A baker's grain guide: wheat, spelt, rye, einkorn, oats, corn & what to mill

Grains at a glance

Grain	Gluten behaviour	Best for	Milling notes
Hard wheat (red or white)	Strong	Bread, rolls, pizza	The standard bread grain. Hard white wheat tastes milder and looks lighter than red.
Soft wheat	Weak	Cakes, biscuits, pastry	Lower protein; mill fine and sift for tender bakes.
Durum wheat	Strong but not stretchy	Pasta, semolina, some breads	Very hard kernels; a medium setting gives semolina.
Spelt	Extensible, more fragile	Bread, cakes, everything	Buy dehulled spelt for milling. Mix gently and use a little less water.
Einkorn	Weak, sticky	Tin loaves, flatbreads, cakes	The oldest cultivated wheat; golden flour, sweet flavour. Buy dehulled.
Emmer	Moderate	Rustic bread, pasta	Ancient wheat known in Italy as farro medio; nutty and slightly sweet.
Khorasan wheat	Moderate	Bread, pasta	Large, buttery kernels; often sold under the Kamut® brand.
Rye	Not gluten-forming	Sourdough rye, crispbread	Needs sourdough acidity and higher hydration; bake in a tin.
Barley (hulless)	Very weak	Flatbreads, as a minority share in bread	Buy hulless or pearled barley; adds sweetness and moisture.
Oats (groats)	None	Porridge, cookies, blends	Mill dehulled groats, or flake them instead. Choose certified gluten-free oats if needed.
Buckwheat (hulled)	None (a seed, not a grass)	Pancakes, galettes, soba	Earthy flavour; mill hulled buckwheat, not roasted kasha, for light flour.
Millet and rice	None	Gluten-free blends, porridge	Rice is very hard; run it slightly coarser if the mill labours.
Dry corn (maize)	None	Polenta, cornbread, tortillas	Use dry field or popcorn maize, never sweetcorn. Crack coarse first, then mill finer.
Chickpeas, lentils, dry beans	None	Socca, falafel, thickening	Must be bone-dry; crack coarse first. Check your mill manual: some makers limit pulses.

The wheat family

Modern bread wheat, spelt, einkorn, emmer, durum and khorasan are all wheats, and all contain gluten. They differ in how strong and stretchy that gluten is. Strong hard wheat traps gas well and gives tall, open loaves. Spelt and the ancient wheats give softer, more fragile doughs that reward gentle handling and slightly less water.

Rye: a different kind of bread

Rye's structure comes from swelling starches and gums rather than gluten. Rye doughs feel like clay, need much more water, and rely on sourdough acidity to bake properly. Treat a rye loaf as a "batter in a tin" and you'll get a moist, long-keeping bread.

Gluten-free grains

Buckwheat, millet, rice, corn, oats (if certified gluten-free) and pulses contain no gluten. Bake them as flatbreads, pancakes or in blends with binders such as psyllium. If you bake for someone with coeliac disease, remember that a shared mill will carry over traces of wheat.

What never goes in a stone mill

Oily seeds (flax, sesame, sunflower, poppy, nuts), damp or sprouted grain that hasn't been dried completely, and anything sugary. Use a flaker, a seed grinder or a blender instead.

Ready to bake? Plan the quantities with the flour calculator and read baking with freshly milled flour.