Graham flour
- Not to be confused with Gram flour.
Graham flour is a type of whole wheat flour named after the American Presbyterian minister Rev. Sylvester Graham (1794–1851), an early advocate for dietary reform. According to the Larousse Gastronomique, Graham despised processed white flour and believed that bran was the cure-all for the bad eating habits of his compatriots.
Rather than simply grinding the whole grain wheat kernel (bran, germ, and endosperm), in roller-milled graham flour the components are ground separately. The endosperm is ground finely, initially creating white flour. The bran and germ are ground coarsely. The two parts are then mixed back together, creating a coarse-textured flour that bakes and keeps well. Graham flour is used to make graham crackers and pie crusts, among other things.
An alternate story is told by Helen Atwater in her work titled Bread and the Principles of Bread Making. She claimed that Graham simply washed the entire grain, then ground it between large millstones. She contrasts that against the process used for "entire-wheat flour", where the grain was washed, then the three coarse outer layers of bran were removed, after which the grain was ground, supposedly keeping the aleurone layer, but discarding the rough celluose of the outer bran layers.[1]
According to a 2001 study conducted by Prabhasankar & Rao, stone milling created significantly greater heat of 90 °C (194 °F) than that of roller milling at 35 °C (95 °F).[2] Roller mills incrementally crack the grains, separating the various layers, which must later be recombined,[3] and such milling reportedly tends to result in somewhat larger baked loaf volumes.[4]
A fully correct substitute for it would be a mix of white flour, wheat bran, and wheat germ in the ratio found in whole wheat. Wheat consists of approximately 83% endosperm, 14.5% bran, and 2.5% germ by mass.[5] For sifted all-purpose white flour, wheat bran, and wheat germ having densities of 125, 50, and 80 grams/cup, respectively, one cup of graham flour is approximately equivalent to 84 g (~2/3 cup) white flour, 15 g (slightly less than 1/3 cup) wheat bran, and 2.5 g (1.5 teaspoons) wheat germ.
Plain whole wheat flour can also be used as a substitute in recipes, but the resulting baked goods' textures will differ from that of examples where graham flour was used.
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[edit] References
- ^ Helen Woodard Atwater (1900). Bread and the principles of bread making. Washington: Government Printing Office. pp. 11–12. http://books.google.com/books?&id=eGHVTs6VSEcC&pg=PA12#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Prabhasankar, Pichan; Haridas Rao, Punaroor (11 2001). "Effect of different milling methods on chemical composition of whole wheat flour". European Food Research and Technology (Springer Berlin / Heidelberg) 213 (6): 465–469. doi:10.1007/s002170100407. ISSN 1438-2377.
- ^ WPEdwards (2007). The science of bakery products. Cambridge, Eng: Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 60. ISBN 0-85404-486-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=oCVPjK0mSfkC&pg=PA60#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011 April 30.
- ^ Young, Linda; Cauvain, Stanley P. (2001). Baking problems solved. Cambridge: Woodhead. p. 34. ISBN 1-85573-564-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=EKGUPlEwP5MC&pg=PA34#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011 April 30.
- ^ "The Kernel of Wheat". Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers. http://www.smallgrains.org/WHFACTS/kernel.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
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