Manhattan, KS – To kick off the new year, the IGP Institute hosted the IAOM-KSU Introduction to Flour Milling course from January 6-10, 2020.
The course was at full capacity with 16 participants coming from the countries of Canada and the United States, and featured classroom discussions, milling labs, and baking labs.
The main objective of this course was for participants to gain a broad understanding of the milling process from wheat receiving to finished baked goods.
Participants also learned about the relationship between wheat quality and mill efficiency, different wheat types and what products each can produce, and the role each department plays in the success of the milling industry.
Emily Kreinbrink, product development scientist for The Mennel Milling Company, attended the course because, like a majority of the course participants, she was new to flour milling and desired to understand more about it.
“Even though I work at a flour mill, I do not have a milling background,” says Kreinbrink.
“I really wanted to learn how the mill works and all the details of the flour milling process.
"This course has given me a much better understanding for what we are doing every day, and it can help me troubleshoot in the future.”
The course covered a wide range of topics related to flour milling such as wheat classes, cleaning and conditioning, principles of mill flow sheets, rolls, sifters, purifiers, blending and flour functionality.
Shawn Thiele, flour milling and grain processing curriculum manager and associate director at the IGP Institute, shares about the practical hands-on experiences of the course.
“The participants had the opportunity to learn about the six different classes of U.S. wheat and were able to experience milling those classes of wheat in the Shellenberger tabletop milling lab,” says Thiele.
“Participants also learned about the milling process and put that into action in the Hal Ross Flour Mill.”
The next IAOM-KSU Introduction to Flour Milling course offering will be July 27-31, 2020.
In addition to flour milling and grain processing, the IGP Institute also offers courses in the areas of feed manufacturing and quality management, and grain marketing and risk management.
For more information, please contact Kelly Boswell at 785-532-4096 or kelly12@ksu.edu