Today, thousands of wheat varieties are organized by class.

Classes are formed based on:

--Growing season (winter or spring)
--Bran color (red or white)
--Kernel hardness (hard or soft)
There are six classes:
Hard Red Spring
Hard Red Winter Wheat
Hard White Wheat
Soft White Wheat
Soft Red Winter
Durum Wheat
Classes of U.S. Wheat
What Wheat for What
Products?

Kernel hardness is just one way to tell how

much protein will be in a wheat, and
therefore how much will be in the flour.

Hard wheat= medium to higher

protein flour stronger gluten strength

Soft wheat= lower protein flour

weaker gluten strength
Wheat Utilization

Blending of wheats is done to achieve the best flour for an end-product use.
Where’s the Flour?
• Whole grain flour contains all grain
parts
• Endosperm (83% of kernel)
• Refined, enriched flours are made
from the endosperm only
Energy for plant growth
Carbohydrates; protein for people
• Bran layers (14.5% of kernel)
Protects seed
Fiber, B-vitamins; minerals
• Germ (2.5% of kernel)
Nourishes seed Antioxidants, Vitamin
E, B-vitamins
Flour Milling Today
Milling is Science
• Flour is the main, and most important ingredientin
baked goods.
• Millers work with bakers to produce the right flour
for the baker’s products, equipment, environment,
and cost factors
• Flour is responsible for:
 Structure--holding and expanding with leavening
gases
 Texture
 Binding all ingredients
 Flavor
 Nutrition
• Flour cannot be exactly the same every year due to
weather factors.
Many factors affect flour’s quality
• The wheat’s environment.
climate/weather; soil type & fertility
• The wheat variety grown.
Each variety has different protein
quality & quantity, starches and
enzymes.
• The wheat’s milling quality.
Kernel structure, ease of milling,
screenings loss, starch damage, flour
yield, flour granulation, grinding
power
Milling Steps
Wheat roller mills…
• Clean
• Temper (moisture added)
• Remove bran
• Remove germ (at right)
• Extract flour from
endosperm
• Further separate, sift
…to produce flour
Filling flour
bags at mill.
Hard Wheat Flours
About 75 lbs of white flour comes from 100 lbs. of
wheat

The flour comes from the wheat’s endosperm

(see Kernel diagram)

The extracted white flour is then separated into

grades.
Grades of hard wheat flour are called:
• Straight grade flour (100% of the flour
separation)
• Patent flour (70 - 80% of separation)
Second clear flour = the 20-30% left
• Short patent flour (60% of separation)
First clear flour = the 40% left
• High gluten flour (comes from high protein wheat
= 60% of separation)
Soft Wheat Flours
• Pastry flour
Made from 100% of the soft wheat flour eparation
Soft red or white wheats used Flour Protein = 8-9%
• Cake flour
60 to 70% of the separation of soft red wheat
chlorine used to bleach for better cakes Flour Protein =7-8%
• Pie flour
Unbleached pastry flour made preferably from soft white
wheat Flour Protein=7-9%
• Whole wheat pastry flour
Milled from soft white or red wheat—white wheat lends a
lighter color and flavor Flour Protein = 7-9%
Wheat and Flour Protein Dough Water Mix Gluten
Uses Strength Absorption Time Formig
Flour Type
Hard Spring 12-
14%
Long Mix
Bagels,
High Gluten Hearth brds
Time
Thin pizza 13.4-
High 12-14
14.4% High
60-65% minutes
Pizza crust
Strong Patent 12.8-
Hearth bread
13.2%
High gluten
forming
Spring Patent Breads
12.4-
Rolls 12.8%

Hard Winter Pan breads 10-

12%
Med Medium Medium Mix
Artisan bread
Winter patent Sweet dough 50-60% Time
Thick crust 11-12%
8-12 minutes
All purpose Pizza
Quick breads Medium
Cookies 10-11% gluten
forming
Soft Winter Cookies 7-9%
Low Low Short mix
Brownies
Pastry Sheet cakes 8-9%
time
Cake High Ratio Low gluten
cakes; angel 7-8%
forming
Unbleached vs. Bleached Flour

• Freshly milled (“green”) flour

will not produce consistently
good quality baked goods.

• Flour naturally ages or oxidizes

if stored 8 to 12 weeks.

• Oxidation improves baking

quality, producing finer
textured, whiter products.
Unbleached vs. Bleached Flour-cont.
• “Bleached” flour: Food technologists have
developed FDA approved chemical
bleaching and maturing agents to improve
baking qualities and speed oxidation.

• “Unbleached” flour: no maturing agents are

added. Bread flour is generally unbleached;
all purpose flour may be either.

• Enriched bleached or unbleached have

equal nutritional value
Self-Rising Flour
• Early 1900’s American “convenience mix” for home
bakers
• All-purpose flour with baking powder and salt
added.
• Best for biscuits, some muffins, pancakes or
waffles
• If substituting for all-purpose, omit the baking
soda or powder and salt called for in the recipe.
• Not recommended for yeast breads.
• Substitution:
1 cup flour + 1 ½ tsp. baking powder + ½ tsp. salt
 Why is Flour Enriched?
• In milling white flour, the bran and germ
are left behind…and many nutrients.
• Enriching flour means…
thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, iron and
folate are added back into the flour at
levels equal to or higher than they
naturally occur in wheat.
• Flour may be fortified with calcium (a
nutrient NOT naturally high in wheat)
Why is Some Flour “malted?”
• Malted barley flour is milled from
sprouted barley
• Supplements wheat’s natural
enzymes to make better yeast-
raised products
• Malted barley flour is not added
to whole wheat flour, all purpose
flour or cake flour
Ascorbic Acid in Flour
• High protein flour may have
ascorbic acid (Vit. C) added as a
maturing agent to produce better
volume and crumb structure in the
bread
• The Vit. C is lost in the high heat of
baking
• Ascorbic acid may replace benzoyl
peroxide, which is no longer used
in bread flour
 Family Flour
• Family flour may be: all purpose, bread,
cake, whole wheat, 50/50, pastry or non-wheat
flours
• How much protein? Check the label for
where the flour milled—is it milled from “spring”
or “winter,” “soft” or “hard” wheat
• Whole wheat flour: Is it a “white” bran coat or a
“red” bran coat--White whole wheat is a lighter
color & sweeter. Red whole wheat is stronger
flavored and darker.
• All these factors make a difference in what foods
it will bake the best. Look at the flour chart for
help.
Non-Wheat Baking Ingredients
• Barley—may be pearled (quick or medium),
rolled, flour
• Amaranth, flax, sorghum, quinoa,
buckwheat, triticale, brown rice and
more can be flour, rolled grain, meal, groats
• Oatmeal is wholegrain (rolled instant, quick,
old-fashioned, steel cut, Scottish); oat flour;
groats
• Corn—degerminated (germ removed and
enriched) or wholegrain meal or flour; may
be self-rising too
Non-Wheat Baking Ingredients-cont.
• Rye flour or rolled; may be whole grain or
not; dark, medium or light
• Soy flakes, flour (may or may not be
defatted), grits, protein isolate
• Vegetables,beans, legumes, nuts may
be ground and flour-like (potato,
garbanzo, peas, lentils and more)
Baking with Non-Wheat Ingredients
• Non-wheat flour, meal, rolled grains, bran and
germ add flavor, texture, nutrient variety,
and fiber
• They must be supported with high-gluten
strength wheat flour or added gluten in yeast
breads
• Substitute non-wheat flour or meal at
levels totaling 5 to 25% of total flour weight
• Pre-soak or cook cracked wheat/grains, grits,
rolled grains, bulgur
• Water may need to be added or reduced if
using cooked grains
 Food Labels for Grain Foods
Look for:
 Product name, manufacturer, dates
 Net weight
(how much food you get in package)
 Ingredient List - listed most to least
 Advertising or influences to buy
Nutrition Facts Label:
 Look at Total Carbohydrates
How much are sugars? How much dietary fiber?
Health claim(s)
(NOT advertising; FDA regulates)
—EX: Whole grain claim
 Must contain 51% or more whole grains by weight
 Must be low in total fat
More about food labels @ www.cfsan.fda.gov/label.html
Enriched and Wholegrain Grain
Foods are Nutrient-Packed
• Complex carbohydrates
 Muscle and brain fuel
 Endurance
 Energy
• Soluble and insoluble fiber
• B vitamins
 Folic acid
 Thiamin
 Riboflavin
 Niacin
• Iron
• Protein
• Whole grains—even more phytonutrients (antioxidants),
minerals and vitamins, dietary fiber
 Get the FACTS about carbs
We gain weight because…
…we eat too many calories, and burn too few.

Check it out for yourself—everybody eats differently.

• Are you too heavy? Calculate your BMI.
www.thebeehive.org/health OR www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi

• Keep a food and exercise record for a couple weeks.

Are your extra calories from fat, protein or carbs?
Are you eating or drinking too many SUPER servings?
Do you “eat” the Dietary Guidelines? www.eatright.org
Are you active enough? 30 to 60 minutes (10,000 steps)
Flour milling
During milling, different parts of the wheat are used or
removed at different stages to create different types of
flour.
Types of flour

•Wheatgerm – This can be

white or brown flour with at
least 10% made up of
wheatgerm added during the
milling process.
Types of flour

•Wholemeal – This is made from

the whole wheat grain without any
additional ingredients or any parts
being removed during the milling
process.
Types of flour

Stoneground – This is
wholemeal flour ground in a
traditional way between two
stones using the whole wheat
grain with no additional
ingredients or any parts being
removed.
Types of flour

•Brown – This usually

contains about 85% of the
original grain. During milling
some bran and germ is been
removed.
Types of flour

Organic –This is made from

grain that has been grown to
organic standards. Growers
and millers must be registered
and are subject to regular
inspections.
Types of flour

•White – This usually

contains around 75% of the
wheat grain. During milling
most of the bran and
wheatgerm is removed.
Types of flour

Malted wheatgrain – This

is brown or wholemeal flour
with added malted grains
during the milling process.
What about other types of flour?
Around the world there are flours which are not made from
wheat.

Some of the more unusual types include flour made from

coconut, potato, peas and chickpeas. Other grains such as
rye, oats and spelt are often used.