WHEAT

An ingredient used in many foods, flour is a fine powder made from cereals or other starchy food sources. It is most commonly made from wheat, but also maize (corn) rye, barley and rice. Flour is always based on the presence of starches which are complex carbohydrates.

Whereas wheat is widely  used because of an important property: when wheat flour is mixed with water, a complex protein called gluten develops. The gluten is what gives wheat dough an elastic structure that allows it to be worked in variety of ways, allows retention of gas bubbles in an intact structure, resulting in a sponge-like texture to the final products, such as breads, cakes, pastries, and other packed products.

Usually the word flour alone refers to wheat flour, which is one of the most important foods today. It is produced by milling wheat.

Regular flour is produced from the central part of wheat kernel. The bran layer is removed by sieving during the milling process. The colour of the flour is creamy white to white depending on the variety of wheat used.

>> Back to Home Page