Wheat flour

Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. More wheat flour is produced than any other flour. Wheat varieties are called "clean", "white", "brown" or "hard" if they have high gluten content, and they are called "soft" or "weak" flour if gluten content is low. Hard flour, or bread flour, is high in gluten, with 12% to 14% gluten content, and has elastic toughness that holds its shape well once baked. Soft flour is comparatively low in gluten and so results in a finer or crumbly texture.^[1] 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.

In terms of the parts of the grain (the grass fruit) used in flour—the endosperm or protein/starchy part, the germ or protein/fat/vitamin-rich part, and the bran or fibre part—there are three general types of flour. White flour is made from the endosperm only. Whole grain or wholemeal flour is made from the entire grain, including bran, endosperm, and germ. A germ flour is made from the endosperm and germ, excluding the bran.

Types

• All-purpose or plain flour is a blended wheat flour with a protein content lower than bread flour, ranging between 9% and 12%. Depending on brand or the region where it is purchased it may be composed of all hard or soft wheats, but is usually a blend of the two, and can range from low protein content to moderately high. It is marketed as an inexpensive alternative to bakers' flours which is acceptable for most household baking needs.^[1]
• Bleached flour is a white flour treated with flour bleaching agents to whiten it (freshly milled flour is yellowish) and to give it more gluten-producing potential. Oxidizing agents are usually employed, most commonly organic peroxides like acetone peroxide or benzoyl peroxide, nitrogen dioxide, or chlorine. A similar effect can be achieved by letting the flour oxidize with oxygen in the air ("natural aging") for approximately 10 days; however, this process is more expensive due to the time required. Flour bleached with benzoyl peroxide has been prohibited in the UK since 1997.^[2]
• Bread flour or strong flour is always made from hard wheat, usually hard spring wheat. It has a very high protein content, between 10% and 13%, making it excellent for yeast bread baking. It can be white or whole wheat or in between.^[1]
• Bromated flour has a maturing agent added. The agent's role is to help with developing gluten, a role similar to the flour bleaching agents. Bromate is usually used. Other choices are phosphates, ascorbic acid, and malted barley. Bromated flour has been banned in much of the world, as bromate is classified as possibly carcinogenic in humans (Group 2B) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC),^[3] but remains available in the United States.
• Cake flour is a finely milled white flour made from soft wheat. It has very low protein content, between 8% and 10%, making it suitable for soft-textured cakes and cookies. The higher protein content of other flours would make the cakes tough. Highly sifted cake flours may require different volume amounts in recipes than all-purpose flour. Using the scoop and level method, well-sifted flour usually produces 125 g per cup. However, most American recipes are written with 140 g of flour per cup, so weighing and experimentation can be helpful in baking unfamiliar recipes. Small weight differences can greatly affect the texture. American Cake flour is bleached; in countries where bleached flour is prohibited, plain flour can be treated in a domestic microwave to improve the texture of the end product.^[4] Related to cake flour are masa harina (from maize), maida flour (from wheat or tapioca), and pure starches.^[1]
• Graham flour is a special type of whole wheat flour. The endosperm is finely ground, as in white flour, while the bran and germ are coarsely ground. Graham flour is uncommon outside of the US (but see atta flour, a similar product, below). Graham flour is the basis of true graham crackers. Many graham crackers on the market are actually imitation grahams because they do not contain graham flour or even whole-wheat flour.
• Instant flour is pregelatinized (precooked) for easier incorporation in gravies and sauces.
• Pastry flour or cookie flour or cracker flour has slightly higher protein content than cake flour but lower than all-purpose flour. Its protein content ranges between 9% and 10%. It is available as a white flour, a whole-wheat flour, or a white flour with the germ retained but not the bran. It is suitable for pie pastry and tarts, some cookies, muffins, biscuits and other quick breads. Flour is shaken through a sieve to reduce the amount of lumps for cooking pastry.^[1]
• Self-rising or self-raising flour is white flour that is sold premixed with chemical leavening agents. It was invented by Henry Jones.^{[citation needed]} Self-rising flour is typically composed of the following ratio:

• 1 cup (100 g) flour
• 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons (3 g) baking powder
• a pinch to ¹⁄₂ teaspoon (1 g or less) salt

• Sharp flour is produced in Fiji and primarily used in Indian cuisine.
• Spelt flour is a flour produced from the type of wheat called spelt. It is less commonly used in modern cooking than other wheat varieties. It is still used for specialty baking.
• Tang flour or wheat starch is a type of wheat flour used primarily in Chinese cuisine for making the outer layer of dumplings and buns. It is also used in Vietnamese cuisine, where it is called bột lọc trong.
• Atta flour is a type of flour used in Asia to make chapatis and other flat breads.

National Flour

United Kingdom

During World War II, the British government promoted "National Flour"; it was adopted in 1942 both for health reasons and those concerned about the import of wheat into the UK and losses during the war.^[5] The flour is described as being of 85% extraction, i.e. containing more of the whole wheat grain than refined flour, generally described as 70% extraction at the time. Parliamentary questions on the exact constitution of National Flour in 1943 reveal that it was “milled from a grist consisting of 90 per cent. wheat and 10 per cent. diluent grains. Authorised additions are calcium at the rate of 7 oz. per 280 lb. of flour and dried milk at the rate of 2 lb. per 280 lb. of flour and customary improvers in normal proportions.” The diluent grains were barley, oats and rye and customary improvers were “certain oxidising agents which improve the quality of the bread baked from the flour, and their nature depends on the kind of grain used, whether hard or soft.”.^[6] A survey of the composition of National Flour was conducted for the period 1946-1950^[7] National Flour was discontinued in 1956 against the recommendations of the MRC^[5] as the government considered that the addition of nutritional supplements to refined flour removed the necessity for using National Flour on health grounds.

Kenya

National Flour was also a term for a flour introduced in Kenya by the colonial government which contained 70% wheat flour and 30% maize flour.^[8]

See also

• Grist mill

References

v t e Wheat History Domestication Neolithic Revolution Tell Abu Hureyra Tell Aswad Triticeae Types of wheat Common Durum Einkorn Emmer Kamut Norin 10 Red Fife Spelt Winter wheat Agronomy Wheat diseases (list) Wheat mildew Trade Australian Wheat Board Canadian Wheat Board Corn exchange International Wheat Council Peak wheat Production statistics Protein premium Wheat pool Parts of the plant and their uses Stalk Straw Kernel (seed) Bran Germ Chaff (husk) Endosperm Gluten Basic preparations of the kernel None Wheatberry Milling Farina Flour (types) Groats Middlings Semolina Parboiling Bulgur As an ingredient Bread Couscous Cracker Flatbread Pasta Wheat beer Wheat germ oil Wheat gluten Associated human diseases Exercise-induced anaphylaxis Gluten sensitivity (Coeliac disease, Wheat allergy, etc.) Related concepts Bread riot Plant breeding Refined grains Staple food Wheatpaste Whole grain Further information