WhisperMill
Part of the Grain Mill Comparison
The WhisperMill ushered in a new generation of home grain mills, called micronizer mills. Instead of using stones or steel rollers to crush the grain, they use high speed steel disks spinning at 45,000 rpm or more. When grain hits the whirling disks, it just explodes into flour. Some people love micronizers, 
but others think they make inferior flour. Let's see what we think, OK?
While the model I have is no longer being made, similar models are being sold under the names WonderMill and NutriMill.
As mentioned in the main article and above, this is a micronizer mill. It works by spinning two plates at high speed and when grain hits the wheels it is instantly pulverized. The WhisperMill can be easily broken if it is started with the hopper full of grain, or if it is stopped before the hopper is empty. In brief, start the motor, add the grain, when all the grain is milled, stop the motor. Also, if you get some grain that hasn't been well cleaned, a stone in the grain can destroy the spinning discs. It pays to not use cheap grain in these mills.
Two areas where this mill excels were lack of dust and speed. The milled flour is sent to the sealed white container to the right of the mill through the green tube. There is an air filter on the top of the catch container. All in all, little dust is created. This mill ripped through our 1,300 gram test milling in under 3 minutes, which was, by far, the shortest time.
Adjustment range - the WhisperMill adjusts from very fine to fine. If you need to crack grains, this is NOT your mill.
While this is called a whisper mill, it wasn't notably quiet. It made 82db of noise, which is on a par with the KitchenAid. However, where the KitchenAid made lower pitched and "grindy" noises, the WhisperMill made higher pitched noises, but for less time. My wife found this somewhat less annoying than the KitchenAid grain mill. When the WhisperMill starts and stops it sounds like a jet engine winding up or down. However, it won't be noisy for long! Some people maintain that this sort of mill produces flour with less damaged starch than stone or roller mills, and that leaves less food for the yeast which makes for inferior bread. All the bread recipes at their no longer available web page featured breads with eggs, milk powder and other flour improvers. Good flour doesn't need improvers to make good bread. The breads from the corporate recipes were more like cake than bread. All this made me wonder about the quality of the flour. So, how did this mill fare in our tests?
| Cost | $199.00 list |
| Time to mill 1,300 grams | 2:54 |
| Sound level while milling | 82db @ 1 meter |
| Flour temperature while milling | 127.4F (53C) |
| Comments: | The WhisperMill was very fast, ground a very finely ground grade of flour and contained dust well. However, it did not live up to the "whisper" implied in its name, and seems to have disproved the adage about the finer the grind, the better the bread. It made a lower grade flour. Further, the adjustment range is very limited, allowing it to make very fine or fine flour. If you need a coarser grind, this is not your mill, and, to repeat the obvious, the finely ground flour didn't translate into great loaves of bread. |
Now, let's look at particle sizes. The flour particle size was considerably smaller than that of the KitchenAid, but that didn't translate into a markedly better rise. In fact, the bread made with flour from the WhisperMill had worst rise and crumb structure of any of our test loaves.
| Stopped by Sieve | First, and only, pass |
| > 20 Grid | 21 grams |
| 20 - 50 Grid | 497 grams |
| 50 - 100 Grid | 585 grams |
| < 100 grid | 141 grams |
Please note that there were losses due to flour stuck in the sieves, so we didn't get 1,300 grams of flour through the sieves.
It's a toss up between the KitchenAid and the WhisperMill as to which produced the least risen loaves. These are the 100% whole wheat loaves.
Huh. I have owned a Whisper Mill for over 25 years. I used to make 100% whole wheat loaves with added gluten flour, but then I developed an intolerance to gluten. I switched to sourdough almost 10 years ago (no commercial yeast in my house now) and I make almost all of our baked goods. While 100% whole wheat is a denser product, I have never gotten such sorry looking loaves as you show in this article. I do use white wheat instead of red, and I often add some high quality bread flour for a better rise.
I use my Whisper Mill to grind all kinds of grain now that I’m eating gluten free now. No, you don’t get anything but fine flour, but that suits most of my needs. I’m still enjoying my old Whisper Mill as are several other family members who grind all their own whole wheat flour.
As to the noise, the beginning and end of grinding is when you get a brief jet engine sound. While grain is actually grinding it is a low rumble that doesn’t bother us as we bustle around the kitchen. I’ve heard other grinders that are so much louder!
Hi A Winter,
All the loaves in the test were made with no additives as I wanted to see what the flour would do without improvers. Adding vital wheat gluten would improve the loaves, as would adding bread flour or high protein flour. But that wasn’t the point of the test. There are a number of anecdotes about artisanal flour mills switching from stone mills to micronizer mills. The mills put out more flour, but their customers abandoned them as the flour just wasn’t as good as it had been.
There are many variables in the study. Bread recipe, the grain, the fineness of the grind and many, many others.
I’m glad you’re happy with your WhisperMill. I was happy with mine until I tried other mills.
Best wishes,
Mike
My whisper Mill pops the fuse seconds after turning it on what’s the problem?
Hi Jerry,
That’s a good question. I wish I had a good answer for you. So, I’ll wing it. Generally, when a motor trips fuses or circuit breakers it is locked up and can not move.
This could be a motor failure, or the mill being clogged with grain. If I remember correctly the manual warns that you should not turn off the mill until all the grain has been milled. The mill can not start when clogged with grain. If you have done this, there are a number of videos on YouTube that address this issue, just look for “whispermill repair”.
If you don’t find relief in the advice from these videos, the WonderMill Grain Mill company has taken over the ongoing support of the WhisperMill products. When my WhisperMill died, the WonderMill Grain Mill repaired my mill very effectively.
Hope this helps,
-Mike
May I ask what type of wheat berries you use for your sour dough bread?
Hi,
I’m not A. Winter. I get a number of different wheats, usually from Barton Springs Mill. They have different flavor profiles, and all are wonderful. Special favorites are Rouge de Boudreaux and Warthog.
However, Barton Springs Mill may be pricey for some people. I also use Wheat Montana’s wheat, available from WinCo, among other stores – check their web site to find stores that carry their grains. They work well and make very nice breads
Beyond that, look around. GrinderFinder tracks grain mills, most of which will also sell unmilled grain. Amish markets, if any are near you, also offer affordable grains.
The BIG warning is to avoid feedstock. Some cows are fed wheat, but it is often not a very clean wheat. It can have small stones in it which don’t seem to bother cattle, but will destroy a WhisperMill or other micronizer mills. If you mill the grains with a more tolerant mill, the bread will still likely taste of the good earth it was raised in, more than you might like. Terroir is fine, dirt, not so much.
Good luck and best wishes,
Mike
I haven’t been used my mill for years. Can you suggest how to clean it for using again?
Hi Lori,
Most mills are not easy to open up, and don’t like being wet. So, here are some general tips.
Clean the outside with a soft damp cloth. If there is dirt that refuses to come off, use a soapy cloth and then rinse with a damp cloth.
If you have a Whispermill or other micronizer, you may want to rinse the air filters in clear water, and then let them air dry. You might also want to clean the grain hopper with a soft, clean, damp cloth. Wash out the bowl that catches the flour.
Once everything is dry, run a cup of rice through the mill. I set the mill to the coarsest setting, run the rice through, set the mill to a finer setting and run the rice through again. Repeat until you are on the finest setting and the rice is a fine flour. Save the rice flour for dusting bannetons, bread bowls, pizza peels or whatever you have dough sticking too.
Hope this helps, please let me know!
-Mike
Run some white rice through to clean it
Can I run the mill without a filter, or use something else for the filter? The one we acquired didn’t have a filter but the instructions call for one.
Hi Scott,
We are not connected with Whispermill or Wondermill, so my comments should not be taken to be definitive. Wondermill took over the maintenance and support of the Whispermill, as well as selling the Wondermill which they tell us is a superior machine.
They offer parts for the mills on this page. At the bottom of the page they offer replacement filters.
Good luck,
Mike