Wheat flour is the most important ingredient in home baking and is the framework for almost every commercially baked product and pasta. Of the grains available for the production of flour, wheat is unique. It is the only cereal grain with sufficient gluten content to make a loaf of bread without being mixed with another grain. Wheat is also the most widely distributed cereal grain and therefore grown all over the world. In most instances, a reference to "flour" is a reference to wheat flour. Wheat is the only cereal grain that contains gluten in sufficient amount to make yeast breads although some wheat contains more gluten than others.

Flour milled from each class of wheat is used for specific products. The end products are determined by the characteristics of the wheat. Milling wheat into flour reduces the protein content by about 1 percent but does not affect other nutrients in significant levels. This applies to stone grinding, commercial milling by steel rollers, or home grinding. Whole wheat flour provides basically the same nutrients as the whole wheat kernel itself.

To measure unsifted or sifted white flour, spoon flour by tablespoons into a measuring cup until the flour overflows. Do not pack the flour by shaking the cup or hitting it with a spoon. To level the flour, use the straight edge of a spatula or knife. Whole grain or instant flours, though not sifted, are stirred lightly with a fork or spoon and measured the same way.

All-Purpose Flour

All-purpose flour is the finely-ground endosperm of the wheat kernel separated from the bran and germ during the milling process. All-purpose flour is made from hard wheats or a combination of soft and hard wheats from which the home baker can make a complete range of acceptable baked products including yeast breads, cakes, cookies and pastries.

Enriched all-purpose flour has iron and B-vitamins (thiamine, niacin and riboflavin) added in amounts equal to or exceeding that in whole wheat flour. The majority of all-purpose flour in the United States is enriched.

Bleached all-purpose flour is exposed to chlorine gas or benzoyl peroxide to whiten and brighten flour color. Chlorine also affects baking quality by "maturing" or oxidizing the flour, which is beneficial for cake and cookie baking. The bleaching agents react and do not leave harmful residues or destroy nutrients.

Barley is the world's oldest grain, proven by discoveries in ancient cities located in the Mideast and North Africa. It has been cultivated for about 8,000 years, and today is the world's fourth largest cereal crop.

Barley as a food is most commonly identified as pearl barley, traditionally used in soups. Pearl barley has many other food uses, such as casseroles, pilafs or salads. Barley flour and milling fractions such as bran, middlings, shorts and "red dog" can also be used for baked products and breakfast cereals.

There are many genotypes of barley that exhibit a wide range of physiological and morphological characteristics that somewhat determine the end use. A major factor affecting total dietary fiber in barley is the nude gene (nn) which controls the adherence or non-adherence of the hull to the kernel. This separates all barleys into one of the following types:

1. Covered, or having a hull that adheres tightly to the kernel;
2. Hull-less, sometimes called "nude," because the hull falls off the kernel, as with wheat, during harvesting.

If the yield increases due to the presence of the hull and demand for this type in malting, most common barleys are of the covered type. However, there is growing interest in the hull-less type, which is very adaptable for human food products causing the entire grain to be used without pearling.

Barley Malt

Barley malt is an important ingredient for beer production. It is also used in extracts and syrups for adding flavor, color or sweetness to commercially prepared foods such as cereals, baked goods, confections and beverages.

Barley malt is made by soaking and drying barley kernels. The kernels are then allowed to germinate or sprout in a controlled environment.

The malting process converts raw grain into malt. The malt is mainly used for brewing or whiskey making, but can also be used to make malt vinegar or malt extract. Various grains are malted, the most common grains used are barley, sorghum, wheat and rye.

There are a number of different types of equipment that can be used to produce the malt. A traditional floor malting germinates the grains in a thin layer on a solid floor, and the grain is manually raked and turned to keep the grains loose and aerated. In a modern malt house the process is more automated, and the grain is germinated on a floor that is slotted to allow air to be forced through the grain bed. Large mechanical turners keep the much thicker bed loose with higher productivity and better energy efficiency.

More on Barley and Malting

•   American Malting Barley Association, Inc.
•   Institute of Barley and Malt Sciences at North Dakota State University
•   Barley and Oats from MontanaKids.com

Not all wheats are alike

Botanically, there are more than 30,000 varieties of wheat which fall into six major classes that are grown in the United States. The six classes are based on planting and harvesting dates, as well as hardness, color and shape of kernels. The classes are hard red spring, hard red winter, soft red winter, hard white wheat, soft white wheat and durum.

Hard wheats are higher in protein and gluten and are therefore usually used for yeast breads. Soft wheats make very tender pastries, cakes, cookies, flatbreads, crackers and muffins. Soft and hard wheats are often blended to make all-purpose flour. The hardest wheat, durum, is primarily used for making pasta.

When it comes to bread.. .What is the difference between enriched, whole grain and wheat?

Enriched bread is made from enriched white flour, which comes from the endosperm of the wheat kernel and is fortified with iron, B-vitamins and, in some cases, calcium. Enriched white bread has more than twice the amount of folic acid as whole-wheat bread.

Whole-wheat bread is made from whole-grain flour, or the entire wheat kernel, and naturally contains fiber, antioxidants, and phytoestrogens, which may help to reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers.

Wheat bread is made from a combination of white and whole-grain flour and provides a combination of their benefits. All three kinds of bread offer a wide range of nutrients and complex carbohydrates and help regulate the appetite.