Flour
Archaeologists have found evidence of humans making cereal flour over 14,000 years ago. This discovery comes from Shubayqa 1, a Natufian hunter-gatherer site located in northwest Jordan. The site dates back to the period before agriculture became widespread. Excavations at Madjedbebe in Australia revealed grindstones used to seed dating from the Pleistocene period. These tools show that people were grinding seeds long before they began farming wheat or barley. The Romans were the first civilization to grind cereals on cone mills. This innovation marked a significant shift in how grain was processed for food. In 2018, researchers reported finding bread-making evidence at Shubayqa 1. The find suggests that early humans had developed complex methods to turn wild grains into edible dough. These ancient practices laid the foundation for all future milling techniques.
In 1786, the first steam-powered flour mill named Albion Mills opened in Southwark, London. This facility represented the beginning of the Industrial Era for flour production. Before this date, watermills and windmills powered most stone gristmills. Roller mills replaced traditional stone gristmills during the 19th century. These machines used steel wheels instead of stones to crush grain more efficiently. The Unifine mill emerged as an impact-type mill in the mid-20th century. It offered a new method for processing flour with greater speed and consistency. Transportation distances and slow distribution systems collided with natural shelf life during industrialization. Fatty acids within the germ reacted when exposed to oxygen after milling. This oxidation process caused flour to become rancid within six to nine months depending on climate. Degermed flour became standard because removing the germ extended shelf life significantly. This change allowed flour to travel longer distances without spoiling. Degermation started in densely populated areas and took approximately one generation to reach rural countryside regions.
As of 2016, it is a legal requirement in 86 countries to fortify wheat flour. The removal of the germ during refining meant that nutrients were lost from the final product. In the 1930s, some flour began to be enriched with iron, niacin, thiamine and riboflavin. Mills started adding folic acid to the list of required nutrients in the 1940s. During the process of making flour, specifically as a result of bleaching, nutrients are lost. Some of these nutrients may be replaced during refining to create what is known as enriched flour. In the UK most flour and consequently breads made with it are required to be fortified with added calcium, iron, thiamine and niacin. Wholemeal flour remains exempt from this rule since it inherently contains sufficient amounts of these nutrients. Studies have explored whether vegetable flour can be added to wheat-flour-based bread as an alternative to using other enrichment methods. These efforts aim to restore nutritional value while maintaining the texture consumers expect from white flour products.
Bleached flour is refined flour with a chemical whitening agent added to alter its color. A maturing agent also affects gluten development within the dough structure. Chlorine gas serves as both a bleaching agent and a maturing agent used in commercial production. It weakens gluten development and oxidizes starches to make flour easier for water absorption. This modification allows cakes and biscuits to set faster and rise better without collapsing. Benzoyl peroxide bleaches but does not act as a maturing agent or affect gluten strength. Potassium bromate strengthens gluten development but does not bleach the flour itself. Ascorbic acid acts as a maturing agent that strengthens gluten development without changing color. All bleaching and maturing agents except possibly ascorbic acid have been banned in the United Kingdom. Bromination of flour in the US has fallen out of favor though it is not yet actually banned anywhere. Few retail flours available to home bakers are bromated anymore. Current information from Pillsbury states their varieties of bleached flour are treated both with benzoyl peroxide and chlorine gas. Gold Medal states that their bleached flour is treated either with benzoyl peroxide or chlorine gas.
Maize or corn flour has been important in Mesoamerican cuisine since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas. Rye flour is a constituent of bread in central and northern Europe including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland and Scandinavia. Teff flour is made from the grain teff and is of considerable importance in eastern Africa particularly around the Horn of Africa. It serves as the chief ingredient in injera bread which is an important component of Ethiopian cuisine. Chickpea flour known as gram flour or besan is of great importance in Indian cuisine and Italy where it is used for Ligurian farinata. Brown rice flour has higher nutritional value than white rice flour and is widely used in Western countries especially for people who suffer from gluten-related disorders. Cassava flour is made from the root of the cassava plant and is traditionally used in African South and Central American and Caribbean food. Chestnut flour is used in Corsica the Périgord and Lunigiana for breads cakes and pastas. It keeps fresh for as long as two weeks making it ideal for storage in mountainous regions.
Nut flour is made by grinding blanched nuts except for walnut flour for which oil is extracted first. None of the nuts' nutritional benefits are lost during the grinding process. Nut flour has traditionally been used in Mediterranean and Persian cuisine. Bean flours are made by grinding beans that have been either dried or roasted. Soybean flour requires soaking to dehull before drying or roasting to make kinako. At least 97% of soybean product must pass through a 100-mesh standard screen to be called soya flour. Cassava flour is gluten-free and used as an alternative to wheat flour globally. Coconut flour has the highest fiber content of any flour with very low concentration of digestible carbohydrates. Hemp flour does not rise and is best mixed with other flours at about 15, 20 percent addition. Potato starch flour is very white starch powder used as a thickening agent but tends to be heavy when used alone. Acorn flour was used by Native Americans and Koreans also use acorn flour to make dotorimuk. These alternatives provide options for those with coeliac disease non-celiac gluten sensitivity or wheat allergy.
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Common questions
When did humans first make cereal flour?
Archaeologists have found evidence of humans making cereal flour over 14,000 years ago. This discovery comes from Shubayqa 1, a Natufian hunter-gatherer site located in northwest Jordan.
What happened to flour shelf life during industrialization?
Fatty acids within the germ reacted when exposed to oxygen after milling and caused flour to become rancid within six to nine months depending on climate. Degermed flour became standard because removing the germ extended shelf life significantly.
Which countries require wheat flour fortification as of 2016?
As of 2016, it is a legal requirement in 86 countries to fortify wheat flour. The removal of the germ during refining meant that nutrients were lost from the final product so mills added iron, niacin, thiamine and riboflavin.
How does chlorine gas affect commercial flour production?
Chlorine gas serves as both a bleaching agent and a maturing agent used in commercial production. It weakens gluten development and oxidizes starches to make flour easier for water absorption.
Where is teff flour traditionally used?
Teff flour is made from the grain teff and is of considerable importance in eastern Africa particularly around the Horn of Africa. It serves as the chief ingredient in injera bread which is an important component of Ethiopian cuisine.