Flour is a powder made of cereal grains. It is the key ingredient of bread, which is a staple food in many countries, and therefore the availability of adequate supplies of flour has often been a major economic and political issue. Wheat flour is one of the most important foods in European and North American culture, and is the defining ingredient in most European styles of breads and pastries. Regulations in many countries require that wheat flour be enriched to replace nutrients lost in the production of refined flour.
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Flour is a powder made of cereal grains. It is the key ingredient of bread, which is a staple food in many countries, and therefore the availability of adequate supplies of flour has often been a major economic and political issue. Wheat flour is one of the most important foods in European and North American culture, and is the defining ingredient in most European styles of breads and pastries. Regulations in many countries require that wheat flour be enriched to replace nutrients lost in the production of refined flour.
Flour contains a high proportion of starches, which are complex carbohydrates also known as polysaccharides. Wheat, and some other flours, also contain proteins called gluten. When dough made with wheat flour is kneaded, the gluten molecules cross-link to form a sub-microscopic network that gives the dough an elastic structure. This allows the retention of gas bubbles in an intact structure, resulting in an aerated final product with a soft texture, desirable for breads, cakes and the like.
Some people suffer from an intolerance to gluten known as coeliac or celiac disease. Increased awareness of this disorder, as well as a rising belief in the benefits of a gluten-free diet for persons suffering certain other conditions, has led to an increased demand for bread, pasta, and other products made with flours that do not contain gluten.
Wheat flour
Much more wheat flour is produced than any other flour. Wheat varieties are called "clean," "white," or "brown" 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 a certain toughness that holds its shape well once baked. Soft flour is comparatively low in gluten and so results in a finer 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.
In terms of the parts of the grain (the grass fruit) used in flour—the endosperm or starchy part, the germ or protein 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.
All-purpose or plain flour is a blended wheat flour with an intermediate gluten level, which is marketed as an acceptable compromise for most household baking needs.
