The wheat grain is made up of the bran, germ and heart. The three outside layers or bran coats contain cellulose, mineral matter, some protein and some coloring matter. The heart contains starch, gluten and a small amount of cellulose and mineral matter. The germ is rich in fat and protein, but it is usually removed in the manufacture of the flour because the fat would soon become rancid and render the flour unfit for use. Kinds of Flour. Wheat is made into Graham flour, whole wheat flour and white flour (sometimes called patent flour). Graham flour is made from the whole grain ; whole wheat flour is made after the first two coats of bran have been removed; white flour has all of the bran and the germ removed by the process of grinding and sifting that it goes through. As the bran contained in the Graham flour and whole wheat flour is mostly cellulose which cannot be digested by the human digestive system, these flours do not contain as much nourish- FLOUR MIXTURES 193 merit as is found in white flour. They do contain more mineral matter, however, and the cellulose is useful for persons who take little exercise because it increases the action of the intestines. Wheat Grain White Fl. Graham Fl. Whole Wheat Fl. Water 10.05 12.80 11.30 11.40 Protein 11.09 10.80 13.30 13.80 Fat 2.10 1.10 2.20 1.90 Starch 71.90 74.6 69.50 71.00 Fiber 1.80 .20 1.80 .90 Experiment. Put two tablespoonfuls of flour in a piece of cheesecloth and tie in the form of a bag, then squeeze the bag in a bowl of cool water until the starch is washed out of the flour. Untie the cheesecloth and examine the tough, rubber-like substance left in the bag. It is gluten, the form of protein found in wheat. Put this ball of gluten on a plate in the oven. As the water turns to steam and expands the gluten stretches like rub- ber. If baked long enough the thin wall of gluten becomes hard and holds its shape. This is what happens when our flour mix- tures are put into the oven to bake. Try the same experiment with cornmeal. There is no gluten in corn. Wheat Flour. Patent wheat flour is usually used for all flour mixtures except in bread making, where we sometimes use flour made from rye or other grains. There are two kinds of wheat, winter wheat and spring wheat. Winter wheat is planted in the fall and harvested in the early summer. This is a soft wheat and the flour contains a large per cent of starch. It is used for cakes, pastry, etc. 194 FOOD AND COOKERY Spring wheat is planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. The grains are hard and the flonr contains less starch and more gluten (the protein in wheat) than does the winter wheat. The flour made from spring wheat is called bread flour. Frequently the two kinds of wheat are blended so as to produce a flour that will be suitable for either bread or pastry. Macaroni flour is wheat flour especially rich in gluten. Batters. A batter is a mixture of flour and liquid thin enough to be beaten with a spoon, the word batter meaning to beat. If the mixture is so stiff that it can be handled upon a molding board, it is called a dough. Kinds of batters. Batters are divided according to their consistency or thick- ness into pour batters, stiff drop batters and soft drop batters. If a batter is so thin that it will pour in a steady stream from the spoon it is called a pour batter; if it is thick enough to drop in a large lump, it is a stiff drop batter and if it is so soft that it will start to pour from the spoon and then drop in a soft lump, it is called a soft drop batter.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The wheat grain is made up of the bran, germ and heart. The three outside layers or bran coats contain cellulose, mineral matter, some protein and some coloring matter. The heart contains starch, gluten and a small amount of cellulose and mineral matter. The germ is rich in fat and protein, but it is usually removed in the manufacture of the flour because the fat would soon become rancid and render the flour unfit for use. Kinds of Flour. Wheat is made into Graham flour, whole wheat flour and white flour (sometimes called patent flour). Graham flour is made from the whole grain ; whole wheat flour is made after the first two coats of bran have been removed; white flour has all of the bran and the germ removed by the process of grinding and sifting that it goes through. As the bran contained in the Graham flour and whole wheat flour is mostly cellulose which cannot be digested by the human digestive system, these flours do not contain as much nourish- merit as is found in white flour. They do contain more mineral matter, however, and the cellulose is useful for persons who take little exercise because it increases the action of the intestines. Wheat Grain White Fl. Graham Fl. Whole Wheat Fl. Water 10.05 12.80 11.30 11.40 Protein 11.09 10.80 13.30 13.80 Fat 2.10 1.10 2.20 1.90 Starch 71.90 74.6 69.50 71.00 Fiber 1.80 .20 1.80 .90 Experiment. Put two tablespoonfuls of flour in a piece of cheesecloth and tie in the form of a bag, then squeeze the bag in a bowl of cool water until the starch is washed out of the flour. Untie the cheesecloth and examine the tough, rubber-like substance left in the bag. It is gluten, the form of protein found in wheat. Put this ball of gluten on a plate in the oven. As the water turns to steam and expands the gluten stretches like rubber. If baked long enough the thin wall of gluten becomes hard and holds its shape. This is what happens when our flour mixtures are put into the oven to bake. Try the same experiment with cornmeal. There is no gluten in corn. Wheat Flour. Patent wheat flour is usually used for all flour mixtures except in bread making, where we sometimes use flour made from rye or other grains. There are two kinds of wheat, winter wheat and spring wheat. Winter wheat is planted in the fall and harvested in the early summer. This is a soft wheat and the flour contains a large per cent of starch. It is used for cakes, pastry, etc. Spring wheat is planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. The grains are hard and the flonr contains less starch and more gluten (the protein in wheat) than does the winter wheat. The flour made from spring wheat is called bread flour. Frequently the two kinds of wheat are blended so as to produce a flour that will be suitable for either bread or pastry. Macaroni flour is wheat flour especially rich in gluten. Batters. A batter is a mixture of flour and liquid thin enough to be beaten with a spoon, the word batter meaning to beat. If the mixture is so stiff that it can be handled upon a molding board, it is called a dough. Kinds of batters. Batters are divided according to their consistency or thickness into pour batters, stiff drop batters and soft drop batters. If a batter is so thin that it will pour in a steady stream from the spoon it is called a pour batter; if it is thick enough to drop in a large lump, it is a stiff drop batter and if it is so soft that it will start to pour from the spoon and then drop in a soft lump, it is called a soft drop batter.

Student's manual in household arts