Flour

Flour is a fine powder.

People make it by grinding things in a mill. They can grind grains, beans, or even nuts.

Wheat flour is used to make bread. Many people eat bread every day. Corn flour is also very important. It is a main food in the Americas.

Some flour is made from seeds. Teff is a seed used in Ethiopia. Buckwheat is used in Japan. These flours help make flatbread.

Some flour comes from roots. Arrowroot flour makes soups thick. It works even better than wheat flour. It is a very useful tool.

Flour helps us make many foods. It can be soft or strong. It is a special part of cooking.

Flour is a fine powder used in many foods.

People make it by grinding grains, beans, nuts, or seeds. This is done using a mill.

Wheat flour is a main food for many people. It is used to make bread. Corn flour is also very important in the Americas. In Europe, people use rye flour for bread. Some flours come from seeds. Teff flour is used in Ethiopia. Buckwheat flour is used in Japan and Italy.

Flour can be made in different ways. Whole-grain flour uses the whole seed. Refined flour only uses one part of the seed. This is often called white flour. Making white flour can remove nutrients. Because of this, many countries add nutrients back in. This is called fortification.

Different flours work for different foods. High protein flour makes bread chewy. Low protein flour makes cakes soft. You can also use nut flour. It is a popular choice for people who do not eat gluten. Root flours like arrowroot can also make soups thick.

Flour is a fine powder used to make many foods. It can thicken soups or become tasty baked goods.

People make it by grinding things like grains, beans, nuts, or seeds. This happens inside a machine called a mill. Some mills use heavy stones that turn against each other. Other mills use steel wheels called roller mills.

Different flours feel and work in different ways. High protein flour makes bread chewy and strong. Low protein flour makes cakes soft and crumbly. You can even use nut flour for a gluten-free choice.

Making flour involves several different steps depending on the plant. To make nut flour, people grind blanched nuts. For walnut flour, they must take the oil out first. Bean flours come from beans that are dried or roasted. To make soybean flour, people soak beans to remove their hulls. Then they dry the beans before grinding them down. For vegetable flour, people must dehydrate the vegetables first. This allows them to be milled into a powder.

Humans have been making flour for a very long time. Archaeologists found evidence of cereal flour from 32,000 years ago. In Australia, people found stone tools for grinding seeds from the Pleistocene period. In Jordan, researchers found bread making from 14,000 years ago. The Romans were the first to use cone mills for grinding. Later, the first steam-powered mill was built in London in 1786. This was at the start of the Industrial Era.

Many different cultures use specific types of flour every day. Corn flour is a staple in the Americas and Mesoamerica. Rye flour is used for bread in Northern and Central Europe. In Ethiopia and Eritrea, people use teff seed flour for flatbread. Buckwheat flour is common in Russia, Japan, and Italy. Chickpea flour is also called gram flour or besan. It is used in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking.

Flour can be made in two main ways. Whole-grain flour uses the endosperm, germ, and bran together. Refined flour uses only the endosperm, which is often called white flour. Removing the outer layers can cause a loss of nutrients. Because of this, many countries add nutrients back in. This is called fortification. As of 2016, 86 countries require wheat flour to be fortified. This helps keep the flour healthy for everyone to eat.

Flour is a versatile powder used to create a vast array of foods. It serves as a primary ingredient for baked goods and acts as a thickener for many dishes.

Most flour is produced by grinding grains, beans, nuts, seeds, roots, or vegetables in a mill. Cereal flour, specifically wheat flour, is a global staple used to make bread. The word "flour" actually comes from the Old French word "fleur," which means blossom. This is because the term originally described the finest part of the grain after removing coarse matter.

The milling process transforms raw ingredients into fine particles through comminution. This term describes the degree to which something is ground into smaller pieces. If the particles are slightly coarser, the product is often called "meal" instead of flour. Different ingredients require unique preparation steps to reach this state. Nut flour is made by grinding blanched nuts, though walnut flour requires the oil to be extracted first. Soybean flour requires soaking the beans to dehull them before they are dried and ground. For vegetable flour, the plants must be dehydrated before they can be milled.

Cereal flours are categorized by which parts of the grain are kept. Whole-grain flour consists of the endosperm, the germ, and the bran processed together. Refined flour, often called white flour, consists only of the endosperm. This refining process removes the outer layers, which can lead to a loss of nutrients. To fix this, many producers use fortification, which is the process of adding nutrients back into the flour. As of 2016, it is a legal requirement to fortify wheat flour in 86 countries. Some producers also create heat-processed flour by separating the germ and then using steam or microwaves before blending it back in.

Protein content determines how different flours behave during cooking. High-protein flour is strong and hard, which results in chewy or crispy breads. Low-protein flour is much softer, making it ideal for cakes, cookies, and pie crusts. For example, cake flour has a very low protein content of about 6% to 7%. This low level of binding allows the cake to crumble easily. Pastry flour has a slightly higher protein level, typically between 7.5% and 9.5%.

Humanity has a deep history with flour production that spans tens of thousands of years. Archaeologists have found evidence of humans making cereal flour over 32,000 years ago. In Australia, grindstones from the Pleistocene period were discovered at the Madjedbebe site. In northwest Jordan, researchers found evidence of bread making at a Natufian site dating back 14,000 years. The Romans were pioneers in technology, being the first to grind cereals using cone mills. During the Industrial Era, the first steam-powered flour mill, Albion Mills, was completed in London in 1786.

Industrialization brought new challenges, specifically regarding the shelf life of flour. The fatty acids in the germ of the grain react with oxygen, a process called oxidation. This causes the flour to become rancid, often within six to nine months depending on the climate. To prevent this, many industrial mills began removing the germ entirely. While this helped preservation, it also removed vitamins and minerals. This led to the modern practice of enriching or fortifying flour with substances like iron, niacin, thiamine, and riboflavin. In the UK, most flour must be fortified with calcium, iron, thiamine, and niacin.

Flour connects various culinary traditions and scientific advancements across the globe. Corn flour has been a staple in Mesoamerican cuisine since ancient times and remains vital in the Americas. Rye flour is a key component of bread in Central and Northern Europe. In Ethiopia and Eritrea, teff seed flour is used for sourdough and flatbreads. Different regions also use specialized flours like chickpea flour, also known as besan or gram flour, in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking. The drive to make milling less labor-intensive even led to the development of watermills and windmills, technologies that changed how humans use power.