| Wheat
Wheat is a grass that is cultivated worldwide. Globally, it is the
most important human food grain and ranks second in total production
as a cereal crop behind maize; the third being rice.
Wheat grain is a staple food used to make flour for leavened, flat
and steamed breads; cookies, cakes, pasta, noodles and couscous;
and for fermentation to make beer, alcohol, vodka or biofuel. Wheat
is planted to a limited extent as a forage crop for livestock and
the straw can be used as fodder for livestock or as a construction
material for roofing thatch.
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An ingredient used in many foods, flour is a fine powder made
from cereals or other starchy food sources. It is most commonly
made from wheat, but also maize (now called corn in many parts
of the Western Hemisphere), rye, barley, and rice, amongst
many other grasses and non-grain plants . Flour is the key
ingredient of bread, which is the staple food in many countries,
and therefore the availability of adequate supplies of flour
has often been a major economic and political issue.
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Flour can also be made from legumes and nuts, such as soy, peanuts,
almonds, and other tree nuts. 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. |