:00 am

I've watched the videos where the mill makes nut butters. Has anyone actually used it for that? I want to know from someone who isn't selling something that it actually works before shelling out all that money!

Reply
- TheSurvivalMom
  May 11, 2011 at 8:01 am
  
  Steph, I\’m not selling the Wondermill Junior and will make a batch of peanut or almond butter in the next week or so and post the results.
  
  Reply
  - Steph
    May 11, 2011 at 8:32 am
    
    Fantastic. Looking forward to hearing about it! Thanks for all you do
    
    Reply
countrygirl
May 11, 2011 at 9:10 am

This is the one I picked out prior to my SO buying me a Retsel, which I also love, and got the crank for power down situations, but at 37lbs it is not portable. I think I still need a Wondermill Junior

Reply
alicia
May 11, 2011 at 7:49 pm

Can't remember the name of my grain mill, but picked mine out because I could hand crank it or use the adaptor and hook it up to my KitchenAid mixer. Call me lazy, but I'm not cranking by hand until I absolutely have to!

Reply
- sunshineacre
  May 18, 2011 at 12:48 pm
  
  It might be The Family Grain Mill – I have one, and I have the Kitchenaid Adapter. I grind 10 pounds of Rye a week for my husband who uses it in bread dough for his restaurant.
  
  Reply
Pingback: Get a Wondermill Junior | Sensible Preps
Kim
May 13, 2011 at 6:10 am

We have the Delux Wonder Mill Jr. and my husband and I love it. We have ground hard wheat and the Ezekiel bread mix with the beans and grains in it, and it did a wonderful job. Would highly recomend to anyone looking for a hand crank mill. We plan on grinding corn soon for corn bread when I can find a good recipe. If anyone has a recipe to share I would greatly appreciate it.

Reply
- SherryM
  May 15, 2011 at 4:34 pm
  
  My friend Jennifer shared this recipe with me a few years ago & now it is the ONLY Cornbread recipe I would use!
  1 c cornmeal
  1 c self-rising flour (if using all purpose, still 1 c, but add 4 t baking powder)
  1 t salt
  1 c milk
  1 egg (or equivalent egg replacer)
  1/2 stick melted butter for the mix (or 1/4 cup vegetable oil/melted shortening)
  1/2 stick butter in cast iron skillet to melt when preheating
  Preheat oven to 425 degrees pop in the cast iron to preheat/melt butter
  mix all ingredients above
  pour into hot skillet & into the oven until golden brown & edges look crispy but not too dark
  in my oven it's about 25-30 minutes
  remove from oven & flip pan over cooling rack to release the cornbread, don't leave in the cast iron as it will continue to "cook it" while it's cooling & besides you would never slice with a knife in your precious cast iron!
  That's it! It may sound like alot, but Jennifer & I can crank these out when we are cooking together.
  Hope you like it!
  
  Reply
- Brent
  November 9, 2011 at 1:27 pm
  
  Use popcorn kernels to make the corn meal, it taste much better than the other dry corns I have tried
  
  Reply
Donna
May 25, 2011 at 6:41 pm

They are coming out with an adapter so you can use it with a 1/2 inch, 9 volt drill.

Reply
- Brent
  November 9, 2011 at 1:31 pm
  
  The drill bit attachment has been available for a while now. You can see a video on youtube, just search youtube for the words "drill bit attachment wonder junior".
  
  Reply
Donna
March 17, 2012 at 8:15 am

Wondering how the nut butters turned out and if you are still satisfied with the WonderMill Jr.as you were almost a year ago?

Reply
SallyD.
April 6, 2012 at 6:50 am

My Wondermill came in yesterday, I can’t wait to use!! Just not sure what I want to grind first.

Reply