White flour

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Does anyone here know how to get white flour out of flour ground from wheat berries? The body can't handle all the bran!

-- catherine plamondon (souldancer@pop.spkn.uswest.net), July 31, 1999

Answers

How about using a sifter or a sieve?

-- flora (***@__._), July 31, 1999.

I was under the ompression that the white flour obtained its color from a bleaching process. Some flour is even "double bleached" for increased brightness. I am sure, however, that other elements are in the process such as "enriching" the flour with vitamins to replace those destroyed in other methods. If you are having a tought time with pure wheat flour try mixing it with white.

-- smfdoc (smfdoc@aol.com), July 31, 1999.

You can't. The stuff won't even sift. It also won't rise enough to make bread less dense than a brick. I used it for 2 years, grinding in an electric Vita-mix which really did a good job.

You could store a LOT of perfectly good unbleached white flour to mix equal parts with the ground wheat and get very healthy bread that won't tear up your innards.

I simplified and stored flour already ground. Bay leaves should keep weevils out. If they don't, I'll sift.

-- Scat (sgcatique@webtv.net), July 31, 1999.


My understanding is that the flour is sifted through a series of cloths to remove all the good stuff so only the starchey endosperm is left. This almost worthless stuff is then bleached to make it pretty and then some of the vitamins are put back in the form of synthetics. Years ago the government made them do this in order that some food value would be realized from eating this non-food. They now brag about how enriched their flour is. They also add preservatives. Modern day commercially baked bread also has some kind of softener in it which prevents the bread from appearing stale. It just gets moldy and rotten. Most commercial "whole wheat" bread is made with white flour and caramel coloring. If you are using hard red winter wheat berries, I would suggest you switch to hard white spring wheat berries. Do not be put off by those folks that argue that that it doesn't have the 'good stuff' that the red does. By the time they get through cutting it with white flour they don't have as much as the white spring wheat does. People, especially children, who are used to white bread will more readily accept bread made with hard white spring wheat.

-- Lumber Jack (johnsellis@webtv.net), July 31, 1999.

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