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Sunday 23 December 2018

The Secret Of Mixing Flour For Baking

By Robert Adams


In the past, as it is now in the present, the prime need of man is food. Without it, there is no way a human being can survive. It absolutely is the main source of energy required by the body for it to function. It comes in many varieties, either derived from plants or from other living creatures. One such product is generally made from cereals, that is flour. Nutritionists are strongly recommending the use of gluten free flour blend.

Ever since the world began, the man was always in search of food, a basic necessity which allowed him to survive. Primitive tribal groups were mostly hunters and gatherers. They hunted down game for meat and gathered fruits and berries which nature generously provided. The bulk of tribal activity was concentrated on having something to eat.

Mountaintop soils are washed down by heavy rains which end up in rivers and are deposited along the banks when the river overflows. This is really the reason why deltas have fertile soils. So, it was by no means an accident when early civilizations flourished in these places.

Almost in step with the development of early agriculture was the domestication of wild animals. Some of the tamed creatures were used as beasts of burden while others were tended to provide milk and meat. This was the beginnings of the livestock industry. Along with agriculture, this provided the increasing population with a viable food source.

The staple food is the main diet of different populations. This is dependent on the culture and the availability of a particular resource in a given region. That is why there is a distinctive differentiation in food preference between and among the various regions of the world. This preference is handed down from generation to generation and has become ingrained in the psyche.

It would not come as a surprise then why bread is the staple of most countries in Europe and in the Americas, America being a cousin of Europe. They rely heavily on wheat. Asian and Oceanic countries prefer cooked rice as rice thrives in that area where rainfall is consistent. In the drylands of Africa, the peoples have main diets of vegetable, fruits, and tapioca.

Be that as is it may, flour is ever present in every nation because bread cannot be baked without it. It is the main ingredient. This comes from cereals like rice, corn, and wheat. This is ground into very fine powder. Root crops and other tubers can also be made into flour. This substance along with other additives are is perfect for making pasta, bread, and pastries.

Most flours, particularly the wheat based ones contain gluten, a protein that makes dough elastic and holds it together. It also helps in maintaining the shape or acts as binder making it a very important quality in food preparation. There are some people whose physiology cannot tolerate this glutinous protein. Somehow the organs have difficulty breaking these down.

There actually is no such thing as gluten free substances. All flour products have gluten on it. The right term for it would probably be less glutinous flour. The term is a just a subtle commercial and marketing name. Yes, it can be substituted but no, it cannot be eliminated. The combination of different flours along with wheat flour which by the way is glutinous is just a blend. It is not pure in itself.




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