Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called “soft” or “weak” if gluten content is low, and are called “hard” or “strong” if they have high gluten content. … Germ flour is made from the endosperm and germ, excluding the bran.

With a production reaching ten times in past five years, India is today the second largest wheat producer in the whole world. Various studies and researches show that wheat and wheat flour play an increasingly important role in the management of India’s food economy.

Wheat production is about 70 million tonnes per year in India and counts for approximately 12 per cent of world production. Being the second largest in population, it is also the second largest in wheat consumption after China, with a huge and growing wheat demand.

Usually, the word “flour” used alone refers to wheat flour, which is one of the most important foods in European and American culture. The corresponding Spanish word “harina” normally refers to Maize flour – wheat flour is “harina de trigo”.

Wheat flour is the main ingredient in most types of breads and pastries. Wheat is so widely used because of an important property: when wheat flour is mixed with water, a complex protein called gluten develops. The gluten development is what gives wheat dough an elastic structure that allows it to be worked in a variety of ways, and which allows the retention of gas bubbles in an intact structure, resulting in a sponge-like texture to the final product. This is highly desired for breads, cakes and other baked products.

However, certain individuals suffer from an intolerance to wheat gluten known as coeliac or celiac disease. Increased awareness of this disorder, as well as a rising belief in the benefits of a gluten-free diet for persons suffering certain other conditions, has led to an increased demand for bread and other products made with flours which do not contain gluten.