FLOUR AND BREAD.
Wheat (Triticum vulgare) forms the principal bread-stuff of civilized nations, and is by far the most important of all cereal grasses. It has one or more slender, erect and smooth stalks, which, owing to the large proportion of siliceous matter present, possesses the strength necessary for the support of the ears. The grain is imbricated in four rows. The following are the averages of the results obtained by the analyses of 260 samples of American wheat, made by the United States Department of Agriculture, in 1883:—
| Per cent. | |
| Water | 10·27 |
| Ash | 1·84 |
| Oil | 2·16 |
| Carbohydrates | 71·98 |
| Fibrin | 1·80 |
| Albuminoids | 11·95 |
| Nitrogen | 1·91 |
Analyses of the ash of wheat by the same Department, furnished the following results:—
| Dakota. | Foreign. | ||
| Winter. | Spring. | ||
| Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | |
| Insoluble | 1·44 | 2·11 | 1·64 |
| Phosphoric acid | 47·31 | 46·98 | 48·63 |
| Potassa | 30·63 | 31·16 | 29·99 |
| Magnesia | 16·09 | 11·97 | 12·09 |
| Lime | 3·36 | 3·34 | 2·93 |
| Soda | 1·17 | 2·25 | 1·93 |
| Sulphuric acid | trace | 0·37 | 0·48 |
| Chlorine | „ | 0·22 | 0·51 |
| Ferric oxide | „ | 1·31 | 0·28 |
| Undetermined | .. | 0·29 | 1·52 |
| 100·00 | 100·00 | 100·00 | |
| Total ash | 1·88 | 1·97 | 2·14 |
FLOUR.
The name flour is usually given to the product obtained by grinding wheat and removing the bran, or woody portion of the grain, by sifting or bolting. Its constituents are starch, dextrine, cellulose, and sugar (carbohydrates), the nitrogenous compounds albumen, gliadin, mucin, fibrin, and cerealin, and fat, mineral substances and water. Upon kneading flour with water, and removing the starch and soluble matters by repeated washing, an adhesive body termed gluten remains behind. This is chiefly composed of gliadin, mucin, and fibrin.
According to Wanklyn,[50] the general composition of flour is:—