Oatmeal and rice flour. All about flour or which flour is best for your baking. When are wheat flour products useful?

The main raw material for making bread is flour. Various types of bread can be used for baking types of flour– wheat flour, rye, corn, barley, oatmeal and buckwheat. Almost every type of flour can be used to make bread individually. A combination of different types of flour is also widely used to produce bread with new taste qualities. Most often for making bread and bakery products use wheat and rye flour of various varieties. Other types of flour are used less frequently. Mainly for the preparation of national types of bread or as an additive to dough made from wheat flour.

Flour is industrially produced by grinding the original grain on metal rollers. In this case, the grain is divided into components - the shell (bran rich in vitamins B1, B2, PP and E), the germ (the concentration of minerals, oil and proteins) and the endosperm, which contains starchy substances and proteins important for baking, which form an elastic structure upon contact with water. gluten and thereby are responsible for the quality of the dough and the future product. When the dough is moistened and kneaded, gluten forms a spatial network that traps gas bubbles released by yeast (other biological agents, or obtained by adding soda and other leavening agents), which gives the finished product airiness and tenderness.

What flour is used in baking

Flour is divided into different grades depending on the size of the particles (flour small And rude grinding) and the degree of purification from the shells and germ (for wheat - extra, flour of the highest, I, II varieties and wallpaper; for rye – seeded, peeling And wallpaper). Wallpaper flour is obtained by grinding grain without separating it into components and its composition is almost similar to the grain from which it is made. Previously, wallpaper flour was obtained by grinding flour on millstones. Rye wallpaper flour, ground more finely and containing less bran, belongs to the “peeled” variety. Wheat flour of the highest and first grade and rye flour practically do not contain bran and germ. Finely ground flour of higher grades produces fluffier products. Finely ground flour interacts better with water, and there is no bran, which weighs down the dough and therefore prevents it from rising well. Lower grades of wheat and rye flour contain larger particles. Coarse wheat flour, coarse, consists of fairly large particles. This kind of flour is not used to knead into unpalatable yeast dough, which, if kneaded with coarse grains, does not work well and the products turn out dense and quickly become stale.

Best suited for making bread white wheat flour(highest and first grade), obtained from durum wheat. What are its advantages? Durum wheat varieties are preferable as they are richer in gluten. The flour of these varieties is finely ground flour, it contains virtually no bran or germ, and is rich in gluten. This flour absorbs more moisture - the products do not go stale longer, the dough rises well and forms a soft crumb with uniform porosity. It is believed that wheat bread is more delicious. White durum wheat flour is called “baking flour”. Products made from wholemeal flour (grade II gray wheat flour), containing a certain amount of bran, have a nutty flavor, they contain vitamins, minerals, fats and fiber so necessary for the body. But such products are denser and not as tender and tasty. Products made from wallpaper flour are light brown in color and are even richer in nutrients.

Products from rye flour They have a special taste and are very dense, since the resinous substances contained in the flour interfere with the formation of gluten. Rye flour can be light or sifted (consists mainly of endosperm) and dark. Based on the bran and germ content in it, dark flour is divided into peeled flour (flour with a lower content) and wallpaper flour (with a higher content). To make rye products fluffy, wheat flour is added to the dough. Adding a small amount of rye flour to the wheat dough will give the baked goods a more interesting taste.

Although barley flour consists mainly of endosperm, it is depleted in gluten and barley bread comes out flat, dense and quickly stale. But a small amount of barley flour gives wheat bread an unusual, pleasant taste. Sweetish taste corn flour is made by grinding dried grains and does not contain proteins that form gluten. To make corn bread fluffy and soft, loosening is used with the help of chemical leavening agents or by adding tightly beaten egg whites. To loosen the dough with yeast, it is necessary to add a large amount of wheat flour. Oatmeal The flour also does not form gluten and is used mainly as an additive to bread dough, which gives the product a new taste and makes it crispier. Buckwheat Flour is also widely used in combination with wheat flour.

How to store flour?

Wheat (white) and rye (seeded) flours that do not contain germ can be stored for up to a year in a cool, dark, ventilated place. Low-grade flour contains fat, which goes rancid over time. This flour can be stored under the same conditions for 2-3 months. Do not keep flour uncovered when cooking; it becomes saturated with moisture, loses its properties, and bugs can easily grow in it.

Greetings, dear guests of the site! In this article you will find out which flour is the healthiest?! What grains? Here we will look at 5 different types of flour: wheat, rye, oat, rice and corn. Each has its own beneficial properties and each has its own drawback.

Wheat flour

This flour is perhaps the most popular in the world. Most often, for baking bread, rolls, etc., wheat flour of the highest and first grades is used. However, such flour is made from the starchy part of the grain (the so-called endosperm), and therefore does not contain useful substances: fiber, dietary fiber and mineral salts. Only one carbohydrates. Therefore, people who are prone to weight gain or who want to lose weight are not recommended to eat baked goods, since the incoming carbohydrates will instantly turn into fat, deposited on the waist or anywhere else.

If we talk about healthy wheat flour, then we need to talk about whole grain flour. Its second name is wallpaper flour. It is ground from whole grains with all their shells, which contain all the vitamins, minerals and fiber. That is why it has healing properties: it cleanses the body of toxins, strengthens the immune system and normalizes the silicon content in the body. It is also known to promote weight loss because... contains fiber in the form of bran, and is useful for diabetes.

Despite the fact that whole grain flour has poor baking properties, it is used to make both bread and pastries. Sometimes they even mix wallpaper flour with the first grade, so the baked goods become fluffier and richer, but at the same time less healthy and more high in calories.

Oat flour

It is clear that such flour is made from oats, which contain starch, protein, and, oddly enough, fat - which is very unusual for other types of flour. In addition, it contains B vitamins, which strengthen the nervous system, as well as easily digestible carbohydrates. It is they that contribute to the production of the happiness hormone in the body - serotonin (bananas also contain a lot of vitamins of this group, it’s not for nothing that they call it the drug of happiness - you can read it).

The next thing that is important to say about this flour is that it contains two types of fiber: soluble, which lowers blood sugar levels, and insoluble, which removes toxins and restores intestinal microflora. By the way, doctors recommend oatmeal flour (i.e., crushed grain) for diseases of the digestive system. It has also been noted that consuming oats reduces cholesterol levels, which indirectly has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system.

Oats also contain: vitamin A, E, silicon, sugar, enzymes and proteins. The latter are represented by a set of amino acids that is closest to the set of amino acids in muscle protein. This fact makes this product especially valuable. You can read more about oats in the article Oatmeal beneficial properties!

Rice flour

Another popular grain crop after wheat! It’s not hard to guess which country eats the most rice!
It is cultivated from polished rice. This rice does not contain gluten. Therefore, rice flour is used mainly in the production of gluten-free food, which is necessary for people with gluten intolerance, as well as for baby food (it is known that porridge containing gluten is given to children strictly after six months). You can look in more detail about the beneficial properties of rice in the article.

It is easily digested and in terms of protein and starch content it occupies a leading position among other types of cereal flour. It also contains a lot of minerals: sodium, potassium, magnesium, etc., and contains B vitamins. It is used in the treatment of chronic enterocolitis and cardiovascular diseases. Despite its grainy texture, the breads, cookies and muffins that can be made from it are tasty and crispy. Tip: to prevent the baked goods from being dry, because rice absorbs a lot of liquid, add more water and eggs to the dough.

Corn flour:

A distinctive feature of this type of flour is its high fiber content, which helps reduce cholesterol and remove fat deposits from the body. Products made from it improve intestinal motility and are recommended for people with digestive diseases. In addition to fiber, it also contains a lot of protein, vitamins B, A, E, as well as microelements: magnesium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, silicon and others. Helps strengthen the cardiovascular system, is useful for anemia and for stimulating bile secretion. By the way, products made from corn flour do not provide many calories, and at the same time they are very filling, which makes them suitable for those losing weight.

Rye flour

You probably already guessed why I am doubly pleased, today, June 12, Russia Day, to answer the main question of the article?! That's right, because rye flour takes 1st place, it is the healthiest flour. And it is rye bread and various bakery products made from sour rye dough that the Russian people have consumed from time immemorial (see Russian cuisine and its features). We are going in the right direction! =) However, if you look at things realistically, rye bread is not held in particularly high esteem today. It has been replaced by various English and oatmeal cereals, and many generally only eat loaves. But in vain...

Rye flour is a very valuable product! It contains the extremely important amino acid lysine, necessary for tissue repair, a large amount of fiber, as well as vitamins A, B, E, manganese, zinc. It has twice as much magnesium and potassium as wheat flour, and also 30% more iron. With constant consumption of rye bread, the level of cholesterol in the blood decreases, which prevents the formation of fatty plaques in the blood vessels, metabolism is normalized and heart function improves. It cleanses your intestines, removing toxins from the body, and promotes digestion. By the way, the energy value of such bread is much less than wheat bread.

Keep in mind that coarse rye flour (that is, the one obtained by grinding whole rye grains along with the shell) is especially useful. This way, much more vitamins and microelements are preserved. At the same time, baked goods made from such flour will be very dense in structure, because... There is much less gluten and gluten in it. By the way, real Russian kvass is made from rye flour!

But for people with high stomach acidity and peptic ulcers, rye bread and other such baked goods are not recommended.

Of course, there is no absolutely correct flour. We can only call flour that is of high quality and better than others for solving a specific problem. So if you think that the best flour is premium white wheat flour, then you are a little mistaken. Why - now you will find out.

Each baked product has its own flour

For the needs of the baking industry in Russia, wheat and rye flour are most often used, although in fact there are many more types of flour.

Wheat flour Made from so-called soft wheat varieties. Sometimes it is allowed to add durum varieties, but not more than 20%. Wheat baking flour is divided into grades depending on the grind size, gluten content and whiteness (ash content). According to GOST, the highest grade of wheat flour is the extra grade. Next in descending order are the highest grade, semolina, grade 1 and 2 flour, and wallpaper flour closes the list.

Flour of the highest grade and “extra” grade is the most delicate, airy, suitable for baking cake layers, buns, muffins, and sponge cakes. It can also be used as a thickener for sauces.

Krupchatka is ideal for baking muffins, Easter cakes - in general, for yeast dough. But it is not suitable for unsweetened dough, since the dough made from grains does not rise well, and the baked goods quickly become stale.

First grade flour is an excellent choice for those who intend to bake pies, pancakes, rolls and pancakes.

Second grade flour is good for homemade bread, gingerbread and cookies. This flour is often mixed with rye flour.

Dark wallpaper flour with a large amount of bran is suitable for baking bread: it turns out tasty and contains a large amount of useful minerals and vitamins.

Rye flour also divided into varieties: seeded, peeled, wallpaper and special. It differs from wheat in its grayish color and the presence of inclusions - tiny particles of the grain shell. There is practically no gluten in rye flour, so it is often used in a mixture with wheat flour. Bread, pancakes, and pies are baked from rye flour.

Healthy flour

Everyone's favorite white wheat flour contains practically no useful substances. And other types of flour do not shine with usefulness, so manufacturers often fortify it. But there are very interesting types of flour in the world, not only suitable for cooking, but also very healthy. For example, spelled flour, or spelled flour. It is produced from wild varieties of wheat and is used in baking, in the production of pasta, and at home it is suitable for baking pizza and all kinds of buns and pies.

Buckwheat flour made from buckwheat, has a dark beige color and a characteristic taste. If you couldn’t find it in the store, you can easily make your own buckwheat flour at home. You just need to wash the buckwheat, dry it and grind it in a coffee grinder. Buckwheat flour makes delicious pancakes and pancakes. You can bread cutlets in it, add it to casseroles, and use it to make porridge for kids.

Flaxseed flour It has an interesting nutty taste and excellent binding properties. Therefore, they not only bake bread from it, but also add it to minced meat, soups, omelettes, casseroles, and also use it as a breading.

Oat flour necessary for baking oatmeal cookies and preparing oatmeal jelly. You can also make it yourself by grinding regular Hercules flakes. For those who watch their figure, it is considered especially valuable almond flour: It makes excellent baked goods, and it contains much fewer calories. Almond flour is just as easy to make at home.

Barley flour It is poor in gluten, but is considered a dietary product. It is mixed with wheat flour when baking, and cookies and pancakes are baked from it.

Corn flour popular in many countries, where it is widely used to make national dishes: mamalyga, Mexican corn cakes, ugali, Italian polenta, Uzbek bulamik and Hutsul banosh. The value of corn as a food product is questioned these days due to the fact that it is grown using GMO technologies, but if you want, it is quite possible to find environmentally friendly corn flour.

Rice flour is gluten-free, therefore does not cause allergies and is widely used in the manufacture of baby food. It makes crispy bread, delicious noodles, wonderful pancakes, airy homemade pies and cakes.

And there is also bird cherry flour, from which biscuits are made of unearthly tenderness. But not everyone manages to find such flour: they mostly buy it online, since it is not yet available in stores.

High-quality flour: how to determine it

Stores today offer us dozens of types of flour. But it is rarely possible to check flour for quality directly on the sales floor: it is sold in sealed paper bags. On the other hand, this is good, because there is a firm rule: never buy flour packaged in plastic. In plastic, the flour cannot “breathe” and acquires a musty smell, and inside the bag the processes of self-warming of the flour begin.

You should not buy flour with an expiring shelf life. Flour that has been stored for a long time cakes, loses its flowability, and microorganisms develop in it. Therefore, choose a package with the latest packaging date (usually sellers hide such packages in the depths of the shelves).

You should check purchased flour at home, assessing its color and tasting it. The color of flour does not always have to be white: some flours are made from grains with hulls, so they are darker than flour made from refined grains. The color also depends on the degree of grinding of the grains: coarse flour is darker. Normally, the color of baking flour of the highest and first grade is white (a cream tint is allowed), the second grade is white with a yellow or grayish tint. There should be no lumps, black dots (weed particles), bugs and larvae in the flour.

The taste of high-quality flour should not be sour, too sweet, bitter, or have a musty or moldy taste. If you chew the flour a little, there should be no feeling of sand on your teeth.

Improperly stored flour can go rancid. Lower grades of flour are more susceptible to this, since they contain more fat-rich germ particles. So we repeat the advice - read carefully everything that is written on the packages and choose the freshest one.

As part of a fan study by Roskachestvo, the quality and safety parameters of 25 samples of wheat baking flour under the following trademarks were studied: Aladushkin, Aleyka, French Thing, Victoria, GOROSHEK, Gosudarev AMBAR, Domashennaya, Imperial Recipe, LENTA, Lukhovitskaya, NASTYUSHA, OKAY, Ryazanochka, S.PUDOV, Sokolnicheskaya, One Hundred Recipes, Tomsk Mills, Extra, SOUTH OF RUSSIA, ARO, CLEVER, MAKFA, Myllyn Paras, NICE DAY. The sample included the most popular federal brands among Russians and a number of large regional brands. All products presented in the study were of domestic origin. The cost of the samples (the study involved flour in packages weighing 1 and 2 kg) ranged from 45 to 270 rubles per unit of product at the time of purchase.

STANDARD OF THE RUSSIAN QUALITY SYSTEM

The standard of the Russian quality system is, for the most part, identical to the current GOST, but it establishes more stringent requirements for the quality of raw gluten. In addition, the increased standard included consumer parameters that evaluate flour in terms of its basic baking properties. Flour can be considered worthy of the Russian Quality Mark only if it produces at least 500 cm 3 of bread (per 100 g of flour), and the prepared product itself meets the standard in its shape, color, and elasticity of the crumb. To assess the freshness of the product, an additional parameter for determining the acid number of fat was also introduced into the Roskachestvo standard.

All shades of white

Flour, like any food product, must meet its basic organoleptic characteristics. Both GOST and the Russian Quality System standard put forward requirements for them. A high-quality product should have the taste characteristic of wheat flour, not contain foreign impurities, not be bitter and not have a musty smell. The current standards also define the palette of flour colors quite strictly: options from white to cream shades are allowed. In addition, high-quality flour should not “crunch”, that is, contain foreign impurities. This crunch, as well as the musty smell, was not found in any of the studied samples. However, the product under the trademark had a color that did not match the flour OK. And in goods Homemade, One Hundred Recipes, S.PUDOV, SOUTH OF Rus', CLEVER an extraneous taste was noted - bitter, sour or long-lasting flour. All these products were labeled as complying with GOST, which ultimately was not confirmed during laboratory tests, which means that the manufacturers misled the consumer with the product labeling.

Reference

Flour samples of exclusively premium and extra grades took part in this fan study. This is the product that is in greatest demand among Russians. Flour of the first and second grades will also be examined by Roskachestvo in the near future. The results of such independent laboratory tests will be published on the Roskachestvo portal.

Cleanliness is the key to the highest quality

For many consumers, the quality of flour is directly related to its grade. There are several types of flour, and you can read more about them. In general, the grade of flour depends on how well it was cleaned from the grain shells in production. The higher the grade, the less residue of such shells should be in the flour. Their quantity in the product is determined by laboratory study of the ash content parameter. To do this, flour is burned in ovens, and then the amount of unburned minerals in the residue is examined.

Another parameter by which the type of flour is determined in laboratory conditions is the study of its whiteness. High-grade flour is more refined; it contains fewer grain shells, which can give the product a dark shade.

The standard of the Russian quality system for the parameters of whiteness and ash content of flour has established requirements identical to the requirements of GOST for premium flour. It is gratifying that all the products presented in the study were able to meet the requirements of the highest standards for these indicators.

Reference

It is important to note that the ash content in first-grade flour is always higher, which means it will be healthier. The fact is that maximum purification of grains for the production of premium flour deprives it of a large number of substances important for humans: potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, etc. However, a product made from first grade flour will not be as fluffy as one made from premium flour.

To stick or not to stick

Gluten, or gluten, is contained in each ear of wheat and is a sticky elastic mass. Despite the rare individual intolerance to this substance and the modern fashion for gluten-free products, it is worth understanding that gluten contains a large amount of amino acids, carbohydrates and vitamins. In general, the amount of gluten is one of the determining parameters characterizing the quality of wheat grains and, subsequently, the baking properties of flour. Baking made from flour rich in high-quality gluten will be more airy, voluminous, porous, and fluffy. Proper gluten has a positive effect on the rise of the dough and, ultimately, on the finished product. Both GOST and the Russian quality system standard require that the amount of gluten in premium flour be at least 28% of the total volume of the product. However, its quality also plays an equally important role in the final product. That is why the increased standard of Roskachestvo has tightened this parameter compared to the current GOST. All manufacturers were able to provide the required amount of gluten in products, and its high quality, corresponding to the increased standard, was noted in 14 products.

Reference

The parameter that determines the freshness of flour is the acid number of the fat. The high fat content in flour negatively affects its shelf life. Such a product quickly becomes rancid and develops an unpleasant taste and smell. As with the peroxide number, which determines the freshness of sunflower oil, the acid number inevitably increases with the storage time of the product. It is interesting that the current technical regulations and GOST standards for flour do not impose any requirements on the acid number of fat. However, such an important requirement for this parameter was included in the standard of the Russian quality system. All products tested were able to meet the increased standard.

Free fall

The dough, made from high-quality flour, should be quite thick. A special enzyme, namely alpha-amylase, is responsible for this property of flour. The activity of this enzyme is determined by the so-called falling parameter, and this name has a well-founded etymology. To study this characteristic, flour is added to the liquid and, with the help of special mechanics and instruments, the speed of free fall of a special ball is established, which is thrown into the resulting jelly-like mass. The faster it falls, the higher the likelihood that the flour is not of sufficient quality. The requirements for the fall parameter in the Russian quality system standard have been significantly tightened in comparison with the current GOST. Nevertheless, most of the products were able to match them - 21 samples out of 25.

The characteristic of the mass fraction of moisture in the product is also closely related to the drop parameter. Flour, although it may seem strange, must contain liquid. Moreover, if there is a lot of it, the flour will lose its taste properties and will be susceptible to various diseases, and if the flour is too dry, then the alpha-amylase enzyme will not work. That is, the falling number will decrease, which means that the flour will lose its binding properties. The optimal moisture balance was noted in each product studied.

Reference

Each of the presented samples was also studied for the content of toxic elements (cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury), pesticides (HCCH, DDT and its metabolites, organomercury pesticides), various types of mold and grain disinfectants. The results of laboratory tests confirmed that none of the specified parameters exceeded the mandatory standards.

No pests allowed

Nevertheless, a number of samples were infected with pathogens of the so-called potato disease. The potato bacillus spores that provoke it can withstand temperatures up to 130 degrees, and therefore easily pass into the final flour product. The disease makes the bread crumb soft, moist and sticky. You can read about how contamination of bread with pathogens of potato disease affects human health. During laboratory tests, an increased number of potato stick spores was found in flour Imperial recipe, Lukhovitskaya, NICE DAY. Despite the fact that pathogens of potato disease are contained in almost any flour, the detection of their high concentration is a violation of the basic requirements of the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union 021/2011 “On food safety”.

Lush and beautiful

The Russian quality system standard, unlike other current standards, considers flour primarily as the main ingredient for baking. That is why he included seven additional parameters that determine the most important properties of flour in baking.

According to the Roskachestvo standard, premium flour, in order to qualify for the Russian Quality Mark, must provide a certain volumetric yield of bread (500 cm 3 of bread per 100 g of flour), and the product baked according to the methodology established by GOST must have an appropriate correct shape that is not lost neither before nor after its preparation. The standards also apply to the bread crust - it should be smooth, brown in color with slight shades in the palette. The crumb, in turn, should be white and elastic.

It's important to understand

The bread baked from each product presented was made under absolutely identical conditions, using identical ingredients, using the same technology, in an oven equipped with all the necessary modern control equipment. These studies were carried out in a specialized laboratory accredited to conduct such examination.

As a result, the “standard” bread was made from only nine samples of flour, which could be called the best flour for bread. For sixteen products, deviations from the forms established by the Roskachestvo standard were recorded.

Every housewife who loves to bake something delicious should familiarize herself with this information, since the quality, taste and appearance of her future baked goods depends on it. Today we will talk about flour. Do you know which flour is best for baking? How to select and store it? I suggest you read useful tips from housewives, I want to tell you everything I know about flour.

What kind of flour is there and what flour to choose for baking

Literally all commercials insist that the best flour for most types of baked goods is premium wheat flour. You should not follow advertising that just wants to sell you the product that the manufacturer has.

In fact, there are a lot of varieties and types of flour and each of them is more or less suitable for baking a certain product. For example, it is actually better to bake baked goods, pastries and cakes from premium wheat flour. It is better to bake savory pastries, as well as pies with various fillings, including sweet ones, from the first grade. Dumplings and dumplings, pancakes and your favorite pancakes are best prepared from the second grade.

Finding the right grade of flour is not so easy these days, since most manufacturers make it only of the highest grade (some even simply write the highest grade, although it is not that).

This is if we are talking about wheat flour, but besides it there are many other types, which we will talk about a little later. There is a huge selection of flour that you can buy or make at home: almond, flax, nut, hemp, corn, barley, rye, soy and so on. The list can be endless! Each of them is good in its role, because it gives the dish a unique, inimitable taste and aroma. Therefore, you should not be afraid to experiment to find the best flour for yourself, with which every pie will become a work of art, and not a single pancake will be lumpy.

Wheat flour

Wheat flour is the most frequent guest of all types in our kitchen. It mainly consists of starch, but thanks to special proteins (glutein and gliadin), which combine with liquid and turn into gluten (gluten), we get dough from which we can bake delicious pies, pies, yeast and other baked goods.

To make a good dough from flour and liquid, it needs to be kneaded so that the gluten molecules at this moment can connect with each other and form long elastic chains. For such a transformation, you need a sufficient amount of liquid for a certain amount of flour, kneading, salt and time to “rest” the dough.

Sometimes the dough will need to minimize the formation of gluten by adding very little liquid to the dough and kneading it for a short time.

The amount of protein determines whether the flour will be “weak” or “strong.” If we need “weak flour” to prepare the dough, then the protein content in it should be 10-12%. This indicator can be found on each package - the manufacturer must write it. I think you've seen this inscription on a pack before.

“Weak” flour is ordinary baking flour for making confectionery products. The less protein there is, the more crumbly and tender the finished dough will be.

If you need to reduce the amount of protein and increase the amount of starch in flour, then this is quite easy to do at home. Have you already guessed how? Replace some of the flour with starch (potato or corn). The amount of starch depends on what percentage of protein we need to get.

“Strong” flour contains 13-14% protein. It is most often used to prepare yeast dough. It is made from rarer and more expensive varieties of wheat. It makes excellent puff pastry, choux pastry and stretch pastry, as this flour has more protein, and the dough produces more gluten and more long elastic chains. The dough turns out stronger, stretches easily and does not tear.

“Strong flour” is hard to find here, so you need to look for Italian and Finnish producers.

In addition to protein, flour contains another important component - starch. It is an excellent thickener that develops its properties as the temperature rises (during baking) if the correct amount of liquid is added. Thanks to starch, biscuits, casseroles, puddings and muffins turn out tasty and tender. Therefore, you can often find starch that is used to replace part of the flour in order to make a better sponge cake.

Varieties and types of wheat flour

Top grade. Flour consists of the central part of the grain, which contains a lot of starch but very few vitamins. Only from it can you get a lush cupcake or sponge cake. Moreover, to increase the amount of starch, it is additionally added, replacing part of the flour. Particle size - 30-40 microns, ash content - no more than 0.55%. White color. They prepare baked goods, as already mentioned, muffins and biscuits, cakes.

First grade. Contains some crushed grain shells, so it is slightly healthier than the highest grade. Particle size - 40-60 microns, ash content - 75%. The color is white, sometimes creamy with yellowish, rarely grayish. Suitable for preparing savory baked goods (bread, lean rolls, kulebyak, filled pies and pies).

Second grade. The flour mass already contains more grain shells. than in previous types. The grind is quite coarse. She looks rough. The color is gray, sometimes cream and even brown. They make waffles, dumplings, cookies, pancakes and pancakes from it. The dough turns out to be rough, and the baked goods quickly become stale. Not suitable for making biscuits or baked goods. It is better to mix the second grade with the highest or first grade to make the products more magnificent. Ash content - 1.1-1.2%. This variety is mixed with rye flour to make rye baked goods.

Wallpaper or whole grain. The most useful, as it contains the most useful parts - the germ and the shell. Particle size is 30-60 microns. Products made from it turn out to be tough, so whole grain flour is mixed with the first, second or even highest grade.

Krupchatka. It is very difficult to buy it. They make noodles and dumplings from it. Not suitable for making bread (non-yeast baked goods). Products made from it become stale very quickly, and the dough itself does not rise well.

How is whole wheat flour different from regular flour?

Whole grain - one that was obtained by one-time grinding of wheat grain along with the shell or any other cereals, has a fairly high level of gluten. It is considered one of the healthiest types of flour (much healthier than regular flour). It is dark and rough and requires more moisture than normal. Whole wheat dough may not be elastic, and the finished product is rougher and harder. It is rational to use whole grain and premium flour for the dough in equal quantities, unless otherwise provided by the recipe.

What kind of flour is there besides wheat?

1. Buckwheat. It does not contain gluten and is a favorite among people who are on diets. Very pleasant to use, has a slightly nutty smell. Now, if you are asked what gluten-free flour is, you can confidently answer - buckwheat.
2. Rice. It is made from rice grains by grinding two types of rice: standard white and brown brown.
3. Barley. It has a light nutty taste and makes baked goods soft. It is suitable for making pancakes, cookies and quick bread.
4. Rye. Absorbs a lot of water, which makes the dough sticky. Bread is baked from it, which turns out denser with a characteristic taste and aroma. In addition to bread, it is used to make muffins, buns and pancakes. According to the degree of grinding and bran content, it is divided into varieties: peeled, seeded and wallpaper. If you didn’t know what wallpaper flour means before, now you will know that it is a type of rye flour.
5. Corn. There are two types: fine grinding, which produces baked goods of a beautiful yellow color with a characteristic delicate corn taste, and coarse grinding, from which dense and slightly grainy baked goods are baked. Most often, Mexican tortillas, bread, buns and other baked goods (even dietary ones) are made from corn flour.
6. Soy. It can be fried (with a bright taste) and unfried, which I use to make yeast bread. It is white in color, and products made from it do not go stale for a long time and have a beautiful crust. Can replace eggs and milk in dough.
7. Spelled or spelled flour. It is made from wild wheat varieties. They prepare buns, pies, and pizza.
8. Oatmeal. You can make it by grinding oatmeal in a coffee grinder. Used to make oatmeal cookies.
9. Almond. Made from almonds. It's difficult to buy, but you can prepare it at home. You can make pies from it, as well as the famous macaroons.
10. Linen. Has a distinct nutty taste. Sometimes eggs are replaced with this flour, as it has good binding properties. Add to puddings, casseroles, bread.

How to choose flour

To choose a good flour product that will be stored for a long time without losing its properties, and products made from it will be tasty and healthy, you need to know how to choose. We draw attention to the following points:

1. Environment. The room in which flour products are sold must be dry, clean, free of foreign odors and high humidity.
2. Best before date. Without preservatives, flour can be stored for 6 months. You should not trust the manufacturer. who wrote that the shelf life is 1 year or more.
3. Color. Must correspond to the species and variety. For the highest grade wheat, it is white with a light cream tint. If you drop a drop of water on flour and it turns blue, this is a clear sign that it was made from unripe grain. If the color during the experiment is not blue, but red, it means that bran was added to the composition. If the color has not changed, then we are dealing with a quality product.
4. To the touch. Squeeze the flour mixture in your fist. It should crunch. If, after squeezing the mass on your palm, it turns into a lump, then this is a clear sign that it is wet. Such a product has lost its necessary properties and there is no need to buy it.
5. Smell. It should be pleasant, matching the floury aroma. There should be no smell of rot, mustiness or sour dough.
6. Taste. Good wheat flour has a sweetish taste. If there are impurities in it, they can crunch on the teeth.

Why is flour bitter or how long does flour last?

After you have bought a flour product, you need to find out how to store it correctly, otherwise the product may deteriorate and become bitter, absorb foreign odors, and absorb moisture from the air in the room. This product is not suitable for use and should be thrown away. Therefore, it is not recommended to buy flour for future use.

1. Storage must take place in a dry and cool place. The storage period is generally limited to approximately six months. Do not store the flour mass open to avoid oxidation of the oils. Because of this, all the properties of the product are violated.
2. It should be stored in paper bags or linen bags. You cannot store it in polyethylene!
3. If you are pouring flour from a bag, always choose a jar with a lid that closes very tightly! It is also possible to freeze the flour for forty-eight hours in order to get rid of all insects and destroy their eggs. It is not recommended to mix flour that has been opened for a long time with flour from a new package; it is better to completely get rid of the old one before starting a fresh batch.
4. Do not store near household products: soap, washing powder; you also don’t need to store it next to onions, because all these products emit a pungent odor, and flour absorbs everything very quickly.
5. It is allowed to freeze flour products in the freezer. Thereby extending the shelf life by two or three times.
6. Temperature changes should not be allowed (especially sudden changes when condensation forms and the flour mass becomes damp).
7. It is imperative to keep whole grain flour in the refrigerator, because at elevated temperatures, even if it is at room temperature, the oils contained in the flour give it a bitter taste.
8. Be sure to throw away the flour if it changes color or smell.
9. There is one tiny trick: to protect against insects, put a small bay leaf in a container with flour, because this plant is a weapon for eliminating insects. For the same purposes, you can place heads of garlic next to the flour.
10. The optimal temperature is +18 degrees. If you store the flour mass at a temperature of 0 degrees, then the shelf life will no longer be 6 months, but 2 years.

Now, it seems to me, you know everything about flour. You know how to choose flour, how to store it, what types it comes in and which flour is best for certain baked goods. I am pleased to invite you to other sections of my site, where you can find delicious baking recipes and be able to apply the new knowledge gained from this article.