Karakteristieken van de bloem

In order to guarantee stable quality for several months during storage, the following guidelines must be respected:

The flour’s moisture content
The moisture content may be at most 15.5% in order to prevent the appearance of mould and insects.

The temperature of the flour
Always avoid extreme storage temperatures. Very hot or very cold flour results in problems during processing. In addition, high temperatures contribute to the appearance of moulds and insects.

The relative humidity of the air
With a moisture content of approximately 65%, there is no exchange of moisture between the flour and the environment. Beneath 65% the flour dries out, above 65% the flour absorbs water from the air, that is to say the moisture content of the flour increases and at the same time the danger of clumping and the development of moulds increases. Good ventilation can prevent these problems.

Hygiene in the storage area
Regular cleaning of the storage area is necessary. A silo must be cleaned twice a year, and must be thoroughly disinfected at least once a year. One must always see to it that the silo is cleaned both before and after the disinfection.

Main characteristics of flour

Flour has a good baking value if one can make good dough from it in which sufficient gas is produced by the yeast and in which the gas that is formed is also retained.

Flour of good baking value also means:

Flour that has sufficient sugar to feed the yeast, so that good gas production within the dough is assured: gas production capacity.
Flour that contains sufficient gluten (special proteins) of good quality in order to form good dough that adequately retains the gas: gas retention capacity.

The leavening of the dough, the gas production (gas production capacity)

In the dough, the yeast causes gas production (CO2). Through this yeast affects the dough to rise; but yeast only produces gas if it can actively live and breathe. And in order to actively live, the yeast, like all living entities, requires food, above all sugar. This sugar is normally present in the flour, but in insufficient quantities of 1 to 2%.

Nonetheless the flour contains a tremendous quantity of starch (60 to 70%) that is composed of chains of linked particles of sugar. These long sugar chains, however, cannot be absorbed by the yeast. One must first break these long chains of sugar open into sugar particles and for this one requires enzymes, more specifically: AMYLASE.

This amylase is already naturally present in the flour, but should there be an insufficient amount it can also be added to the flour.

To summarise: good gas production by the yeast is ensured if the dough contains either sufficient sugar or else sufficient amylase.

The formation of the dough and the gas retention
(gas retention capacity)

The active part of the protein, the gluten, is responsible for the gas retention capacity and for the physical characteristics of the dough (elasticity, suppleness, workability, tolerance, etc.). Here we speak of the ‘strength of the flour’.

The factors that determine the quantity and the quality of the protein and thus of the gluten are:

The composition of the wheat: the more wheat of superior quality is mixed in, the greater the quantity and the higher the protein quality. In each wheat group there is great variation in protein quantity and quality. This is why the selection and subsequently the composition of the selected types of wheat are very important.
The degree of extraction: the higher the degree of extraction, the more flour one makes of 100 kg of wheat. This automatically means that one takes flour from the outermost layers (near the bran). These outermost layers are very rich in protein, but the quality of that protein is inferior. Thus: the higher the degree of extraction, the higher the protein quantity, but the lower the quality of the flour in terms of its gas retention capacity and its dough characteristics.

The maturing (ageing) of flour

The baking value of flour improves when a certain rest time is allowed after it is milled. This is all the more important if the flour has been milled from wheat from a new harvest. During this maturing, oxygen acts upon the protein of the flour, which benefits the baking value.

As the flour is composed, it already reaches its optimal baking quality after just 7 days. All the flour that leaves our mill has already had this resting period of 7 days. But it continues to be possible that flour that is transported at extreme temperatures during the winter or summer may need some time in order to return to a normal environmental temperature: 1 to 2 days.

Characteristics of flour

Flour storage

Main characteristics of flour

The leavening of the dough, the gas production (gas production capacity)

The formation of the dough and the gas retention
(gas retention capacity)

The maturing (ageing) of flour

Chemical composition of white flour

Characteristics of flour

Flour storage

Main characteristics of flour

The leavening of the dough, the gas production (gas production capacity)

The formation of the dough and the gas retention (gas retention capacity)

The maturing (ageing) of flour

Chemical composition of white flour

The formation of the dough and the gas retention
(gas retention capacity)