Wheat Flour

Wheat Flour

1 cup enriched white wheat flour (compared with whole wheat) contains:

400 (390) cal;
11 (16) gm protein (incomplete);
1.1 (2.4) gm fat;
83 (80) gm carbohydrate;
17 (49) mg calcium;
96 (446) mg phosphorus;
3 (3.9) iron;
2.2 (3.6) mg sodium;
104 (444) mg potassium;
.48 (.66) mg B-1;
.28 (.14) mg B-2;
3.8 (5) mg niacin;
27 (135) mg magnesium.

The majority of commercial products containing wheat flour use the enriched white. The bran and germ are removed from the flour during the milling process, leaving only the starchy endosperm. This results in a finer textured flour that is easier to store, since the oil containing wheat germ that could turn rancid if stored too long has been removed; this process also results in the partial or total loss of a number of nutrients, including iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, copper cobalt, molybdenum, calcium, vitamins B-1, B-2, B-6, E, niacin, cholin, inositol, panthothenic acid, folic acid, and biotin, that are to a large extent retained in whole wheat flour. This white flour is then enriched with added iron B-1, B-2, and niacin; only with the B-2 is the amount added back more than what was originally taken away. Some white flour is bleached to speed the whitening process; the unbleached white flour, which has been allowed to whiten without chemical help, does not have the chemical residue often found in the bleached flour, but otherwise the two are nutritionally the same. Unenriched white flour is sometimes used in commercial baking, but governmental pressure is gradually bringing about a change to the use of enriched flour for most commercial products.  whole wheat flour, sometimes known as graham flour, retains the bran and germ during the milling process, thus preserving much of the nutritional value, especially the B vitamins, milled out of white flour (see the comparative analysis above).

Whole wheat flours can be processed in  one of several ways, all of which can affect the nutritional value. Stone ground milling is a low heat process that generally does not destroy nutrients, and it also distributes  wheat germ and oil evenly, allowing the flour to be  bred longer without going rancid. Steel ground milling,  lees expensive than stone ground, is a high heat process  that destroys the vitamin E in the wheat germ and does not distribute the oil evenly, allowing the flour to go  rancid sooner. Bleaching and brominating are both chemical processes which can destroy the germ and thus reduce  nutritional value. Wheat also provides several other kinds of flours. Modified graham flour is basically enriched white flour with some of the bran added back after milling; its nutritional superiority to white flour is determined by the amount of bran added back. Bran flour provides vitamins and minerals milled out of white flour. Wheat germ flour is un bleached enriched white flour to which wheat germ is added after milling, providing good nutritional value; this kind of flour can be mixed at home by adding one hard cup of slightly toasted wheat germ to two thirds of a cup of all purpose flour. Cracked wheat is a whole grain broken into large pieces rather than being milled into flour; wheat grits are the whole grain broken into slightly smaller pieces; both resemble whole wheat flour in nutritional value. Gluten flour, which is 50 percent protein, is made from the protein part of the wheat with the starch removed. It is often used for special diets, especially for diabetics, and may be added to low gluten flours in making bread. Since gluten is the substance that holds the bubbles released by the yeast in the bread, allowing it to rise, adding it to these other flours also raises the protein value of the bread.