MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, EGYPT. 



Bulletin No. I O. 



(CHEMICAL SECTION.) 



SOME TESTS OF FLOUR MADE FROM 

 EGYPTIAN WHEATS. 



It has long been recognized that the flour produced from various 

 kinds of wheat behave very differently when made into bread. Cer- 

 tain classes of wheat always produce large and well shaped loaves 

 while others appear to be capable of only producing small loaves, 

 and these frequently of an unsatisfactory shape. The former were 

 known as " strong " flours or wheats and the latter as " weak " 

 varieties. For some time the strength of a flour was thought to be 

 in great measure dependent on the amount of nitrogenous material 

 present in the flour, and as a result the determination of the amount 

 of the gluten present in a flour was made use of as a means of judging 

 of its strength. 



The amount of gluten in a sample of flour may be determined 

 by taking a weighed quantity of flour (twenty to forty grammes), 

 making this into a paste with water and then kneading it thoroughly 

 in a small linen or silk bag in a stream of water. In this way the 

 starch will be carried away, and when but little is left the gluten will 

 remain behind as a stringy mass. This should be tested to see if 

 more than a trace of starch remains and washing continued till this 

 is the case. The gluten is then wiped free from adhering water and 

 weighed. This mass is then dried in the oven and weighed again 

 when dry. From these two weights it was customary to judge of 

 the strength of a sample of flour. 



In a paper on the "Improvement of English Wheat," Humphries 

 and Biff en* define strength as the capacity of a flour to yield large well- 



* '.luiirnal of Agricultural Science," Vol. II. 



