NCI Hosts Stone Milling: A Hands-On Experience Course | November 10-13, 2025
Grain Quality Demonstration
Product Development in the Bake Lab
The Northern Crops Institute (NCI) hosted its Stone Milling: A Hands-On Experience course from November 10-13, 2025. The course educated participants on stone milling from preparing and setting up a stone mill to milling flour and finally product development. This course welcomed 7 participants in attendance from across the United States.
Day one began with learning all about the stone mill. Participants listened to lectures on stone mill designs and operation, preparation for milling, cleaning the equipment, grain processing and milling, and stone milling applications. They also engaged in a grain quality demonstration where participants could test moisture, grain quality, and weight of different types of grains.
Day two focused on milling wheat and other grains on the stone mill. Topics covered this day included, flour quality evaluation, rheology and application of stone milled flour, flour quality, and refined flour and other grain milling on a stone mill.
Day three’s morning started with learning about grain tempering and cleaning, and then moved to stone milling for refined flours. Consultant, Neil Doty, joined the participants for a lunch Q&A session about starting and maintaining small businesses. The afternoon continued with a demonstration on flour quality and an engaging Q&A session with Andrew Ross, owner of New American Stone Mills. The day wrapped up with learning about adjustments, safety, and applications of a stone mill as well as seeing the inside of the mill.
Day four began with milling a variety of different grains such as durum, khorasan, and rye brought by a participant. Participants then listened to a short presentation from the Whole Grains Council on their Whole Grain Stamp Program. The rest of the day was focused on product development using stone milled flour. Participants experimented with different flours to produce products such as pan breads, cookies and crackers. The day wrapped up with a discussion on product sensory before concluding the course with a reflection of the week.
Stone Milling Demonstration