Flour becomes flour through a process called milling, where wheat grains are separated into their component parts and ground between rollers.
Here's a more detailed explanation of the process:
1. Wheat Selection and Cleaning:
- The process begins with carefully selecting and cleaning the wheat grains to remove impurities like stones, weed seeds, and other foreign materials. This ensures a pure and high-quality flour.
2. Tempering:
- Next, the wheat is tempered, which involves adding moisture to the grains. This makes the bran tougher and the endosperm more pliable, facilitating easier separation during milling.
3. Milling:
- This is the core of the flour-making process. Wheat is passed through a series of rollers that gradually grind the grain.
- Breaking System: The first set of rollers breaks the wheat kernels open, separating the bran, germ, and endosperm.
- Sifting: After each pass through the rollers, the mixture is sifted to separate the different components.
- Reduction System: The endosperm particles are then passed through a series of reduction rollers, which grind them into progressively finer flour.
4. Blending (Optional):
- Different streams of flour produced during the milling process can be blended to achieve specific characteristics, such as protein content and baking properties.
5. Enrichment (Optional):
- In some countries, flour is enriched with vitamins and minerals like iron, niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin to improve its nutritional value.
6. Packaging:
- Finally, the flour is packaged and ready for distribution to bakeries and consumers.
In summary, flour production is a multi-step process involving cleaning, tempering, milling, and optional blending and enrichment to create a versatile ingredient used in countless food products.
