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The main requirement for a healthy diet is to reduce the amount of food consumed by increasing its biological value. In order for the main product in the human diet – bread – to comply with this principle, the flour from which it is baked must contain a maximum of useful substances with a moderate calorie content.
Only bread made from “coarse” flour retains a storehouse of useful grain components, namely, all amino acids, fiber, micro and macro elements and vitamins of groups B, E and PP, which fall victim to fine grinding and sifting during the production of raw materials for baking “elite” varieties.
Wholemeal flour, which contains all the useful substances necessary for the healthy functioning of the body, includes wheat wallpaper.
Patrimony
The diet of our ancestors consisted of 90% roughage. Bread was no exception, which was baked from “coarse” flour, which contains the whole range of useful components of wheat grain. Initially, it was obtained by grinding cereals in a mortar or grain grinder, and later with the help of millstones. Nowadays, the most common way to obtain raw materials for baking is grinding wheat grains on cast-iron rollers.
Varieties of wheat flour differ in the amount of grinding of cereal crops. The product is obtained by single, wallpaper and varietal (repeated or stepped) grinding of grain.
As a result of a single grinding without separating the grain shells and further sifting, whole grain flour is obtained, the yield of which is 100%. It is known as “forage” or “stern”. Such a product contains bran obtained by grinding the shell, as well as the germ, aleurone layer and parts of the grain endosperm adjacent to it. All these components saturate it with proteins, vitamins, minerals, trace elements and cellulose.
In the production of wholemeal wheat flour, a special technology of single-grade wholemeal grinding is used. With such grinding, grain shells are partially removed, and the product yield does not exceed 96%. In terms of useful components, flour is practically not inferior to whole grain flour. Half a century ago, most of the bread was baked from such raw materials in the territory, which is now commonly called post-Soviet.
With the improvement of grain processing technology, varietal grinding has become most widespread, in which the shell is removed from the grains, and only small fractions remain after sieving. The higher the grade of flour, the finer the grinding. The lack of nutrients and fiber in such a product is combined with an excess of starch and gluten. Buns, loaves and confectionery are baked from it.
In addition to making bread and bakery products, various types of flour are used in the production of sausages and sauces, as well as confectionery and sweets.
General characteristics
Whole wheat flour is characterized by the largest grinding, its grain grains reach 600-700 microns. The grain is not subjected to pre-cleaning and is crushed as a whole, after which it is sometimes sifted through a very large sieve. As a result of such processing, a product is obtained containing a large number of coarse shells and retaining almost all the useful properties of the grain.
Fresh flour has a pleasant smell, and its taste is sweetish. Its color is usually grayish brown. By consistency, it should be crumbly and not “heavy” if you pick it up in a handful.
You can store the product for about six months. At the same time, factory packaging often indicates a much more impressive shelf life – from 1 to 1,5 years.
However, this does not mean that “long-lived” flour is better in quality. Rather, on the contrary – a long shelf life indicates the inclusion of stabilizers, fillers and preservatives in its composition.
Chemical composition and calorific value
Whole wheat flour is a rather high-calorie product. Its nutritional value is 312 kcal per 100 g. The nutritional composition is as follows: 11,5 g of protein, 2,2 g of fat and 61,5 g of carbohydrates.
At the same time, wallpaper stands out among other varieties of wheat flour due to its chemical composition, which includes a huge amount of vitamins, minerals and useful elements. These are vitamins A, B, E, PP, P, as well as beta-carotene, sulfur, iron, manganese, potassium, magnesium, selenium, choline, etc.
Separately, it is worth mentioning dietary fiber, which helps to remove toxins from the body and improve digestion. It is noteworthy that all of the above elements in whole wheat flour are in the most natural form – one to which, over the long years of human evolution, his digestion has adapted.
So, in 100 g of wholemeal flour: vitamin PP – 5,5 mg; vitamin B1 – 0,4 mg; beta-carotene – 0,01 mg; vitamin B5 – 0,9 mg; vitamin B9 – 40 mcg; vitamin H – 4 mcg; choline – 80 mg; vitamin A – 2 mcg; vitamin E – 3,3 mcg
The product is rich in natural compounds. So, 100 g of the product contains the following amount of macronutrients: 39 mg of calcium, 310 mg of potassium, 94 mg of magnesium, 7 mg of sodium, 336 mg of phosphorus, as well as microelements such as iron (4,7 mg); zinc (2 mg); copper (400 mg); molybdenum (22 mcg); selenium (6 mcg); sulfur (98 mg) and others.
Useful Properties
As noted above, wheat wholemeal flour has a wide range of useful properties due to its chemical composition.
- First of all, this flour contains all the components that are the key to the benefits of wheat as such. It has long been known that almost all the vitamins and minerals of the main cereal crop are concentrated in the shell – the one that is removed during the manufacture of “elite” white flour. In this raw material, all useful components are preserved almost in full, which gives nutritionists reason to consider such flour much more useful than the usual “white”.
- Fiber is the “trick” of this product. These are the very shells of wheat grains that are not digested in our body, but at the same time they have a lot of useful properties. So, for example, they effectively stimulate intestinal motility, preventing stagnation and the onset of decay and fermentation processes. Fiber also interferes with the absorption of “bad” cholesterol and works like a sponge, binding and removing toxins and toxic substances from our body.
- Baking made from whole wheat flour is considered dietary. It is recommended for use by people suffering from diabetes, overweight, diseases of the endocrine system.
- Calcium, manganese, iron and chromium, present in the composition of wheat wholemeal flour, have a healing effect on the human circulatory and cardiovascular system. In particular, they make the vessels more elastic, prevent the formation of atherosclerotic plaques on their walls.
- Helping to improve the functioning of the intestines, dishes from this raw material also have a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin. In particular, the work of the sebaceous glands is normalized, rashes and peeling go away.
- Baking from flour of this type is considered hypoallergenic, while doctors do not get tired of repeating that “elite” varieties of white bread can cause allergic reactions.
- This raw material for baking is characterized by a high content of selenium, which has anti-carcinogenic properties and is used as a prophylactic, which helps to avoid the degeneration of benign tumors into malignant ones.
Contraindications for use
At the same time, despite a wide range of useful properties, whole wheat flour also has a number of contraindications for use.
Due to the presence of rather large particles in its composition, baking from it can irritate the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. Therefore, people suffering from gastritis or cholecystitis should refrain from eating wholemeal bread.
In addition, due to the fact that wheat undergoes only minimal processing, heavy metals can get into baked goods along with the shells of grains if the wheat grew in ecologically questionable areas. Also, the specific microflora present on the shells of the grains can disrupt the balance of the human intestinal microflora.
Use in cooking
It should be noted that in the “pure” form, whole wheat flour is practically not used in cooking. The thing is that, due to the high fiber content in its composition, baking from such raw materials rises very slightly, and the products themselves seem to be underbaked and do not look very aesthetically pleasing. So, bread made from this raw material, despite its bright, piquant taste, pleasant aroma and rich shade of crumb, looks heavy and rough.
Therefore, experienced chefs usually mix wholemeal flour with high-quality flour, which allows, on the one hand, to preserve the beneficial properties of grains, and on the other hand, gives bakery products a delicate texture. This mixture is used for baking bread and rolls.
Flatbreads, wafers and pancakes are prepared from wholemeal flour in a “pure” form, which are distinguished by increased energy value and excellent taste.
We make bread from whole wheat flour with honey. In order to bake two loaves of fragrant and healthy bread, you will need the following ingredients: 360 g of whole wheat flour, the same amount of premium wheat flour, 8 g of dry yeast, 250 ml of heated water, 200 ml of milk, two full tablespoons of honey, 70 g butter, a teaspoon of salt, sesame seeds for sprinkling.
Boil the milk and cool it to a temperature of 40 degrees. Pour the yeast into warm water and let it stand for a quarter of an hour.
Dilute honey and butter in warm milk. Pour salt into the yeast, stir. Sift the flour there and pour in the milk with honey and butter. Knead the dough. It should be pretty soft. Knead the dough as thoroughly as possible, you can use a mixer.
Put the finished dough in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 40-60 minutes to rise. Please note that if the dough rises too quickly, it can be punched down.
Grease the molds with oil. Put the dough on the table, divide into two parts. Roll it into balls and let it lie down for about a quarter of an hour. Then form the loaves and put them into the molds. Let stand warm for 35-40 minutes, then brush melted butter on top and sprinkle with sesame seeds, then send to an oven preheated to 190 degrees for 45 minutes.
Cooking pancakes from whole wheat flour. To prepare pancakes, you will need: 500 g of milk, 4 tablespoons of wholemeal flour with a slide, the same amount of corn starch (you cannot replace potato starch), one tablespoon of sugar, a teaspoon of salt, four tablespoons of refined vegetable oil, three eggs.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar. Mix well. Add the eggs there, beat with a whisk. Pour in vegetable oil.
Heat the milk so that it is slightly warmer than room temperature. Pour half of the milk into the mixture, stir, then pour in the rest. Mix thoroughly. Please note that the dough will be very liquid, but you do not need to add flour. Fry pancakes in a pan without oil. Serve hot.
Cooking waffles from wholemeal flour. To prepare fragrant waffles you will need: 1,25 cups of white flour, a glass of whole wheat flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, a teaspoon of grated nutmeg, a third of a glass of vegetable oil, three tablespoons of honey, five eggs, two glasses of milk, cinnamon and vanillin to taste, a tablespoon of molasses.
Mix two types of flour. Sift the mixture and add the baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg to it.
Whip the butter with honey. Add eggs, milk, vanilla and molasses there. Beat with a mixer until the mixture becomes homogeneous. Then add flour and knead the dough. It should not be too thick and should be easy to drip off a spoon. If the dough is too tough, add some milk.
Fry waffles in a preheated waffle iron, and serve warm, with honey or blueberries.