Homemade Cake & Pastry Flour from Fresh Milled Flour
Learn how to make homemade cake flour from freshly milled wheat in this easy guide. Perfect for tender yellow cake, moist chocolate cake, or soft pastries, this homemade flour method brings out rich flavor and texture.
Yield: 1 cup
Cost: $0.10-$3 per batch (excluding mill)
Equipment
- Electric or stone grain mill (WonderMill, Mockmill)
- No. 60 sieves (manual or electric)
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Airtight container or twist-top lid jar (for bran or extra flour)
Materials
- 170-200g. Soft White or Soft Red Wheat Berries yeilds after sifting 120g.
- 1-2 tbsp cornstarch or tapioca starch optional, mimics store bought cake flour
Instructions
- Mill the grain – Weigh out 170–200 g of soft wheat berries (soft white for neutral flavor, soft red for rustic flavor). Mill on the finest setting your machine allows.
- Cool the flour – Fresh flour comes out slightly warm (105–110°F). Let it cool 10–15 minutes before using. For pastries, chill flour in the fridge or freezer before mixing with butter.
- Sift for texture – Use a #60 sieve for silky, light flour (ideal for cakes). A #40–50 sieve works too but leaves some bran for more rustic baking. Expect to lose 30–50% volume to bran when sifting.
- Weigh the sifted flour – Measure 120 g sifted flour for each cup of store-bought cake or pastry flour your recipe calls for. Save sifted-out bran for muffins, pancakes, or sourdough.
- Optional starch method – For extra tenderness, remove 1–2 tbsp of sifted flour per cup and replace with cornstarch or tapioca starch.
- Hot soak option – To soften bran (if using unsifted flour), heat recipe liquids to 180°F, pour over flour, and rest 30–60 minutes before continuing with your recipe. This reduces grit and improves tenderness.
- Use or store – Bake with your flour the same day for best flavor. If storing, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months. Always label with milling date.
Notes
- Why soft wheat matters – Soft wheats contain 8–10% protein, which keeps gluten development low. This is what gives cake and pastry flour its tender, fluffy crumb.
- Sifting tip – A #60 sieve creates the closest mimic to store-bought cake flour. Sifting removes up to 50% bran, so always mill extra berries to reach your target weight.
- Volume vs weight – Fresh flour is more aerated than store-bought. Always weigh (120 g = 1 cup). If you must measure by volume, use 1¼ cups fresh milled flour for every 1 cup of store-bought.
- Hot soak method – Especially useful for whole grain cakes. Mixing flour with 180°F liquid and resting up to 1 hour helps soften bran, resulting in a smoother crumb.
- Storage – Fresh flour is most nutritious when used within 24–72 hours of milling. For tender pastry, cold flour works best. Refrigerate or freeze if you need to store longer.
- Personal note – In over 25 years of milling, I’ve found that soft white wheat alone gives me the best results for cakes, while soft red wheat is lovely for rustic pastries. I rarely add cornstarch, since freshly milled flour already has that natural tenderness.