Food Nutrition Facts

Wheat flours

Wheat flour is a fine material obtained from grinding or mashing the wheat grain. It is the most important ingredient in baked preparation. It can be added to other white flours to tender texture, nutrition, fiber to the completed product. Generally, whole wheat flour is not considered as the main ingredient of baked products as it has a property of heaviness which restricts them from ‘rising’ properly. This causes more cost to the producer as it requires more amount of flour to make the same volume of finished product because of formation of less air pockets trapped inside the raised dough.

Among all the grains available in the market for production of flour, wheat is unique. It is the only grain that contains sufficient gluten content. It is possible to prepare a high rising baked product if water content is increased in the whole wheat flour, because the germ and the bran absorb more water than the whiter variety. It is also required to knead the flour for a little longer time as to allow the gluten to develop completely. There is practice to raise the dough twice before the final preparation. The addition of butter or oil as well as milk and milk products can help in the rising process too.

There is another term ‘all purpose flour’. It is the finely ground endosperm of the wheat kernel where the germ and the bran is completely stripped during the milling process.