White flour

“ GRAINS USED FOR FLOUR.--As has been pointed out elsewhere, numerous grains are raised by man, but only two of them, namely, wheat and rye, are used alone for the making of yeast, or leavened, bread. The other grains, such as corn, rice, and oats, produce a flat, unleavened cake, so they are seldom used for bread making unless they are mixed with white flour. Wheat and rye have been used for bread making for a very long time, and their universal use today is due to the fact that they contain considerable protein in the form of gluten. ”

“ An excessively white color and strong gluten are never found together in the same flour. In studying the needs of the baker in flour, we find he does not want an intensely starchy, white color, as this flour will not give a corresponding white color in the bread.
What the baker does want is a flour containing the greatest strength and best color combined. It will be slightly creamy in color, but when baked will make as white a loaf as intensely white flour, and has the added advantage of having larger water absorbing powers, and the power to withstand the harsh treatment given it by the baker. ”

“ Most of my readers have received great benefit from eating wholemeal bread instead of white, and they may all gain further good it they will use Allinson wholemeal flour in place of white for all cooking purposes. Those who are at all constipated, or who suffer from piles, varicose veins, varicocele, back pain, &c., should never use white flour in cooking. ”

“ To aid fermentation, a little sugar may be used in starting bread, but not enough to cover the sweet taste of the flour.
At a great altitude, bread rises very quickly; and requires less yeast.
Do not allow bread to get over light, even if it does not become sour; for the sweet taste will be destroyed, and if in the loaf, it will fall in the oven.
Whole wheat and graham bread will be lighter if 1⁄3 white flour is used; and if white flour alone is used for the sponge the bread will not be so apt to sour. ”

“ Much of the so-called Graham flour is nothing more than poor flour mixed with bran, and is in every way inferior to good white flour. Fine flour or made from the entire wheat may generally be distinguished from a spurious article by taking a small portion into the mouth and chewing it. ”

“ Bread flour, or flour made from spring wheat, is usually of a creamy-white color, while pastry flour, or that made from winter wheat, is more nearly pure white in color. A dark, chalky-white, or gray color indicates that the flour is poor in quality. The second test is the feel of the flour. A pinch of good bread flour, when rubbed lightly between the thumb and the index finger, will be found to be rather coarse and the particles will feel sharp and gritty. ”

“ Thus, if a muffin recipe calls for 3 1/2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder and 2 cupfuls of corn flour are substituted for wheat, the quantity of baking powder should be increased to 4 1/2 teaspoonfuls.
WHY WHEAT IS POPULAR.—In this country, wheat is doubtless the most used of all grains. Its white or creamy color and mild flavor which blends well with that of many foods account in part for its popularity. From a culinary standpoint, wheat flour is more satisfactory to use than any other kind. It produces breads of pleasing texture,—tender but firm enough to hold their shape. ”

“ The refinement of various foods has made them entirely unfit for human consumption. Of first importance without doubt is the use of the whole grain of the wheat for flour. Wheat, as produced by the Almighty, is practically a perfect food, containing all the elements required by the human body and in a proportion not very far from that found in the body. In modern methods of milling, however, the effort is made to eliminate everything in the wheat grain except the pure starch, which naturally makes a fine, smooth, white flour. ”

“ They have not only succeeded by such means, in making light and white bread out of extremely poor flour, but they have also been able so to disguise their adulterations, as to work in with their flour, without being detected by the consumers, a 45portion of the flour of beans, peas and potatoes—and even chalk, pipe clay and plaster of Paris, have been employed to increase the weight and whiteness of their bread. ”

“ Those will be made of wheat flour, too. We use more wheat in America than any other kind of food. Everyone who lives here eats a barrel of flour every year. That is about ninety million barrels. It takes nearly five bushels of wheat to make a barrel of white flour. Four hundred and fifty million bushels of wheat! Yes, indeed! But we really grow about seven hundred million bushels. We have a great deal of wheat and flour to sell to countries across the ocean, where they cannot grow enough to feed all the people. Wheat is the bread of all white people. ”

“ The beginner will find it a good plan to begin making bread entirely of white flour, for the reason that it is easier to determine the consistency of the dough mixture at various stages, as well as during the kneading, if there is no coarse material, such as bran, corn meal, nuts, fruits, etc., in the dough. Later, when a definite knowledge along this line has been acquired, one after the other of the bread recipes should be tried. They are no more difficult to carry out than the recipes for white bread ”

“ Those who are inclined to stoutness should use wholemeal flour rather than white. Hygienists and health-reformers should not permit white flour to enter their houses, unless it is to make bill-stickers' paste or some like stuff. Toothless children must not be given any food but milk and water until they cut at least two teeth.
Every kind of cookery can be done with wholemeal flour. In making ordinary white sauce or vegetable sauce, this is how we make it ”

“ It appears, therefore, on examining the facts, that there is no appreciable difference in the protein content of the ordinary white flours consumed by the poorer classes of the people and wholemeal flour or standard flour. ”

“ Such seconds flour does not fairly produce white bread, and consumers are unwise in demanding whiteness. In my household we make our own bread, but occasionally, when the demand exceeds ordinary supply, a loaf or two is bought from the baker. I find that, with corresponding or identical flour, the baker’s bread is whiter than the home-made, and proportionally inferior. I may describe it as colourless in flavour, it lacks the characteristic of wheaten sweetness. ”

“ Add a large piece of butter or konut. Use white flour instead of whole wheat, mix it with one-fourth white corn meal, or rice flour.
COFFEE CAKE. Prepare the same as white bread, using less flour, and add a few well beaten eggs, the grated rind of several lemons and oranges, or flavor with nutmeg, dried fruit, vanilla, mace or bitter almonds. Serve with fresh, sweet milk, or with scalded milk, as a whole meal for supper.
All breads and cakes made with yeast are more nutritious and wholesome when stale, on account of the evaporation of water and the changes which take place in the bread. ”

“ In public and in private, I have advised their use instead of white flour, but solely upon the ground that the wheat is less robbed of certain of its invaluable constituents in the former; but I can not conceive it possible to separate the hull from the kernel without real loss, even if the hull were, in itself, objectionable, which, so far from being true, is, in my opinion, a mistake and a very serious one. ”

“ The red varieties yield the largest amount of grain, but the white the whitest flour.
Wheat is preferred to the other cereal grasses as an article of food on account of its containing a larger quantity of flesh-forming matters. The flour also may be rendered very white by separating it from the husks, or bran, and the fruit is much more easily separated from the chaff than is the case with the other cereals. The proportion of flesh and force-producing to those of force-producers only, is more nearly adjusted to the requirements of the system in wheat than in any other food. ”

“ The very best wheat the world produces ground between stones to an exceeding fineness so that the resulting meal is free from all irritating properties—and containing the full food-value of the ripened grain. Can be used in place of white flour for all purposes, with immense benefits to flavour and to health. ”

“ The wheat that grows there ripens quickly under the pure blue sky and hot sun, and consequently the outside of the wheat is browner while the inside of the wheat is whiter than that grown in England. The wheat is ground and sifted repeatedly. It is generally sifted about five times, and the pure snow-white flour that falls from the last sifting is made into macaroni. ”

“ Wheat meal requires a little more yeast than fine flour, or a longer time to stand in the dough for rising.
1010. Unfermented Bread
Three pounds wheat meal, or four pounds of white flour, two heaped tablespoonfuls of baking powder, a tablespoonful of salt, and about two and a half pints of lukewarm water, or just sufficient to bring the flour to a proper consistence for bread-making; water about a quart. The way of making is as follows:
First mix the baking powder, the salt, and about three fourths of the flour well together by rubbing in a pan ”

“ With us, wheat is chiefly employed for the fabrication of bread. It is, in fact, the only grain of which light porous bread can be made; but rye and barley are also used as bread-corn. The farina of the other cerealia afford also a nutritive and wholesome bread; though their flour is not so susceptible of the panary fermentation, it cannot be made into the white texture of the wheaten loaf. The bread formed from them is consequently much inferior to that prepared from wheat. ”

“ The principal physical characteristics of wheat flour of good quality are the following—it has a dull white colour, somewhat inclining to yellow;—it exhibits no trace of bran, even when pressed smooth with the hand,748 or with a polished surface;—its cohesiveness is so great that, on being squeezed in the hand, the lump is some time before it loses its shape;—it has a homogeneous appearance, and does not lose more than from 6% to 12% by being carefully dried in a stove. ”

“ Good flour will adhere, slightly pressed together in the hand; and when you unclasp your hand, the lines in the palm will be plainly seen on the flour you have held so tightly. Dough from good flour will not be a clear, blue white, but yellowish, and, when well kneaded, will not stick to the hand. ”

“ Probably the wheat which combines the most desirable qualities for flour-making purposes is the red Mediterranean, which has plenty of gluten and a tough bran, though claimed by some to have a little too much coloring matter, while the body of the berry is white. By poor milling a good wheat can be made into flour deficient both in strength and color, and by careful milling a wheat naturally deficient in strength may be made into flour having all the strength there was in the wheat originally and of good color. Good milling is indispensable, no matter what the quality of the wheat may be. ”

“ The products of refined flour are more completely and easily digested than the whole wheat products. However, by eating in moderation and masticating well every normal person is able to take good care of whole wheat products, and the benefit of using the entire grain is so great that we should hesitate about continuing the use of the refined flours and white breads. ”

“ It has been cultivated for ages and has been used by nearly all peoples. It is customary to grind the berries into a fine meal which is mixed with water and baked. There are various opinions about the comparative value of white and whole-wheat flour. There is no doubt but that the whole-wheat flour containing, as it does, more woody fibre than the white, has a tendency to increase the peristaltic action of the intestines, and thus is valuable for persons troubled with constipation. [4] From a large number of analyses it has been determined that entire wheat flour contains about 2.4 per cent. ”

“ Make any quantity of wheaten flour into a stiff paste with cold water, and let it be kneaded and wrought in the hands under water; or put the flour into a coarse linen bag, and knead it between the hands whilst a small rill of cold water is suffered to pass 54over it. The water will carry away the starch in the form of a white powder, and the dough become more and more elastic, in proportion as the water carries off the starch; continue kneading the mass till the water runs off from the kneaded dough colourless. ”

“ Pare some apples, and cut them in thin slices—put them in a bowl, with a glass of brandy, some white wine, a quarter of a pound of pounded sugar, a little cinnamon finely powdered, and the rind of a lemon grated; let them stand some time, turning them over frequently; beat two eggs very light, add one quarter of a pound of flour, a table-spoonful of melted butter, and as much cold water as will make a thin batter ”

“ For this purpose the flour ought to be well prepared, and kept in a dry place. Some persons like brown bread, but it is not, in general, so wholesome as that which is all white. Six pounds of rye flour, to a peck of wheaten flour, makes very good bread. ”

“ The color of bread made from wheat flour varies with the kind of wheat used in making the flour and also with the grade of flour used in making the bread. All wheats contain minute quantities of a yellow coloring matter, consequently a fresh, well-milled unbleached patent flour has a live, bright, yellow tint. ”

“ Whole Wheat Flour.—It is claimed that bran in Graham flour often proves an irritant to delicate digestive organs. In whole wheat flour we have the entire food principle of the grain without the hull. The cold blast process of milling gives us this flour of a very superior quality.
Whole Wheat Flour Bread should be made in every particular like patent or new process flour bread, and baked in loaves, twists, or fancy rolls. ”