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Whole wheat flour is made by grinding the entire kernel. However, there's a catch: within 72 hours of milling the grain into flour, about 90% of the over 30 nutrients are lost due to oxidation [2]. This is why I grind my wheat fresh as needed.
Another downside of purchasing whole wheat flour is that the oils in the wheat will go rancid as they oxidize, causing products made from the flour to have a bitter taste. Flour must either refrigerated or used immediately to avoid rancidity and loss of nutrients.
Note that if you do use white flour (I use it in small quantities for cooking and occasionally for sweets), be sure to get unbleached and unbromeated flour to avoid further removal of the few remaining nutrients [4].
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is critical to every function of the body. It's main purpose is to prevent oxidation of fatty acids and other fat-like substances in our bodies [2]. Without vitamin E, our body may not be able to fully utilize other nutrients that it needs. Vitamin E is lost when exposed to oxygen after milling.After processed white flour became readily available, growing health issues were linked to vitamin B deficiency and back to the new white flour. When brought up by the government, millers began to "enrich" the flour by adding back in 4 of the at least 24 vitamins and minerals removed by milling [3]. This was motivated by cost - the long shelf life and preferred taste of white flour could bring in more money than wholesome whole wheat flour.
Grinding flour at home
There are a number different appliances for grinding flour from whole grains. Wheat and similar grains can be purchased in bulk and stored for years if kept in a properly sealed container. Generally flour should be ground as needed, but excess can be stored in the fridge for short periods. Having a grain mill also makes it easier to use a variety of grains in your baking, such as oats, buckwheat, kamut, rye, spelt, quinoa, amaranth, corn, and others.My grain mill is a Kitchen Aid attachment made by Family Grain Mill. I like that it is small and easy to use, not requiring counter space in addition to the multi-purpose mixer. My mom uses a WonderMill, which is a standalone appliance and takes up more space, but is also much faster and can produce a finer flour.
My mom and I have both purchased bulk grains from Bread Beckers. They only have one retail location, but ship throughout the US. (Unfortunately, living in Germany I have not found a source of bulk grains). Whole Foods and other retail stores also sell grains in bulk bins and in packages.
One thing that can be annoying is following a recipe which measures flour in cups. It is not always clear exactly how much whole grain is needed to produce one cup, and in general it is more accurate to measure grain by weight rather than volume. I use 125 grams of grain for every cup of wheat flour, Bread Beckers recommends 1/3 cup whole grain per 1/2 cup flour for wheat. Other flours have different mass and density so you may need to adjust. Also, keep in mind that freshly ground flour will not be as compact as flour which has been packaged and had time to settle.
As I mentioned earlier, I also soak grains before baking as much as possible.
Sources
[1] The Whole Wheat Kernel (http://www.greatharvest.com/bread/whole-wheat-kernel.html)[2] Vitamin E, Needed by Every Cell (http://info.breadbeckers.com/vitamin-e/)
[3] Do Not Eat the Bread of Idleness (http://info.breadbeckers.com/bread-of-idleness/)
[4] The Truth About Potassium Bromate (http://www.livescience.com/36206-truth-potassium-bromate-food-additive.html)
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