For more than a millennium, people have been growing grain, grinding it to make flour, baking bread. And this product has long become not only the basis, but also a symbol of human life. Even in the traditional sense, the basis of food security is the amount of grain and, accordingly, flour.
The basis of life
No matter how scientists fight, they cannot say with absolute certainty that they have solved the mystery of the origin of edible cereals. Logically, if the ancestors of the same wheat or barley existed in antiquity, they must grow somewhere to this day. But, alas, the mysterious land, where bread and other food actually began, was never found.
It remains only to believe that the ancient grain growers were, among other things, genius genetic engineers who managed to create a difficultly viable culture from wild cereals, but also to spread it around the globe. Currently, we can only speak with confidence about the wild ancestors of corn, three species of which have been found on the American continent.
Secrets of bread
How tasty and aromatic freshly baked bread can be! It’s just not so easy to get it. Many ancient peoples have preserved the traditions of fireless cuisine. Saving time and fuel, many peoples, having received grain, pre-roasted it and only then grinded it. As needed, the already heat-treated flour was poured with water or milk and so was eaten.
The next stage in the development of the kitchen was the preparation of cakes from coarse flour, but real bread was still far away and the quality of flour turned out to be the main problem.
Excellent flour is the key to a baker's success. Flour quality indicators are determined by two methods, according to different criteria. The first and main method is organoleptic, it determines the leading features - the color, taste and smell of flour.
Scattered daylight and various color standards are used to determine the color. For a more accurate determination, special devices are used - colorimeters.
The taste is determined by a specialist taster. Quality flour should be sweetish. The sweet taste indicates that the flour was made from sprouted grains. A bitter aftertaste indicates that there is an admixture of wormwood or stale flour.
Good, high-quality flour has a subtle pleasant smell. In order to feel it, you need to warm a small amount of flour in your palms. Foreign or musty odor is not allowed!
In addition to organoleptic properties, the laboratory conducts studies of the quality of grinding, determines the moisture content, acidity, gluten content and its quality, as well as the presence of mechanical impurities.
It should be remembered that the presence of shell and bran residues in flour greatly reduces its grade, but at the same time increases its nutritional value.
