Gristmill

The gristmill is a Folktails-exclusive building that grinds raw crops into flour for use in food production. It processes Wheat into Wheat Flour and Cattail Root into Cattail Flour. Both output flours are Ingredients that require further transformation in the Bakery. The gristmill transmits power, allowing it to drive adjacent powered buildings without complicated networks of Power Shafts. The building was introduced in the Open Alpha and has received updates making it exclusive to the Folktails faction and adding the choice between Wheat Flour and Cattail Flour. There was an obsolete Iron Teeth variant in earlier versions.

The building's entrance is located on the far right side of one of its long sides. Gristmills serve as the primary Power food building for Folktails and should be placed near bakeries to minimize transport time for Ingredients.

• Gristmills process Wheat into Wheat Flour and Cattail Root into Cattail Flour; players can choose which flour to produce.
• Wheat Flour production from one gristmill supplies enough Ingredient for 2 bakeries producing Bread or 3 bakeries producing Maple Pastry.
• Cattail Flour production from one gristmill supplies enough Ingredient for 2 bakeries producing Cattail Crackers.
• The gristmill transmits power to adjacent buildings, reducing the need for Power Shafts in food processing districts.
• Position the gristmill with its entrance accessible for efficient worker routing, and place bakeries nearby to reduce Ingredient transport distances.

Gristmills have historical roots outside the game: real-world gristmills date back over 2,000 years and evolved from hand- or animal-powered mills to water- and wind-powered designs. Traditional gristmills use a pair of stones — a stationary bedstone and a rotating runner stone — with furrows and flat surfaces to cut and then crush grain. The term “grist” refers to grain brought to a mill to be ground.