Talk:Flour

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[edit] Bleached vs. unbleached

If there is an expert who can explain the difference between bleached and unbleached flour, that would be fantastic. The information on the net on this issue seems somewhat biased and contradictory. (69.180.21.216)


I'm a quality assurance manager at a large flour mill. The difference between bleached and unbleached is this: Bleached flour usually containst benzoyl peroxide which actually whitens the flour. Unbleached flour has no bleaching additive. 12.43.88.120 (talk) 02:29, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Refining

The article does not adequately explain the reason(s) for refining whole grains into refined flour. Since post-refining, added nutrients (e.g., artificial vitamins, iron) provide the only commonly acknowledged nutritional value of refined grains (flour), what, if any, nutritional value does one gain by eating refined grain products such as bread, pasta and pastries? The article should contain more information about the intrinsic nutritional value, if any, of refined grains (flour). (4.254.129.162)

[edit] Help to convert between the different flower systems

This is my guess to the US system:

(this end is high in starch)

cake flour

all-purpose flour

bread flour

(this end is rich in protein(gluten?))


and this is the German system:

German flour type numbers (Mehltype) indicate the amount of ash (measured in milligrams) obtained from 100 g of the dry mass of this flour. Standard wheat flours (defined in DIN 10355) range from type 405 for normal white wheat flour for baking, to strong bread flour types 550, 650, 812, and the darker types 1050 and 1600 for wholegrain breads.

I'm from Germany and I live in the US... I don't know how to tell what US flower is whitch type??

My guess:

cake flour = type 405

all-purpose flour = type 550

bread flour = 812


Does anybody knows more than I do??

Would this subject be interesting for the article it self?

I'm also interested to convert italien types to the US system...

17:52, 7 January 2006 (UTC) Markus Schulz

[edit] Answer from kingarthurflour

I also ask this question to kingarthurflour, here there answer:

Hello,

Thank you for writing. Your guesses are pretty close. Cake flour by definition is a bleached flour. So I would take that out of the equation and put in pastry flour, as type 405, the bread flour would be 650 and our high gluten flour would be 812. The Sir Galahad flour for professional bakers is our home baker’s all-purpose, and Sir Lancelot is the high gluten flour. The rest are the same whether they are packed in 50 pound bags or the 3-5 pound bags for home bakers.

German flours are catagorized by the amount of "ash" in the flour, not the amount of protein like American flours. This makes it hard to come up with an exact replacement. There are some suggestions below:


Type 405 - .50 ash - Similar to American pastry flour

Try: item #3331 Unbleached Pastry Flour (9.2% protein, .42 ash)

Item #3338 Italian-Style Flour (8.5% protein, .40-.45 ash) - This is the closest match, I think


Type 550 - .50-.58 ash - Similar to American all-purpose flour

Try: item #3005 Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (11.7% protein, .49 ash)

Item #3323 Select Artisan Organic All-Purpose Flour (11.3% protein, .54 ash) - This is the closest match, I think


Type 812 - .64-.89 ash - Similar to American high gluten flour, but higher ash

Try: item #3332 High Gluten Flour (14.2% protein, .70 ash)


Type 1050 - 1.05 ash - Similar to American "First Clear" flour

Try: item #3337 First Clear Flour (14.8% protein, .80 ash)


Type 1600 - 1.60 ash - The closest you could get to this would be a light-colored whole wheat flour

Try: item #3311 White Whole Wheat (13% protein, 1.80 ash)


I don’t have the equivalents for Italian flour.


Please contact us again if we can be of further assistance.


Happy Baking,


M.T. (I took the name out)


The Baker's Catalogue, Inc

800-827-6836

bakers@kingarthurflour.com

______end of kingarthurflour answer_____

American flours are catagorized by the amount of protein in the flours... this is an important information and should be inclued in the article 02:08, 8 January 2006 (UTC) Markus Schulz


[edit] AFC submission

AfC received a submission for 'wood flour' today. It is not enough to stand on its own, so I'm adding it here for another editor to put into the flour entry.

Wood flour is made by finely grinding dried non-resin softwoods such as pine, spruce, fir or sometimes hardwoods. Wood flour is used as a filler or thickener in epoxy resins and thermosetting molding compounds.

Thanks - Baseball,Baby! balls•strikes 03:19, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Expanding history section

I would like to see the History section expanded, discussing when the different types of flour were first introduced for common production.

relytor 23:54, 11 December 2006 (UTC) Tyler Spurgeon

[edit] Meaning in Spanish

I have added a request for citation to support the statement "The corresponding Spanish word "harina" normally refers to Maize flour - wheat flour is "harina de trigo". While the second part is true, when being specific, the usual meaning of the word harina refers to wheat flour; this is also consistent with the corresponding entry in the Spanish Wikipedia ([1]). Even in Mexico, a country in which maize is a staple food, the common meaning for harina refers to wheat flour - one easy way to illustrate this is with the tortilla: tortillas de harina (literally, flour tortillas) refer to tortillas made with wheat flour; also, while there is maize flour made specifically to make tortillas, such tortillas are commonly considered of less quality than the ones made with traditional methods.--Paiconos 17:22, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

The statement above with respect to the meaning of "harina" is only correct for Latin America. In Spain "harina" normally refers to wheat flour.

The very last sentence above this one is not true. "Harina" usually means wheat flour in Latin America. Foods made out of corn have usually been made with fresh corn or ground corn made into "masa", and the introduction of corn flour "harina de maiz" or "masa-harina" is a somewhat recent development.

I don't see the point of explaining the use of Spanish words in the localized rarified contents such as immigrant communities of the USA. Such subtleties do not belong in the main article. Otherwise we will have to discuss hundreds of other languages in the same context. Harina in Spanish simply means flour, period. Should we also discuss how on family or informal contexts people use brand names such as Maizena, to refer to corn flour, i.e. maize flour.... What's the point. Take all that discussion to the Spanish language side of the Wikipedia, where it belongs.

[edit] Should this page include a link to Flour bomb?

It doesn't appear to at the moment.--80.47.95.10 13:26, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Not a bad thought. Cooks using dangerous ingredients should know what not to do. Never throw flour on a fire. Use sugar or pan lid? Lazyquasar 21:39, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why is this banned elsewhere but not U.S.?

"Bromated flour has been banned in much of the world" Lazyquasar 21:39, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Bromated has been found to cause cancer in animals, but may pose only small risks to humans. The FDA suggests consumers avoid potassium bromate and has urged bakers to stop using it on a voluntary basis. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.5.44.21 (talk) 15:25, August 28, 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Graham flour

Hi I've found a grave mistake in the description of avalability of the aforementioned. While Graham flour and bread were (and still are) quite common in Poland and could've been found in any bakery, state-run or private. On the other hand, living for almost 30 years on the East Coast of the U.S. I would be able to count on one hand thumbs how many times I was able to find Graham flour in the local stores, supermarkets, etc. Slawomir123 01:38, 3 November 2007 (UTC)


[edit] removing part of sentence

I would like to remove "more sinister applications include fuel-air explosives improvised by so-called "anarchists" or terrorists."

First of all, if you go to the fuel-air link, there is NO mention of flour, anarchists, or terrorists.

Second, how do we know that "anarchists" or "terrorists" use a flour bomb? No link is provided. Carniv (talk) 23:14, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Clean" "White" and "Brown"

The paragraph at about line 40 is messed up. I think it should be reverted to the last edit, but I am not a flour expert.

In the United States, graham flour = whole wheat flour. I would like someone to explain what "malting" does to flour.