COMPARISON OF AMERICAN WHEATS. 3 
FLOURS OF HIGH AND OF LOW STRENGTH. 
The definition given for a wheat of high quality holds good only 
when no consideration is given to the remarkable variation in the 
working qualities of different flours in the hands of the baker. 
Strength may be defined as that quality in flour which enables the 
baker to produce a loaf of bread of large volume and of good texture 
by use of the proper ingredients, together with proper mixing, fer- 
mentation, and baking. 1 From this definition it will be apparent 
that strength is of great importance in the making of ordinary fer- 
mented bread. For other food products, however, high strength is 
not required and is not even desirable. This is especially true in the 
manufacture of products in which chemical leavening agents are used 
in place of yeast. Low-strength flours are preferable in the making 
of crackers and practically all pastry, as they yield products which 
are free from undesirable toughness and, on the other hand, are either 
flaky, brittle, or crumbly, as the character of the product demands; 
and this result is attained with a saving in the quantity of lard or 
other shortening required as compared with what is necessary for 
stronger flours. 
In the manufacture of macaroni and similar products, although 
strong flours are not necessary, ordinary low-strength flours are not 
at all suitable. The essential requirements of wheat for making flour 
for these purposes are that it shall be hard in texture and of such 
character that it will pulverize into a coarse granular flour, or, as it 
is more often called, " semolina," and that this be glutenous, or high 
in gluten proteids. The first of these requirements seems to facilitate 
the mechanical part of the manufacture, while the second improves 
the quality of the product by preventing disintegration during 
cooking. 
LOAF VOLUME AND TEXTURE. 
This leads to a consideration of the measure of strength in flour. 
The definition of strength already given mentions two factors as 
of importance, namely, size and texture of loaf. A measure of the 
volume of the loaf gives the desired information as to size, and in 
the following pages this is expressed in cubic centimeters. The 
figures are comparative, as in every case 340 grams of flour were 
used for a loaf. It is more difficult to express texture in absolute 
terms, as it is dependent upon several related considerations. The 
uniformity, number, and evenness of distribution of cavities are 
1 The term "strength" is sometimes considered as meaning the water-absorbing power 
of the flour, but the definition given above is the one far more widely used at the present 
time. Some writers use the term " pile " in referring to the shape and texture of the 
loaf. William Jago and W. C. Jago, in the 1911 edition of their Technology of Bread- 
Making, define strength as the measure of the capacity of the flour for producing a 
bold, large-volumed, well-risen loaf. In this definition the term " bold " refers to the 
external appearance of the loaf and " well-risen " to the texture, but the terms seem to 
be lacking in definiteness. - 
