Bartending. Margaret Brooker

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СКАЧАТЬ bran, germ and endosperm. Also known as wholemeal and, in the USA, graham flour, it is used for baking and general cooking. In unbaked doughs the fibrous bran pierces the gluten network, damaging its structure. Thus breads and cakes made with whole-wheat, rather than refined, flour rise less and bake to a closer texture.

      Wheat flakes The large, thick, firm flakes produced when whole-wheat kernels are steamed, then flattened between rollers. Because the flakes retain the bran and germ, most of the kernel’s nutrition remains, although the oils in the germ rapidly become rancid. Also called rolled wheat, the flakes, like rolled oats, are cooked as porridge or added to baked goods.

      Wheat germ The small flakes milled from the embryo, or germ, which is separated from the wheat grain during the milling of white flour. Rich in nutrients, it is added to baked goods and breakfast cereals, or sprinkled over dishes, adding a nutty flavour. Because the germ’s high oil content causes it rapidly to become rancid, it should be stored airtight, and chilled.

      Unbleached wheat flour Creamy coloured flour which has not undergone an artificial bleaching process. As it ages, wheat flour naturally bleaches from the oxygen in the air, resulting not only in bread with a whiter crumb but also a greater volume, plus a finer, softer crumb. Bleached flour is treated with oxidizing agents to simulate this process, albeit more quickly.

      Wheatmeal Wheat flour containing 80 to 90 percent of the whole grain, the bulk of the bran being removed in milling but much of the germ remaining. In colour, flavour, baking and keeping qualities, it falls midway between wholewheat and white flours. Wheatmeal is also known as brown flour.

      White flour A fine powder, ground principally from the starchy endosperm of the wheat grain, with almost all the bran and germ removed during milling. For baking, flour is distinguished by degrees of hardness; the harder the flour the more gluten-forming proteins it contains. Thus hard flour, called strong flour in the UK, and bread flour or hard flour in the USA, is better for yeast-raised products, while weaker, soft flour, called plain or all-purpose flour in the UK, and cake flour or soft flour in the USA, being more able to absorb fat, is better for cakes and short pastry.

      Wheat bran Flakes, fine or coarse, of the fibrous outer layer of the wheat grain, separated during milling. Consisting mostly of indigestible cellulose, bran is consumed for the health benefits of roughage. However, its consumption does have a negative effect. The fibre renders bran’s high concentrations of minerals and vitamins digestively unavailable and its phytic acid impairs the absorption of calcium. Bran is sprinkled over fruit, or added to breakfast cereals, and baked goods such as breads, biscuits and muffins.

      Wheat-based grains

      Cracked wheat Whole-wheat grains broken into coarse, medium or fine fragments during milling. Also called kibbled wheat, it is added, soaked, to bread.

      Bulgar wheat Hulled wheat grains, steamed, dried, then crushed in coarse or fine grades. A Middle Eastern staple, also known as burghul, bulgur, pourgouri and pligouri, it is the basis of tabbouleh and kibbeh.

      Atta flour A fine wholemeal flour made from soft, low gluten wheat. Used to make Indian flatbreads, it is also called chapati flour.

      Trahana A Greek pasta of dough made from flour and milk (sometimes sour), grated into tiny barley-shaped pellets, then dried. Traditionally it is used in soups and porridge.

      ARAB SPECIALITIES

      Two wheat products little known beyond Arab countries, where they are specialties, are Freekah and Moghrabbiyeh.

      Freekah, or ferek, is roasted green wheat. Bunches of freshly harvested green wheat stalks are roasted over an open fire and the cooled ears shucked. The grain is either left whole or coarsely cracked: when cracked it is greenish-brown with a distinct smoky taste; whole it is brown and relatively bland. Both forms are cooked like rice or bulgar.

      Moghrabbiyeh (maghrebia, Israeli couscous), is flour and water hand-rolled into balls the size of small peas, then dried. Typically they are cooked in broth.

      Couscous Tiny pellets made from semolina flour, moistened with salted water and hand-rubbed with flour until coated, then dried. To cook, the granules are steamed until swollen and fluffy, with each granule separate. The staple dish of the Maghreb (Northwest Africa), it is traditionally cooked in a couscoussier over a fruity, spicy meat stew with which it is served. Elsewhere, couscous is likely to be pre-cooked and requires only swelling in boiling water.

      Semolina flour Semolina is the coarsely ground endosperm of hard wheat, usually durum wheat. Semolina flour is a finer ground version, sometimes called durum flour. With its high protein content, semolina flour is characteristically tough. Its granularity gives a light, crumbly texture to baked goods. Because it does not become a starchy paste when cooked, it is used to make dried pasta, yet it is also used as a thickener.

      Oats

      Groats Grain which has been hulled and, usually, coarsely crushed. While ‘groats’ can denote any such grain, unqualified in the UK it generally refers to oats. In the USA ‘grits’ is the more common term. High protein and fat content make oats among the most nutritious of cereals. However, unless steam-treated, the fat, combined with an enzyme in the bran, rapidly causes rancidity. Groats can be prepared as porridge or like rice.

      Rolled oats Oats which have been hulled, steam-softened, then rolled flat. The heating destroys the enzymes in the bran which would otherwise cause the fat in the germ to go rancid. Rolled oats therefore keep well. The various sizes of flakes depend upon whether the whole groat or pinhead oatmeal was rolled. As well as relatively СКАЧАТЬ