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Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures. Corn flour has been important in Mesoamerican cuisine since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas. Rye flour is a constituent of bread in both Central Europe and Northern Europe.
Cereal flour consists either of the endosperm, germ, and bran together (whole-grain flour) or of the endosperm alone (refined flour). Meal is either differentiable from flour as having slightly coarser particle size (degree of comminution)[ further explanation needed ] or is synonymous with flour; the word is used both ways. For example, the word cornmeal often connotes a grittier texture whereas corn flour connotes fine powder, although there is no codified dividing line.
The CDC has cautioned not to eat raw flour doughs or batters. Raw flour can contain bacteria like E. coli and needs to be cooked like other foods. [1]
The English word flour is originally a variant of the word flower , and both words derive from the Old French fleur or flour, which had the literal meaning "blossom", and a figurative meaning "the finest". The phrase fleur de farine meant "the finest part of the flour", since flour resulted from the elimination of coarse and unwanted matter from the grain during milling. [2]
Maize or corn flour has been important in Mesoamerican cuisine since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas. Rye flour is a constituent of bread in central and northern Europe. Archaeological evidence for making flour (wheat seeds crushed between simple millstones) dates to at least 6000 BC. In 2018, archaeologists reported finding evidence [3] of bread making at Shubayqa 1, a Natufian hunter-gatherer site more than 14,000 years old in northwest Jordan. The Romans were the first to grind seeds on cone mills. In 1786, at the beginning of the Industrial Era, the first steam-powered flour mill, Albion Mills, Southwark, was completed in London. [4] In the 1930s, some flour began to be enriched with iron, niacin, thiamine and riboflavin. In the 1940s, mills started to enrich flour and folic acid was added to the list in the 1990s.
An important problem of the Industrial Revolution was the preservation of flour. Transportation distances and a relatively slow distribution system collided with natural shelf life. The reason for the limited shelf life is the fatty acids of the germ, which react from the moment they are exposed to oxygen. This occurs when grain is milled; the fatty acids oxidize and flour starts to become rancid. Depending on climate and grain quality, this process takes six to nine months. In the late 19th century, this process was too short for an industrial production and distribution cycle. As vitamins, micronutrients and amino acids were completely or relatively unknown in the late 19th century, removing the germ was an effective solution. Without the germ, flour cannot become rancid. Degermed flour became standard. Degermation started in densely populated areas and took approximately one generation to reach the countryside. Heat-processed flour is flour where the germ is first separated from the endosperm and bran, then processed with steam, dry heat or microwave and blended into flour again. [5]
Milling of flour is accomplished by grinding grain between stones or steel wheels. [6] Today, "stone-ground" usually means that the grain has been ground in a mill in which a revolving stone wheel turns over a stationary stone wheel, vertically or horizontally with the grain in between.
Roller mills soon replaced stone grist mills as the production of flour has historically driven technological development, as attempts to make gristmills more productive and less labor-intensive led to the watermill [7] and windmill. These terms are now applied more broadly to uses of water and wind power for purposes other than milling. [8] More recently, the Unifine mill, an impact-type mill, was developed in the mid-20th century.
Modern farm equipment allows livestock farmers to do some or all of their own milling when it comes time to convert their own grain crops to coarse meal for livestock feed. This capability is economically important because the profit margins are often thin enough in commercial farming that saving expenses is vital to staying in business.
Flour contains a high proportion of starches, which are a subset of complex carbohydrates also known as polysaccharides. The kinds of flour used in cooking include all-purpose flour (known as plain outside North America), self-rising flour, and cake flour (including bleached flour). The higher the protein content the harder and stronger the flour, and the more it will produce crispy or chewy breads. The lower the protein the softer the flour, which is better for cakes, cookies, and pie crusts. [9] Cereal flour consists either of the endosperm, germ, and bran together (whole-grain flour) or of the endosperm alone (refined flour).
"Bleached flour" is "refined" flour with a chemical whitening (bleaching) agent added. "Refined" flour has had the germ and bran, containing much of the nutritional fibre and vitamins,[ citation needed ] removed and is often referred to as "white flour".
Bleached flour is artificially aged using a "bleaching" agent, a "maturing" agent, or both. A bleaching agent affects the carotenoids responsible for the natural colour of the flour; a "maturing" agent also affects gluten development. A maturing agent may either strengthen or weaken gluten development.
The four most common additives used as bleaching/maturing agents in the US are:
Some other chemicals used as flour treatment agents to modify color and baking properties include:
Common preservatives in commercial flour include:
All bleaching and maturing agents (with the possible exception of ascorbic acid) have been banned in the United Kingdom. [11]
Bromination of flour in the US has fallen out of favor, and while it is not yet actually banned anywhere, few retail flours available to the home baker are bromated anymore.
Many varieties of flour packaged specifically for commercial bakeries are still bromated. Retail bleached flour marketed to the home baker is now treated mostly with either peroxidation or chlorine gas. Current information from Pillsbury is that their varieties of bleached flour are treated both with benzoyl peroxide and chlorine gas. Gold Medal states that their bleached flour is treated either with benzoyl peroxide or chlorine gas, but no way exists to tell which process has been used when buying the flour at the grocery store.
The old method of procuring white or "bleached" flour did not entail the use of chemical agents at all. Rather, the wheat kernels were moistened with water long enough for the outer kernels of the wheat which contained the bran to soften and, eventually, fall off while grinding. [12] In some places, the leaves of Syrian rue ( Peganum harmala ) were spread in stratified layers between the layers of grain, and left in such a state for several days, until the fumes emitted from the astringent leaves of the plant caused the outer kernels of the wheat to break down and dissolve, leaving a clean and white flour after grinding. [13] [14] [15] [16]
During the process of making flour, specifically as a result of the bleaching process, nutrients are lost. Some of these nutrients may be replaced during refining – the result is known as enriched flour.
Cake flour is the lowest in gluten protein content, with 6–7% [17] (5–8% from second source [18] ) protein to produce minimal binding so the cake "crumbles" easily.
Pastry flour has the second-lowest gluten protein content, with 7.5–9.5% [17] (8–9% from second source [18] ) protein to hold together with a bit more strength than cakes, but still produce flaky crusts rather than hard or crispy ones.
All-purpose, or "AP flour", or plain flour is medium in gluten protein content at 9.5–11.5% [17] (10–12% from second source [18] ) protein content. It has adequate protein content for many bread and pizza bases, though bread flour and special 00 grade Italian flour are often preferred for these purposes, respectively, especially by artisan bakers. Some biscuits are also prepared using this type of flour. "Plain" refers not only to AP flour's middling gluten content but also to its lack of any added leavening agent (as in self-rising flour).
Bread flour is typically made from hard red winter wheat planted in the fall and harvested in the spring. Hard wheat is high in gluten, a protein that makes dough stretchy. Hard wheat is 11.5–13.5% [17] (12–14% from second source [18] ) protein. The increased protein binds to the flour to entrap carbon dioxide released by the yeast fermentation process, resulting in a better rise and chewier texture.
Hard is a general term for flours with high gluten protein content, commonly refers to extra strong flour, with 13.5–16% [17] (or 14–15% from some sources) protein (16% is a theoretically possible protein content [17] ). This flour may be used where a recipe adds ingredients that require the dough to be extra strong to hold together in their presence, or when strength is needed for constructions of bread (e.g., some centerpiece displays).
Gluten flour is refined gluten protein, or a theoretical 100% protein (though practical refining never achieves a full 100%). It is used to strengthen flour as needed. For example, adding approximately one teaspoon per cup of AP flour gives the resulting mix the protein content of bread flour. It is commonly added to whole grain flour recipes to overcome the tendency of greater fiber content to interfere with gluten development, needed to give the bread better rising (gas holding) qualities and chew.
Unbleached flour is simply flour that has not undergone bleaching and therefore does not have the color of "white" flour. An example is graham flour, whose namesake, Sylvester Graham, was against using bleaching agents, which he considered unhealthy.
In English-speaking countries, self-raising (or self-rising) flour is commercially available with chemical leavening agents already in the mix. [19] [20] In America, it is also likely to be pre-salted; in Britain this is not the case. The added ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the flour, which aids a consistent rise in baked goods. This flour is generally used for preparing sponge cakes, scones, muffins, etc. It was invented by Henry Jones and patented in 1845. If a recipe calls for self-raising flour, and this is not available, the following substitution is possible:
Wheat is the grain most commonly used to make flour.[ citation needed ] Certain varieties may be referred to as "clean" or "white". Flours contain differing levels of the protein gluten. "Strong flour" or "hard flour" has a higher gluten content than "weak" or "soft" flour. "Brown" and wholemeal flours may be made of hard or soft wheat.
When flours do not contain gluten, they are suitable for people with gluten-related disorders, such as coeliac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity or wheat allergy sufferers, among others. [22] [23] [24] [25] Contamination with gluten-containing cereals can occur during grain harvesting, transporting, milling, storing, processing, handling and/or cooking. [25] [26] [27]
Flour also can be made from soybeans, arrowroot, taro, cattails, manioc, quinoa, and other non-cereal foodstuffs.
In some markets, the different available flour varieties are labeled according to the ash mass that remains after a sample is incinerated in a laboratory oven (typically at 550 °C (1,022 °F) or 900 °C (1,650 °F), see international standards ISO 2171 and ICC 104/1 [33] ). This is an easily verified indicator for the fraction of the whole grain remains in the flour, because the mineral content of the starchy endosperm is much lower than that of the outer parts of the grain. Flour made from all parts of the grain (extraction rate: 100%) leaves about 2 grams (0.071 oz) ash or more per 100 grams (3.5 oz) dry flour. Plain white flour with an extraction rate of 50–60% leaves about 0.4 grams (0.014 oz).
In the United States and the United Kingdom, no numbered standardized flour types are defined, and the ash mass is only rarely given on the label by flour manufacturers. However, the legally required standard nutrition label specifies the protein content of the flour, which is also a way for comparing the extraction rates of different available flour types.
In general, as the extraction rate of the flour increases, so do both the protein and the ash content. However, as the extraction rate approaches 100% (whole meal), the protein content drops slightly, while the ash content continues to rise.
The following table shows some typical examples of how protein and ash content relate to each other in wheat flour:
Residual ash mass | Protein | Wheat flour type | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US | UK | German/Polish | French | Italian | Czech/Slovak | Polish [35] | Argentine | Japanese | Chinese | ||
~0.4% | ~9% | Pastry flour | Soft flour | 405 | 45 | 00 | Hladká mouka výběrová 00 | tortowa | 0000 | Hakurikiko (薄力粉) | dījīn miànfěn (低筋麵粉) |
~0.55% | ~11% | All-purpose flour | Plain flour | 550 | 55 | 0 | Hladká mouka | luksusowa | 000 | Churikiko (中力粉) | zhōngjīn miànfěn (中筋麵粉) |
~0.8% | ~14% | Bread flour or "high gluten flour" | Strong or hard | 812 | 80 | 1 | Polohrubá mouka | chlebowa | 00 | Kyorikiko (強力粉) | gāojīn miànfěn (高筋麵粉) |
~1.1% | ~15% | First clear flour | Very strong or hard | 1050 | 110 | 2 | Hrubá mouka | sitkowa | 0 | kyorikimatsufun (強力末粉) | tè gāojīn miànfěn (特高筋麵粉) |
>1.5% | ~13% | White whole wheat | Wholemeal | 1600 | 150 | Farina integrale di grano tenero | Celozrnná mouka | graham, razowa | 1⁄2 0 | Zenryufun (全粒粉) | quánmài miànfěn (全麥麵粉) |
This table is only a rough guideline for converting bread recipes. Since flour types are not standardized in many countries, the numbers may differ between manufacturers. There is no French type corresponding to the lowest ash residue in the table. The closest is French Type 45.
There is no official Chinese name corresponding to the highest ash residue in the table. Usually such products are imported from Japan and the Japanese name zenryufun (全粒粉) is used, or it is called quánmài miànfěn (全麥麵粉).
It is possible to determine ash content from some US manufacturers. However, US measurements are based on wheat with a 14% moisture content. Thus, a US flour with 0.48% ash would approximate a French Type 55.
Other measurable properties of flour as used in baking can be determined using a variety of specialized instruments, such as the farinograph.
Flour dust suspended in air is explosive—as is any mixture of a finely powdered flammable substance with air [36] (see dust explosion). Some devastating explosions have occurred at flour mills, including an explosion in 1878 at the Washburn "A" Mill in Minneapolis that killed 22 people. [37] [38]
The CDC has cautioned not to eat raw flour doughs or batters. Raw flour can contain bacteria like E. coli and needs to be cooked like other foods. [1]
Bread, pasta, crackers, many cakes, and many other foods are made using flour. Wheat flour is also used to make a roux as a base for thickening gravy and sauces. It can also be used as an ingredient in papier-mâché glue. [39]
Cornstarch is a principal ingredient used to thicken many puddings or desserts, and is the main ingredient in packaged custard.
Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain cereal grains. The term gluten usually refers to the elastic network of a wheat grain's proteins, gliadin and glutenin primarily, that forms readily with the addition of water and often kneading in the case of bread dough. The types of grains that contain gluten include all species of wheat, and barley, rye, and some cultivars of oat; moreover, cross hybrids of any of these cereal grains also contain gluten, e.g. triticale. Gluten makes up 75–85% of the total protein in bread wheat.
Pasta is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was traditionally only made with durum, although the definition has been expanded to include alternatives for a gluten-free diet, such as rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils. Pasta is believed to have developed independently in Italy and is a staple food of Italian cuisine, with evidence of Etruscans making pasta as early as 400 BCE in Italy.
Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made foods, having been of significance since the dawn of agriculture, and plays an essential role in both religious rituals and secular culture.
Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal, associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States, with origins in Native American cuisine. It is an example of batter bread. Dumplings and pancakes made with finely ground cornmeal are staple foods of the Hopi people in Arizona. The Hidatsa people of the Upper Midwest call baked cornbread naktsi, while the Choctaw people of the Southeast call it bvnaha. The Cherokee and Seneca tribes enrich the basic batter, adding chestnuts, sunflower seeds, apples, or berries, and sometimes combine it with beans or potatoes. Modern versions of cornbread are usually leavened by baking powder.
Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavening agents, as well as ingredients such as fats or flavourings.
Soda bread is a variety of quick bread made in many cuisines in which sodium bicarbonate is used as a leavening agent instead of yeast. The basic ingredients of soda bread are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. The buttermilk contains lactic acid, which reacts with the baking soda to form bubbles of carbon dioxide. Other ingredients can be added, such as butter, egg, raisins, or nuts. Quick breads can be prepared quickly and reliably, without requiring the time and labor needed for kneaded yeast breads.
Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of common wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or bread flour, is high in gluten, with 12% to 14% gluten content, and its dough has elastic toughness that holds its shape well once baked. Soft flour is comparatively low in gluten and thus results in a loaf with a finer, crumbly texture. Soft flour is usually divided into cake flour, which is the lowest in gluten, and pastry flour, which has slightly more gluten than cake flour.
Rugbrød is a very common form of rye bread from Denmark. Rugbrød usually resembles a long brown extruded rectangle, no more than 12 cm (4.7 in) high, and 30 to 35 cm long, depending on the bread pan in which it is baked. The basic ingredient is rye flour which will produce a plain or "old-fashioned" bread of uniform, somewhat heavy structure, but the most popular versions today contain whole grains and often other seeds such as sunflower seeds, linseeds or pumpkin seeds. Most Danes eat rugbrød every day.
A whole grain is a grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm.
Rye bread is a type of bread made with various proportions of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour. Compared to white bread, it is higher in fiber, darker in color, and stronger in flavor. The world's largest exporter of rye bread is Poland.
Lahoh, is a spongy, flat pancake-like bread. It is a type of flat bread eaten regularly in Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Yemenite Jewish immigrants popularized the dish in Israel. It is called Canjeero/Canjeelo in southern Somalia and also called Laxoox/Lahoh in Somaliland, Djibouti, Yemen and Saudi Arabia respectively.
Maida, maida flour, or maida mavu is a type of wheat flour originated from the Indian subcontinent. It is a super-refined wheat flour used in Indian cuisine to make pastries and other bakery items like breads and biscuits. Some maida may have tapioca starch added.
Vienna bread is a type of bread that is produced from a process developed in Vienna, Austria, in the 19th century. The Vienna process used high milling of Hungarian grain, and cereal press-yeast for leavening.
Gluten is the seed storage protein in mature wheat seeds. It is the sticky substance in bread wheat which allows dough to rise and retain its shape during baking. The same, or very similar, proteins are also found in related grasses within the tribe Triticeae. Seed glutens of some non-Triticeae plants have similar properties, but none can perform on a par with those of the Triticeae taxa, particularly the Triticum species. What distinguishes bread wheat from these other grass seeds is the quantity of these proteins and the level of subcomponents, with bread wheat having the highest protein content and a complex mixture of proteins derived from three grass species.
A dough conditioner, flour treatment agent, improving agent or bread improver is any ingredient or chemical added to bread dough to strengthen its texture or otherwise improve it in some way. Dough conditioners may include enzymes, yeast nutrients, mineral salts, oxidants and reductants, bleaching agents and emulsifiers. They are food additives combined with flour to improve baking functionality. Flour treatment agents are used to increase the speed of dough rising and to improve the strength and workability of the dough.
Nordic bread culture has existed in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden from prehistoric times through to the present. It is often characterized by the usage of rye flour, barley flour, a mixture of nuts, seeds, and herbs, and varying densities depending on the region. Often, bread is served as an accompaniment to various recipes and meals. Nordic breads are often seasoned with an assortment of different spices and additives, such as caraway seeds, orange zest, anise, and honey.
In agriculture, grain quality depends on the use of the grain. In ethanol production, the chemical composition of grain such as starch content is important, in food and feed manufacturing, properties such as protein, oil and sugar are significant, in the milling industry, soundness is the most important factor to consider when it comes to the quality of grain. For grain farmers, high germination percentage and seed dormancy are the main features to consider. For consumers, properties such as color and flavor are most important.
Dry milling of grain is mainly utilized to manufacture feedstock into consumer and industrial based products. This process is widely associated with the development of new bio-based associated by-products. The milling process separates the grain into four distinct physical components: the germ, flour, fine grits, and coarse grits. The separated materials are then reduced into food products utilized for human and animal consumption.
Barley flour is a flour prepared from dried and ground barley. Barley flour is used to prepare barley bread and other breads, such as flat bread and yeast breads.
Manitoba flour, a name chiefly used in Italy, is a flour of common wheat originating in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is a strong flour, and distinguished from weaker flours as measured with a Chopin alveograph.
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