FLOUR’S HIGH COST

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 41, 29 May 1917, Page 7

FLOUR’S HIGH COST

MAY BE'REDUCED BY CAREFUL MIXING. The Australian housewife is he-self quite capable of doing all the flo"'r mixing desirable, and she could materially, reduce the cost of living if she would get the flour mixing habit. There are some thirty f.n’v.U'ut s that could be mixed with '.vi e t tour in making bread.

Many of these are r; ? ;• ,'ritiorg than wheat flour, some i th.m are cheaper than wheat flow. and cf these two or 'three at Ira*t are commercially obtainable almost anywr.cre. Potatoes, corn flour and rice in certain sections can be used with wheat flour in making yeast bread. With wheat flour as dear as it is now, the careful housewife stands to effect quite a saving by using one, of these products to eke out her wheat flour. Experiments have shown that the substitutes can be used successfully in the proportion of one part to three Paris of wheat flour. At least three-fourths of the mixture must he good wheat flour.

Potatoes have a certain advantage in this regard since potato bread can be made without going to the trouble to get the commercial potato meal. Plain mashed potatoes to four parts of wheat flour will serve the purpose quite well. If the dry potato meal or flake is used the ratio should be one part of potato to three parts of flour. Boiled rice can be used in much the same way as mashed potatoes, care being taken to allow for the water in the rice, and to use about three times as much in bulk as should be used of the rice flour. In making potato bread the sponge should be used and just enough water to serve to mix the yeast with the potato, since the sponge becomes very soft after partial fermentation. The remainder of the flour is worked in afterwards, care being taken to make an extra stiff dough which should be raised till quite light. The bread is much moister than bread made of straight whes.t flour. Corn flour which should cost about two-thirds the price of wheat flour, may be mixed with wheat flour direct, one part of corn flour to three part* of wheat flour. Use the mixture juat as though it were wheat flour, and mix it yourself. It should be remembered that the addition of starchy materials, such as potatoes, rice or corn starch, which is sometimes used to adulterate wheat flour in baking, tends to make a loaf less rich in protein and hence less nutritious than the straight wheat flour. The addition of corn flour ntakes little if any change in the nutritive value of the bread, but makes it cheaper.

' There are other flour substitutes, such as soy hean meal and. pea flour, which serve to add greatly to the nutritive value of the loaf when mixed with wheat flour. The products, unfortunately, cannot be recommended, since they are not as yet common articles of commerce in this country. In this connection it should be said that a great saving could be effected if the housewife would emulate the professional baker and buy low grade wheat flours. There are flours on the market quite os good for home baking as the fancy patent flours which cost in bulk from 25 to 40 per cent, less than the fancy grades. Such are the so-called second class and low grade flours which are graded lower than patents merely because they are darker, not because they are any less nutritious or less palatable. In fact, the darker colour may be evidence that the flour is more nutritious than white flour.

Boston brown bread may be mentioned as a good and very popular medium for the profitable use of flour substitutes. It is made of equal parts of corn meal, rye meal and graham flour, and is a very nutritious bread.' There are various ways of making over bread itself so as to effect a considerable saving. The stale bread, crusts, crumbs, etc., can be worked into palatable products such as bread pancakes, bread crumb biscuits, and bread cookies. The hub of the mixed flour question hangs on who does the mixing. If the housewife does the mixing she gets the saving entailed, if the baker or wholesaler does it he is very apt to get the saving as additional profit.