Editing Flour (section)

=== Bleached flour ===

"Bleached flour" is "refined" flour with a [[flour bleaching agent|chemical whitening (bleaching) agent]] added.  "Refined" flour has had the germ and bran, containing much of the nutritional fibre and vitamins, removed and is often referred to as "white flour".

Bleached flour is artificially aged using a "bleaching" agent, a "maturing" agent, or both. A bleaching agent affects the carotenoids responsible for the natural colour of the flour; a "maturing" agent also affects [[gluten]] development. A maturing agent may either strengthen or weaken gluten development.

==== Additives ====
The four most common additives used as bleaching/maturing agents in the US are:
* [[Potassium bromate]], listed as an ingredient, is a maturing agent that strengthens gluten development. It does not bleach.
* [[Benzoyl peroxide]] bleaches, but does not act as a maturing agent. It has no effect on gluten.
* [[Ascorbic acid]] (vitamin C) is listed as an ingredient, either as an indication that the flour was matured using ascorbic acid or that a small amount is added as a dough enhancer. It is a maturing agent that strengthens gluten development, but does not bleach.
* [[Chlorine]] gas is used as both a bleaching agent and a maturing agent. It weakens gluten development and oxidizes starches, making it easier for the flour to absorb water and swell, resulting in thicker batters and stiffer doughs. The retarded gluten formation is desirable in cakes, cookies, and biscuits, as it would otherwise make them tougher and bread-like. The modification of starches in the flour allows the use of wetter doughs (making for a moister end product) without destroying the structure necessary for light, fluffy cakes and biscuits.<ref>{{Cite book| last1 = Figoni| first1 = Paula I. | title = How baking works | publisher = John Wiley & Sons| year = 2010| page = 86| isbn = 978-0-470-39267-6| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XqKF7PqV02cC}}</ref> Chlorinated flour allows cakes and other baked goods to set faster and rise better, and the fat to be distributed more evenly, with less vulnerability to collapse.

Some other chemicals used as [[flour treatment agents]] to modify color and baking properties include:
* [[Chlorine dioxide]] (unstable to be transported in the U.S.)
* [[Calcium peroxide]]
* [[Azodicarbonamide]] or azobisformamide (synthetic)
* Atmospheric oxygen causes natural bleaching.

Common preservatives in commercial flour include:
* [[Calcium propanoate]]
* [[Sodium benzoate]]
* [[Tricalcium phosphate]]
* [[Butylated hydroxyanisole]]

==== Frequency of additives ====

All bleaching and maturing agents (with the possible exception of ascorbic acid) have been banned in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/breadflourguide.pdf|title= The Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 – Guidance Notes|date= 1 June 2008|publisher= Food Standards Agency|access-date= 29 March 2012|archive-date= 9 December 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111209193220/http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/breadflourguide.pdf|url-status= live}}</ref>

Bromination of flour in the US has fallen out of favor, and while it is not yet actually banned anywhere, few retail flours available to the home baker are bromated anymore.

Many varieties of flour packaged specifically for commercial bakeries are still bromated. Retail bleached flour marketed to the home baker is now treated mostly with either peroxidation or chlorine gas. Current information from Pillsbury is that their varieties of bleached flour are treated both with benzoyl peroxide and chlorine gas. Gold Medal states that their bleached flour is treated either with benzoyl peroxide or chlorine gas, but no way exists to tell which process has been used when buying the flour at the grocery store.

====Old method of bleaching====
The old method of procuring white or "bleached" flour did not entail the use of chemical agents at all. Rather, the [[Wheat berry|wheat kernels]] were moistened with water long enough for the outer kernels of the wheat which contained the [[bran]] to soften and, eventually, fall off while grinding.<ref>[[Babylonian Talmud]] (''[[Pesachim]]'' 40a), Quote: "It is impossible to obtain a clean, white bread without moistening [the grain]" ({{langx|he|אי אפשר נקיה בלא לתיתה}}).</ref> In some places, the leaves of Syrian rue (''[[Peganum harmala]]'') were spread in stratified layers between the layers of grain, and left in such a state for several days, until the fumes emitted from the astringent leaves of the plant caused the outer kernels of the wheat to break down and dissolve, leaving a clean and white flour after grinding.<ref>{{cite book |last=Saleh|first=Y. |author-link=Yiḥyah Salaḥ |title=Questions & Responsa 'Pe'ulath Ṣadīq'|volume=1 |edition=2nd |date=1979 |location=Jerusalem |page=109 |language=he |oclc=122773689 }} ({{OCLC|122773689}}), ''responsum'' no. 171</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Qafih |first=Y. |author-link=Yosef Qafih|title=Halichot Teman (Jewish Life in Sanà) |publisher=[[Ben-Zvi Institute]] |date=1982 |location=Jerusalem |page=15 |language=he |isbn=965-17-0137-4 |oclc=863513860 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |contribution=Hil. Ḥametz u'matzah |title=Sefer Mishneh Torah |editor-last=Qafih |editor-first=Y. |editor-link=Yosef Qafih |edition=4 |volume=4 (Zemanim) |publisher=Mekhon mishnat ha-Rambam|place=Kiryat Ono|year=2011 |page=342 (note 14) |language=he |oclc=187478401 |title-link=Mishneh Torah}}, s.v. ''Ḥametz u'matzah'' 5:8</ref><ref>{{Citation |contribution=Scholars of Yemen Answer Questions of Rabbi A.I. Kook |title=Ascending the Palm Tree: An Anthology of the Yemenite Jewish Heritage|last=Gaimani|first=Aharon|editor1=Rachel Yedid|editor2=Danny Bar-Maoz|publisher=E'ele BeTamar|place=Rehovot|year=2018 |page=115 |oclc=1041776317 |isbn=978-965-7121-33-7}}</ref>