Milling originally started by using giant millstones to crush and grind the grains. When Roller Mills in Oregon were invented, they were met with great controversy. Traditional millers believed that metal should never come into contact with the ground meal. Roller mills eventually began to catch on because they were much quicker at grinding the grain.
Millers began to see the improvements roller mills brought. In addition to the increased speed of the device, the miller could save time by eliminating the need for having to dress the millstone. The first rollers, however, did include the use of millstones to complement the work. The rollers would break up the grain and then the millstones would grind the flour into very small particles. Once additional rollers were added to the machines, however, there was no need for millstones to be used and their use quickly faded.
The millers learned all sorts of new tricks and methods to improve and refine their products. By adding more breaks into the process, the miller could produce a white flour that was superfine because all of the bran was removed. Eventually, automatic mills were built and more improvements were made to the mills’ bolters. Purifiers were invented that greatly increased the method of cleaning the flour. The germ was completely scraped off during the first break. The roller would break the grain and produce floury middlings. The middling was bolted and purified by removing the bran. The middlings were then reground at a much slower grinding speed to produce as much flour as possible.
Roller mills in Oregon were used almost exclusively by larger milling operations. This was because of the large initial capital investment required to buy the equipment. Unfortunately, along the way, the population began noticing the flour being produced was less nutritious than it was before the advent of roller mills. This is because the nutrients and fiber were being ground out. However, once mills started enriching the flour with added nutrients, this problem disappeared.
Roller mills are no longer the sole domain of large operations. They are much more affordable and are available to even the smallest of milling businesses. Contact Leon James Construction Company if a roller mill is desired and needs to be built from scratch.
