Wheat, which is the world’s largest food crop is milled into a wide range of flours, is the most commonly used grain for flour production in many parts of the world. Wheat flour is used to such an extent that it is usually understood that “flour” refers to wheat flour.
Some types of flour may be preferred over wheat flour or are more commonly used depending on the location and/or the availability or wheat. Other types of flour are usually labeled as “barley flour”, “rye flour”, and so on.
When wheat flour is mixed with water, gluten is formed. Gluten is the substance that provides dough with elasticity and the ability to stretch as the leavening agent produces carbon dioxide , which enables the dough to rise effectively.
The strength of flour is determined by its protein content. The higher the protein level in flour, the higher is the resultant gluten content in the dough. Depending on the finished product, different amounts of protein are desired.
