Flour Flour is finely ground meal or powdery product obtained from milling cereal grains, root crops, starchy vegetables and other foods. Source: Philippine

Flour• Flour is finely ground meal or powdery

product obtained from milling cereal grains, root crops, starchy vegetables and other foods.

Source: Philippine Home Economics Baking Basics: An Educational Instrument for Self-Learning and Laboratory Study by: US Wheat Associates

• Flour provides bulk and structure to baked good.

Source: On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, 2nd Edition by: Sarah R. Labensky, Priscilla Martel and Eddy Van Damme

• Some flours are used to thicken liquids in items such as puddings and pie fillings, or to prevent food from sticking during preparation and baking.


• Flour is produced when grain kernels are milled or ground into a powder.


• Grains are grasses that bear edible seed.


• Corn, rice and wheat are the most significant grains for human consumption, but the most frequently used – and therefore the most important ingredient in the bakeshop – is wheat flour.


Wheat Flour

• Wheat flour is produced by milling wheat kernels or berries from one of numerous varieties of common wheat (triticum aestivum).


• Wheat kernels are the seeds of the wheat plant, and they are the part of the plant that is milled into flour.

Source: How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science, 2nd Edition by: Paula Figoni

• Wheat kernels have three main parts: the endosperm, the germ, and the bran.


• While whole wheat flour contains all three parts of the kernel, white flour is milled from the endosperm.

• Whole wheat flour is considered a whole grain product because it contains the entire wheat kernel.


• A wheat kernel has a hard outer covering called bran, a valuable source of dietary fiber.


• Bran is composed of seven layers that envelop and protect the endosperm.


• Composed of 50 to 75 percent starch and 8 to 18 percent protein, the endosperm supplies energy to the plant as it grows.


• The innermost part is the germ, which contains fat and serves as the wheat seed.


• During milling, the endosperm is separated from the bran and germ, and it is gradually reduced in particle size.


• First the kernels pass through metal rollers to crack or break them, and then the bran and germ are separated through repeated stages of sifting.

• The remaining endosperm is then ground into flour.


• Flour made from the section of the endosperm closest to the germ is finer and whiter in color (also known as patent flour)


• Flour made from the portion of the endosperm nearer the bran is courser and darker (clear flour).

Light yellow color with greyish tint.Comparison of its color (left) to that of bread flour

It forms soft dough, again, darker in color than bread flour.

• Flour may also be milled from the entire endosperm straight flour).

Composition of Flour• Flour consist primarily of five nutrients.

– Fat – Minerals– Moisture– Starches, and– proteins


• Fat and minerals each generally account for less than 1 percent of flour’s content.


• The moisture content of flour is also relative low – when packaged, it cannot exceed 14 percent under government standards.

• Actual moisture content varies depending on climatic conditions and storage, however, in damp areas, flour absorbs moisture from the atmosphere.


• Starches constitute 63 to 77 percent of flour and are necessary for the absorption of moisture during baking.

• This process, known as gelatinization, occurs primarily at temperatures above 1400F (600C).


• Starches that are damaged during milling, although usually a fraction of the starch present, are converted to sugar when moistened, thus providing food for yeast during fermentation.


• Protein accounts for up to 70 percent of flour.

• These proteins are of crucial importance because of their gluten-forming potential.


• Gluten is the tough, rubbery substance created when wheat flour is mixed with water.


• The proteins responsible for gluten formation are glutenin and gliadin.

• They represent about 80 percent of the protein in flour.


• Gluten is produced when glutenin and gliadin are moistened and manipulated, as when they are stirred or kneaded.


• Gluten strands are both plastic (that is, they change shape under pressure) and elastic (they resume their original shape when that pressure is removed).


• Gluten is responsible for the volume, texture and appearance of baked goods.


• It provides structure and enables dough to retain the gases given off by leavening agents.


• Without gluten, there could be no raised breads.


• The gases created by yeast fermentation or chemical leaveners would simply escape if there were no network of gluten straps to trap them in the dough.


• Enzymes such as amylase, lipase and protease are the remaining proteins in flour.


• Although they represent a fraction of the protein present, enzymes are important for the flour’s performance in yeast bread.

• Enzymes help break down starches into sugars, allowing yeast organisms to form gas.


• In general, the higher a flour’s protein content, the greater that flour’s gluten forming potential.


• In order to make a chewy product such as bagel, a flour with a high protein content must be used.


• Lower-protein flours are used for tender, soft products such as cakes and muffins.


• In some cases, however, flour with a lower percentage of protein may perform better than with a higher percentage of protein because the proteins in the flour are of superior quality.


Classification of Wheat

• The character of the wheat determines the character of the flour.


• Professional bakers pay close attention to flour characteristics, which are printed on bags of flour and on flour specification sheets available from suppliers.


• Wheat is classified according to the growing season, its color and kernel hardness, soft or hard depending on the kernel’s shape and density.


• Wheat is grown during two distinct growing seasons – winter and spring.


Spring wheat (left)Winter wheat (right)

• Winter wheat, grown where winters are mild, is sown in the fall and harvested in the spring.


• Flour made from winter wheat usually has a medium gluten strength and a protein content from 10 to 12 percent.


• Spring wheat, grown mainly in the northern plains states and Canada, is sown in the spring and harvested later in the summer.


• Flour made from spring wheat usually has a high gluten strength and a protein content from 12 to 14 percent.


• Different strains of wheat have different color bran.


• Though a dark color, referred to as red, is more common, newer strains of wheat have been developed with a white bran, referred to as white wheat, which some believe results in less bitter-tasting whole-grain products.


• The hardness of the wheat kernel indicates its protein content.

• The harder the wheat kernel, the higher its protein content.


• As the amount of protein in flour increases, the amount of starch decreases.

• Hard wheat kernels feel harder than soft ones because protein in these kernels forms large, hard chunks that hold tightly to starch granules.


• Hard wheat kernels typically are higher in carotenoids than soft wheat kernels, and higher in water-grabbing pentosans.

• Flours milled from hard wheat kernels are creamy or creamy white in color.


• They feel slightly gritty and granular, because the hardness of the kernel makes them difficult to mill.

• This coarseness means that hard wheat flours do not pack easily when squeezed and are good for dusting the bench or workspace.


• Strong flours usually have a higher water-absorption value and require a longer mixing time to fully develop, but they are tolerant of over mixing.

• In fact, strong flours require more mixing to fully develop gluten.

• Strong flours are typically used in yeast-raised products, such as breads, rolls, croissants, and Danish.


• Flours milled from soft wheat kernels are whiter in color and finer to the touch than hard wheat flours.

• Because they are so fine, soft wheat flours tend to pack when squeezed and do not flow or dust the bench easily.


• Soft wheat flours typically form weak gluten that tears easily, which is why they are sometimes called weak flours.

• Weak flour is not necessarily less desirable than strong flour.

• It produces more tender products, and this is desirable for many cakes, cookies and pastries.


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Flour Flour is finely ground meal or powdery product obtained from milling cereal grains, root crops, starchy vegetables and other foods. Source: Philippine