Is White Wheat Flour Harmful?

When we talk about wheat flour, we always imagine the ordinary white flour we are used to. It is often claimed to be harmful to health in terms of being poor in nutrients. But this is not true, because the composition of wheat flour includes even whole grain. It's all a matter of grain processing.

Wheat flour is prepared from soft wheat or with the addition of 20% hard; can be enriched with vitamins, minerals and enhancers. Completely cleaned from the shell, the grain contains a large amount of carbohydrates, is characterized by high caloric content and is easily digested. The less the grain is refined, the more vitamins and minerals are in the flour prepared from it.

High quality wheat flour pasta is recommended for people suffering from certain types of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Coarsely ground (whole grain) flour is useful for those who are struggling with extra pounds.

How is flour made?

Nowadays, the grain is often completely cleaned of the husk, thus leaving the berry itself. Grinded in this way, the grain has many taste qualities, but a significant part of its useful substances is lost, as they are contained mainly in the husk.

Nutritional value of white flour

100 grams of the product contain:

• 333 calories
• 10 grams of protein
• 76.67 grams of carbohydrates
• 3.3 grams of fiber
• 16 milligrams of calcium

Keep in mind that enriched white flours with added nutrients are also sold in order to improve the composition, so it is best to check each package if you want to know what is in the product you have chosen.

Basic substances in flour

White flour does not have many substances in its composition, but it is rich in gluten, carbohydrates and fiber.

• Gluten

Thanks to gluten, the dough acquires elasticity, which easily gives shape to the pastries. It also helps the overall appearance of any dough product. Gluten itself is not a harmful product, but it is contraindicated for people with allergies to it.

• Carbohydrates

The high content of carbohydrates dramatically raises blood sugar, which makes wheat flour unsuitable for people with diabetes and for those who want to lose weight.

• Fiber

There is a lot of fiber in wheat flour, but when you choose well-peeled white flour, you lose most of it.

Is white flour useful or harmful?

Scientists are spending a lot of time arguing over whether wheat flour is useful or harmful, and there are already a number of substitutes on the horizon that are cited as superfoods. Let's see what is usually contained in white wheat flour.

The less flour is processed, the more nutrients, vitamins and minerals it contains. Unfortunately, in white flour they are minimized, but still there are some vitamins and minerals that are preserved, albeit in small quantities, these are: vitamins of group B, E, PP, and of the minerals - calcium, iron , manganese, copper, potassium and zinc.

However, white flour is considered an acceptable source of fiber, which is very important for the health of the stomach, as it helps with bowel movements and fights constipation. It is not possible to give an unambiguous answer as to whether it is harmful or useful to consume the product. After all, it is not rich in nutrients, but it can not be said that it harms people in any way, unless there is intolerance to gluten or conditions that involve the restriction of such products.

Use of wheat flour in cooking

There are several types of wheat flour that are popular in cooking. For example, we often see flour for a pie or a cake. Usually the difference between them comes from the different combinations of durum and "soft" wheat. Depending on which predominates in the composition, the flour is correspondingly more suitable for bread or for sweet pastries. The harder the wheat, the better the bread is made from the flour, because it has an increased amount of gluten, which makes the finished product stronger and more airy.

Universal flour is a mix of both types of wheat, so it is convenient to work without being very capricious.

The cake flour is finer and airier. If you do not have one, you can make the necessary mixture yourself. To do this, take 2 tablespoons of flour for each cup and put in its place the same amount of cornstarch.

Not so popular in Bulgaria, but still occupying a major share in world cuisine, is semolina flour (semolina). It is durum wheat and is best suited for making pasta and as an additive to sourdough breads.

Conclusion

Except in cooking, white flour has no particular advantages over wholemeal. Those flours and ways of making bread that our ancestors used are quite different from modern ones. At that time, they did not have the technology to separate the grain from the husk and ate only wholemeal dark flour, and the bread was with yeast.

Nowadays we have a huge variety of white and wholemeal flours, and it is up to you to choose the healthier option. However, we should not completely exclude white flour from our diet, because it undoubtedly has very good taste.