Foods, their selection and preparation

teins. Especially important nutritionally is the difference in the amounts of the B vita¬ mins. The highly refined white flours, as milled at present, retain relatively small amounts of these important vitamins. All the vitamins in the grain are retained in the whole-wheat flour. On the other hand, white flours have bet¬ ter keeping and breadmaking qualities than whole-wheat flours. When it is expedient to use white flour rather than whole wheat in breads, some of the differences in nutrient content can be made good by the use of other materials containing the minerals and B vitamins. The nutritive value of products made from flour depends not only on the composition of the flour, but also on the other ingredients. The use of milk solids and yeast in breads made from white flour helps to compensate for the nutrients re¬ moved in milling. Kinds of Wheat. Wheat varieties are grouped as durum wheats, hard wheats, and soft wheats. These vary in the amount and character of the protein they contain. By appropriate selection and blending of varie¬ ties of wheat, six classes of flours are obtained that are adapted to special uses. Classes of Flour. Flours are given class designations that indicate the use for which each serves best. Macaroni flours, as the name implies, are designed for the making of macaroni and re¬ lated products. They are milled from durum wheats, which are high in protein. Macaroni flours are quite granular to the touch and usually creamy in color. Bread flours are milled from blends of hard spring and hard winter wheats. They are fairly high in protein and somewhat granu¬ lar to the touch. They may be bleached or unbleached. Bread flours are milled prima¬ rily for bakers. General-purpose, all-purpose, or family flours are of such composition that they may be used satisfactorily for all household cook¬ ery purposes. In the hard-wheat-producing areas, they are usually a blend of hard wheats. They are lower in protein content than bread flours, but they contain enough glu¬ ten-forming proteins for making good yeast breads, yet not too much for quick breads and cakes. In soft-wheat areas, all-purpose or family flours are usually a blend of soft wheats. Although both Northern and South¬ ern all-purpose flours give good results in any type of product, the Northern variety makes especially good yeast breads, while the Southern variety is best for quick breads. Either of them gives good results in all types of home-baked products, except the lightest cakes. The latter are best when made with cake flour. Pastry flours may be made of either hard or soft wheat although they are usually made of the latter. They are fairly low in protein, and are finely milled, though they are not so fine as cake flour. They are especially milled for making pastry and are used chiefly by bakers. Cake flours are milled from soft wheats. They are short patent (see page 283), repre¬ senting the most highly refined flour streams of the mill. The granulation is uniform and very fine, and the protein content low. Flour Milling. The first flours made from wheat contained the whole grain. The grain was pulverized between two stones and the [281] flour was used without sifting, or sifted by crude devices that removed only the lighter bran portions. Originally a household in¬ dustry, the wheat was ground by the family as needed and storage life was not important.