I just treated myself to a present. No, not a fancy handbag or expensive pair of shoes. A grain mill.

That’s right, I purchased a heavy duty electric “Schnitzer Vario” that grinds everything from spelt to rye to fennel seeds with 90mm conrundum stones driven by 360W motor. While my excitement for this mill this seems perfectly normal to me, when I told one city friend about my extravagant and nerdy purchase, she exclaimed “You’re so Byron!”- and she’s probably right.

There’s something about moving away from the big smoke to greener pastures that has inspired a slower, and simpler existence. A couple of years ago, I didn’t have the urge – or time – to bake my own bread, let alone mill my own grain. So is it worth it?

I first heard about the “schnitz” (as it’s now affectionately known) from sustainability guru and florist Joost Bakker. He’s been using it to roll his own oats and swears by their enhanced flavour and nutritional value. The porridge at his zero-waste Melbourne cafe Brothl was the best I ever tasted.

I christened my mill with buckwheat kernels and ground them to make a batch of fluffy pancakes. The result was a triumph. My still-warm buckwheat flour created the most gooey, delicious batter and tasted nutty and sweet. They were very filling. This is unsurprising considering how much more nutritious freshly milled flour is.

Whole grains contain oil so when freshly ground, they spoil fairly quickly and lose most of their nutrients within days. As a result, this oil is removed from commercial flours to increase shelf life. Taking away the oil means taking away the germ and bran which is also where most of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants are found. Unfortunately, up to 80 percent of nutrients are lost in commercial flour, which makes it more of a “filler” rather than the wholesome food it is in its original form.

Plus, there’s something strangely satisfying about the sound of coarse grain being ground into a fine powder, a little bit like that crackling sound when you cut through the chocolate centre of a “Vienetta.” And a feeling of completion. It’s a culinary indulgence for sure, but if you’re a gluten-loving bread and pasta enthusiast like me, it’s hard to go back once you’ve gone the whole grain.