FLOUR QUALITY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 51, 2 March 1937, Page 8

FLOUR QUALITY

A BREAD-MAKING TEST

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —I notice by tonight's paper that the Hon. \D. G. Sullivan has taken particular notice.of my letter which appeared in "The Post" on Wednesday last regarding the quality of flour. As I said in that letter I would like the Research Department to come into the bakehouse and prove the quality of the flour, from a commercial and not an experimental point of view. In reply the Minister states he would be only too pleased to arrange a'practical demonstration. That is all very well by the way. He may arrange and carry out a demonstration with a certain amount of success, in so far as producing a passable loaf of bread is concerned. I can produce that myself from the flours we are getting with the exercise of every care, and extra work, and worry. I go further and say that on the average I turn out as good a loaf as any other baker from the flours available. However, that was not the point of my letter, and the Minister evidently did not quite follow what I was aiming at. He stated that although there, was a percentage of sprouted wheat beingmilled, skill and workmanship on the part of the baker were all that were required to produce the necessary quality in bread. That is the point upon which I challenge him—the quality of the flour. Further, he admits the inclusion of sprouted wheat; therefore the flour cannot possibly be up to standard, in which case the raw material being below standard, it is out of the question for the baker, or anyone, to produce a first-quality loaf, and the Minister would .only be wasting his time in an endeavour to prove by demonstration that quality bread can be produced from inferior flour. He must admi. according to his own statement as regards the use of sprouted wheat, the flour must be below standard. With regard to. a demonstration I did not ask for a personal demonstration, and^r consider the Minister would be wasting his time to arrange for this in any bakehouse. I think a much better plan would be to arrange with the Wheat Research Department's expert baker to endeavour in the course of his travels up and down the country, to give demonstrations from time to time in the various main towns to which employers and employees alike could attend. I think if some such arrangement could be arrived at with the cooperation, of the' master bakers, who could at -least give the use of their bakehouse, for, say, a Saturday afternoon, and the tradesmen in the vicinity were invited through an-advertisement in the local Press, there would be a possibility of the tradesmen in general acquiring some useful information. Much more good would be done in this .way than having the expert, running here, there, and everywhere giving demonstrations in any bakehouse where only the master and his employees would receive any benefit, to say nothing of the expense which would also be saved. It would be quite possible for. the expert to give these demonstrations on a 'Saturday afternoon, with, say, a four-hour dough, and I am quite sure such demonstrations, carried out from time to time would be well received and supported by the trade. I notice the Minister has set up a Wheat Board. lam glad to see that he has, and I would suggest he should give his time to the board and see what can be done in the growing of good w.heat. Then the miller could give us flour of which we could make a good loaf of bread. If the Minister can improve the raw material then the baker and thepublic will be better served than by .running round demonstrating to a few bakers how to put quality into bread •when it is not in the flour in the first place. Although it is quite possible to improve the quality of New Zealandgrown wheat-1 am of the opinion that, do what he. may, the Minister will never grow first-quality wheat, equal to American, Canadian, Russian, or Hungarian. The strength of those wheats is far before any others, due to the large percentage of gluten. The strength and quality of flour is ascertained by its gluten percentage. The difference in those flours and in the flours grown in smaller countries, such as England, France, and New Zealand, is governed not by skill in growing, or quality seed, but by the atmospheric conditions of the country. In the countries where strong. wheats are grown the growing area is hundreds of miles away from the sea. and it has been proved that in the smaller countries, especially England and New. Zealand, which are surrounded by the sea, the salt sea atmosphere decreases : the quality as well as the quantity of the gluten. In other words without'either importing strong wheat and milling it here, .or importing strong flour, the New Zealand public will never get a first-quality loaf.—l am, 6tC" WORKING BAKER. February 27. ' , :