On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1003

as flour improvers; their active fat-oxidizing
enzymes, which generate the typical beany
flavor,alsoindirectlycausetheoxidationand
elongationofglutenproteins.
Thetraditionalair-agingofflourhada
visiblesideeffect:theyellowishflour
becomesprogressivelypalerasthe
xanthophyllpigmentsareoxidizedtoa
colorlessform.Oncethechemistryofthis
changewasunderstood,millersbeganusing
bleachingagents(azodicarbonamide,
peroxide)towhitenflours.Manybakers
prefertouseunbleachedfloursbecausethey
havebeensubjectedtolesschemical
alteration.BleachingisnotallowedinEurope.
MinorFlourComponents

Theglutenproteinsandstarchgranulesin
flouraccountforabout90%offlourweight,
andformuchofthebehaviorofflourdoughs
andbatters.Butsomeminorcomponentshave


animportantinfluence.
ExtractionRates
The degree to which a flour has been
refined is designated by the “extraction
rate,”orthepercentageofthewholegrain
remaining in the finished flour. Whole
wheatflourhasanextractionrateof90%.
Most commercial white flours contain

between 70 and 72% of the whole grain;
Frenchbreadflourrangesfrom72to78%,
and so carries more flavor of the whole
grain. Home bakers can make their own
higher-extraction refined flours by
supplementing commercial white flour
with a portion of whole wheat flour that
theyhavesiftedtoremovecoarsebranand
germparticles.
Fats and Related MoleculesAlthough white
flourisonlyabout1%fats,fatfragments,and
phospholipidsbyweight,thesesubstancesare