Does the hands-on process of milling your own nutritious whole grain flour appeal to you? Or perhaps you enjoy the fantastic flavors of freshly ground nut butters?
Then look no further, because the versatile WonderMill Junior Deluxe excels at both. And it’s marvelously affordable!
WonderMill Junior Deluxe at a Glance
Pluses…
- Being manual, it’s ideal for off-grid and rural environments
- Comes with two sets of burrs, stone and steel, for dry and oily foods
- Burrs are easy to adjust for coarse meal to fine flour
- Sturdy, one-piece Uni-Body construction
- Heavy-duty brass bearings never need lubrication
- Can be motorized with the drill bit adapter
- Can also be adapted peddle power with a bicycle sprocket converter
- Masa/bean auger is ideal for hominy or nut butters
- Patented double-post clamps make sturdy, secure purchase on countertops
- Included flour guide fits over the burrs to cleanly guide expelled flour into a collection bowl
… And Minuses
- Being manual, it takes time and muscles to produce small amounts of flour
- Texture adjustment knob may require resetting while milling
Here’s the closeup look at these features:
Uni-Body Construction
One of the outstanding features of the Junior Deluxe is the one-piece construction.
Wonder Junior Deluxe Hand Grain Mill by WonderMill, available on Amazon
The I-Beam Uni-Body has the housing unit and hopper built as one piece, which means there are no pins, springs, or clamps to break or misplace. The hopper won’t become dislodged with vigorous grinding action, and there are no internal seams for kernels to get stuck in.
The body is made of robust cast aluminum, then finished with a tough, baked-on FDA-approved and food safe powder coating. The durable finish is attractive and easy to clean, as well as chip and scratch resistance.
Wet and Dry Burrs
The Junior Deluxe comes with two sets of burrs – one set is made of corundum stone, and the other is stainless steel.
The composite stone burrs are for grinding dry grains and legumes to produce coarse meal, cracked grains, and bread or fine pastry flour.
The steel burrs are what’s needed to easily process wet or oily ingredients, such as coffee, sprouted grains, seeds, and nuts.
Tough Components
Heavy-duty bronze bearings make for smooth and fluid cranking, and are lubricated for a lifetime – so you never have to oil them.
The large shafts on both the standard auger and the masa/bean auger are constructed of strong stainless steel, while the auger spiral is made of a composite alloy.
Wonder Junior Deluxe Masa/Nut Butter Auger, available on Amazon
The optional masa/bean auger is what you’ll want if you plan to process hominy for masa dough, or to create tantalizing, fresh nut butters.
Another quality feature is the robust double-post clamp – it provides a secure purchase to a table or countertop, and holds the grinder firmly in place when in use. Or, if you have a permanent spot to dedicate for your unit, it can be bolted directly to a table or countertop using the clamp post guide holes.
The crank is also made of cast aluminum and is fitted with a large, comfortable nylon handle.
But of course, being manual, it takes a substantial amount of energy and time to grind even small amounts of flour. To speed things up, consider some of the accessories described below.
Powering Up
For grinding large amounts of flour or nut butters, these adapters make the job quicker and easier.
Wonder Junior Drill Bit Adapter
The drill bit adapter is a good alternative to motorizing. The adapter post fits into the jaws of a drill chuck and the socket end fits over the auger shaft (after removing the handle).
Wonder Junior with Drill Bit Adapter, available on Amazon
Turn on the drill, and voila, your manual mill is now juiced, turning at up to 160RPM! This is a great option for processing nut butters or larger quantities of flour.
New Wonder Junior Bicycle Sprocket Conversion Kit, available on Amazon
Or, if you like to use peddle power, there’s a bicycle chain sprocket converter that is also available on Amazon. Again, the converter fits over the auger shaft, and any standard bike chain will fit over the sprockets.
Wondermill Junior Deluxe Repair Kit, available on Amazon
There’s also a convenient repair kit that comes with brass auger-shaft bushings, a shaft pin, two auger-shaft washers, and instructions.
Dimensions and Specs
The Junior Deluxe has overall measurements of 18 x 7 x 13.5 inches, the crank handle measures 10 inches, and the burrs measure 4 inches in diameter.
The hopper has a 1-quart capacity, and the entire unit weighs approximately 14 pounds.
Designed in the US and manufactured in India, the WonderMill Junior Deluxe comes with a limited lifetime warranty.
Care and Cleaning
A cleaning brush is included, and in most cases, this is sufficient to dust off the parts.
When processing oily foods, the entire unit can be washed by hand with soapy, warm water. Rinse thoroughly, and dry completely before re-assembling or storing. Never put Junior in the dishwasher.
Techniques, Tips, and Tricks
WonderMill has several videos on their website that will help you to get the most out of your grinder.
Topics range from general operation, cleaning, and finding the right burr tension, to grinding flour and making nut butters – well worth the time to watch. Videos are located in the “Resources” tab on their home page.
Comparison to Similar Products
The Country Living Grain Mill is another manual flour grinder that’s popular with online shoppers.
Ruggedly built with top-quality components, the made-in-the-USA Country Living uses larger burrs and a heavy cast iron flywheel that makes it easier to turn than a hand crank.
However, with only stainless steel burrs, you won’t be able to grind oily foods. More expensive than the Junior Deluxe, the quality of the Country Living mill is outstanding, but it’s not as versatile.
For a more economical manual model, consider the Victoria Grain Mill.
The no-frills Victoria Professional does a good job of producing cracked grain and coarse flour or meal, but it can’t process oily foods.
Basic in design and function, the adjusting screw will produce slight variations in texture, but it won’t create a fine pastry flour.
The Final Crank
The WonderMill Junior Deluxe is one of the most versatile grain mills on the market!
The two sets of burrs are quick and easy to change, and texture settings can be adjusted for fine flour, cracked grains, or coarse meal – in fact, it can handle all of the grains described in our grain purchasing guide, plus some! Just switch out the burrs, and it can grind oily nuts and seeds for creamy, smooth nut butters.
Simple and easy to use, the Junior Deluxe is well made, reliable, and economical. And, with the drill bit adapter, it can be motorized for processing larger batches – great value for the baker who aims to work with fresh ingredients that offer complete nutrition!
Do you folks have any questions about this mill or home grinding? Drop us a line in the comments below. And be sure to check out our other grain mill buying guides and reviews now!
Product photos via WonderMill and The Uppercrust Kitchen.
About Lorna Kring
Recently retired as a costume specialist in the TV and film industry, Lorna now enjoys blogging on contemporary lifestyle themes. A bit daft about the garden, she’s particularly obsessed with organic tomatoes and herbs, and delights in breaking bread with family and friends.
Is it possible to grind smoked fish into powder?
No, smoked fish won’t powder in a grain mill Alberto, too much oil. You’d end up with smoked fish paste.
Is it possible to remove the skin off sorghum, millet and corn grain?
It would be difficult to refine your own whole grains at home, Mina, as this would involve removing the bran and the germ. This can improve shelf life, but it removes the majority of the healthy nutrients from the grain.
In a commercial factory setting, this may involve “wet ilotation or degermination,” a process in which corn, for example, could be soaked in a sulfurous acid solution, “then freeing the germ by rough grinding and nally floating oil the germ on a starch milk of suitable specic gravity,” for example – essentially, getting the grain wet and soaking it for a period of time, then grinding or pounding it, will help to separate the bran and germ from the endosperm, followed by winnowing, sieving, or passing through a screen to separate these elements of the grain.
This process results in moist grain that is best ground or pounded by hand, and you won’t be able to grind it efficiently when it’s damp in an electric or manual flour mill. Understandably, this refining process can be very time consuming, and I don’t know of a way that “wet milling” will result in uniform flour when done at home. I’d be interested to hear what other readers have to say on the topic!
I saw in a review on Amazon that the drill bit can only be used with the steel plates. Is this true?
Here is the actual post. “Whats the difference between the wondermill and the wondermill jr.????
Answer:The Wondermill is electric powered. The Wondermill Junior is hand-cranked. It does have an optional accessory to permit use of a 1/2 inch electric drill for power, but that cannot be used with the stone plates for flour; only the steel burr plates for moist grains, peanut butter, etc.
John A. Mayer · March 27, 2018