Agricultural giant since 1983

Chapter 297 Flour Classification
"Hey, why is your flour so white?" Wang Fenglian opened the bag, grabbed a little flour and rubbed it in her hands, and found that the flour was white and delicate, much better than the flour she used to eat at home.

"This is wheat core flour, which is wheat flour made from the endosperm in the center of wheat. It is a high-quality flour with higher processing precision than refined flour. It tastes stronger when used to make steamed buns and noodles, and the aroma of wheat is also stronger. !" Li Lei introduced that the flour used to be eaten at home was all milled by himself. Although there is no problem in terms of food safety, the processing fineness is not enough, and the taste is relatively ordinary.

Now Li Lei has imported the flour processing system of Buhler, Switzerland from foreign countries. The flour milling process is more refined than that of the mill; It is divided into five processes: wheat - milling - sieving - purification - flour.

The first is the screening of raw materials. The wheat selected by Xiangxue Flour Factory is the new wheat of this year, and there are strict requirements on grain size and plumpness. Only wheat that meets the standard can enter the milling process.

The milling process generally consists of a skin mill system, a heart mill system, a slag mill system and a powder cleaning system; the skin mill refers to peeling off the wheat grains, dividing them into wheat dregs, oat flakes, wheat hearts and coarse powder, and scraping off the bran flakes. Wheat grits, wheat heart and meal, and keep the bran flakes from breaking too much to maximize the separation of endosperm and bran.

Heart grinding means that wheat heart and coarse powder are ground into flour with a certain fineness, and bran is extracted. Generally, there is also a tail mill in the heart mill system to process the wheat heart with a lot of bran in each heart mill. , from which the flour is raised.

Slag mill refers to the process of processing the flour with wheat hulls separated by the skin mill or flour cleaning system to separate the wheat hulls from the endosperm, extract better quality wheat heart and coarse flour from them, and send them to the heart mill system to grind them into flour. Then sieve and purify.

The standard for measuring the pros and cons of the milling process is to look at the content of bran mixed in the produced flour, that is, the ash content in the flour. If you want to produce high-precision flour with low ash content, you should set more grinding passes. Make the force applied by each grinding step correspondingly smaller, so that the particle size difference between the endosperm and bran after crushing increases to facilitate sieving and separation. On the contrary, if low-precision flour with slightly higher ash content is produced, a certain amount of bran is allowed to be mixed Among the flours, the number of grinding passes can be appropriately reduced, and the wheat core flour has the smallest ash content, so it is the best flour.

Central Plains is rich in wheat, and the local eating habits are mainly noodles, steamed buns and other pasta. Wang Fenglian has been making pasta all her life, and her skill in pasta is natural. The wheat aroma is strong and the soup is not mixed, not to mention Li Lei, Xiao Yanyou even ate two more bowls.

"How much more expensive is this flour than ordinary flour?" Li Qiyun asked curiously.

"Wheat core flour has a low flour extraction rate, so the price must be higher than ordinary flour, but now that everyone's living standards have improved, there is still a market for these flours!" As Li Lei said many times before, now Now most of the common people have solved the problem of being full, and they will no longer be hungry, so many people start to pursue good food from being full, so the flour industry also naturally has a grading system.

The grading of flour is divided into three categories, one is classified according to the processing accuracy of flour, which is divided into four categories: special first-class flour, special second-class flour, standard flour and ordinary flour. The higher the processing accuracy, the higher the grade. Among them, special The first grade requires that the ash content is less than 20.00 per thousand, and the gluten is greater than 20.00%20.00; the special secondary flour requires that the ash content is less than 20.00, and the gluten is greater than [-]%[-]; the standard powder has an ash content less than [-], and the gluten is greater than [-]%[-] ; The ash content of ordinary flour is less than [-], and the gluten is greater than [-]%.

The second type is divided according to the protein content. Flour with a protein content below 8% is called low-gluten flour; the kitchen application of low-gluten flour: its characteristics are low gluten, weak ductility, and weak elasticity. It is suitable for making pastries, biscuits, etc. Pasta; flour with a protein content of 9-12% is called medium-gluten flour; the kitchen application of medium-gluten flour: it is characterized by medium gluten, ductility and elasticity, and general family pasta can be competent; the protein content is 13% The above flour is called high-gluten flour; the kitchen application of high-gluten flour is characterized by high gluten, high ductility and elasticity, and is suitable for making bread, noodles, and steamed buns with good taste.

Different types of wheat should be selected for the production of these flours. Hard wheat is specially used to produce high-gluten flour, soft wheat is specially used to produce low-gluten flour, and medium-gluten flour is generally made from the endosperm of wheat grains; due to the lack of high-quality hard wheat in China Wheat, so high-gluten flour is often imported from abroad, mainly from Canada, because Canadian spring wheat can make the best high-gluten flour.

However, Li Lei has now made up for this gap. Kazakhstan is also rich in wheat for making high-gluten flour. It has begun to be planted on a large scale in the Ivolga farm. After the wheat matures, it will be processed in a flour processing factory near the farm and then sold domestically. , With substitutes, the price of high-gluten flour in Canada cannot be raised casually.

The third type is divided according to the purpose, divided into two categories: general-purpose flour and special-purpose flour. General-purpose flour is the flour commonly used at home, and you can do anything; and there are many types of special-purpose flour, such as bread-specific flour and steamed bread-specific flour. , Special flour for noodles, special flour for buns, special flour for fried dough sticks, special flour for moon cakes, special flour for crispy biscuits, special flour for fermented biscuits, special flour for dumplings, special flour for instant noodles, special flour for cakes, special flour for cakes, etc., and more for food processing Factory or cake shop, steamed bun shop, moon cake shop and so on.

In addition, there are some special flours, such as whole wheat flour, which are ground from whole grain wheat without removing the bran. The flour produced in this way is rich in dietary fiber and has high nutritional value, but it looks dull in color and tastes delicious. It is also generally eaten as a health food.

In addition, there are flours for different purposes such as frozen food flour, pre-mixed wheat flour, and granule flour. As Li Lei said many times before, people have begun to change from being full to eating well, so their own flour mills also We should comply with this change and introduce more varieties of flour to meet the needs of the market, so as to win the favor of consumers.

But just producing flour is not enough, if it can’t be sold, everything will be in vain, so Huinong’s marketing promotion team and sales team got together for several days and came up with a series of promotion and marketing plans. It is intended to change consumers' buying habits of flour.

Ordinary flour is the best solution. Huinong’s Xiangxue brand flour looks good and is more reliable than those produced by small factories. When placed in grain and oil stores and supermarkets, consumers will take the initiative to choose it; the ones that are a little more difficult are those There are special flours, and now ordinary people don’t know how to choose them, let alone the difference between these flours and ordinary flours, so we have to spend time explaining them to them.

The first trick Li Lei learned from Song Weiyang. Nowadays, most of the local TV stations stop broadcasting until eleven or two o’clock in the evening. In the promotional video, find a few people who look like experts to appear on the stage, and tell them the benefits of various flours. The cost is not large, but the effect is very good. The audience will watch it with gusto, and then they will start looking for what the experts said flour.

The second trick is to take the initiative to come to seek cooperation. Li Lei first asked someone to send a batch of samples to Wang Dadong. Wang Dadong asked the kitchen to try it out, and immediately signed a purchase contract with Xiangxue Flour Factory. Since Xiangxue Flour Factory can produce enough to satisfy KFC Naturally, there is no need to spend more money to buy imported flour; the same is true for McDonald’s. These fast food chains attach great importance to cost control. As long as they can help them save costs, it is easy to negotiate a contract. .

Then, when Xiangxue flour was doing publicity, it could say that it was a supplier of KFC and McDonald's. These days, foreign fast food has played a big role in promoting Xiangxue flour. Some people would choose Xiangxue brand flour because of this.

Just cooperating with KFC and McDonald's is not enough, and more partners have to be found, so Xiangxue's salesmen brought samples one after another, went to food processing factories, star hotels, cake shops, pastry shops and other places, and provided them with samples for free. They were invited to try it out; after trying many places, they found that Xiangxue's flour was indeed better than what they had bought before, so they also signed a contract with them.

There are even more ways to promote in supermarkets. In addition to regular promotional activities, Xiangxue also cooperates with supermarkets to set up fried dough sticks and steamed stuffed bun stalls at the entrance of the supermarket. They use their own flour to fry deep fried dough sticks and steamed buns, and give free gifts to customers present. At the same time, an eloquent host was invited to mobilize the emotions of the scene with a microphone and talk about the benefits of these flours.

"Don't miss it when you pass by. You can try the freshly baked buns for free. Auntie, why don't you try a steamed stuffed bun with mushrooms and chicken? How is it different from the buns you usually eat? You are an expert at cooking. , Give us young people some pointers?"

The aunt felt very comfortable after hearing this, so she took a bun, squeezed it, and then put it in her mouth, "Your buns are filled, I can only say that they are not bad! The skin of the bun is so delicious." , it tastes soft and strong, how on earth is this made? Is there any trick?"

The skin of this steamed stuffed bun is very particular, it needs to be soft and chewy, which is not easy to do, if you use low-gluten flour, the texture will be rough and have no elasticity, but if you use high-gluten flour, the skin will be tough, without a soft texture, of course you can use it Ordinary flour is not impossible to do this, but it must have a fairly high level of technology. Generally, it is difficult to make this kind of taste at home. My aunt has also cooked rice at home for decades, and you can tell the difference once you taste it.

"The trick is very simple! Because the flour we use is different." The host picked up a bag of flour with the words "Xiangxue Bun Skin Special Flour" clearly written on it, "Our Xiangxue Flour Factory has adopted the latest technology. Based on all-purpose flour, this special flour for steamed buns has been developed. Use this flour to steam steamed buns. The steamed buns are soft and chewy! If you don’t believe me, then make some buns and steam them in a basket Try it!"

Aunt has nothing to do today, so I really tried it in the past. In order to better promote the effect, the host also took a bag of ordinary flour for her to compare. Two different flours, using the same method and rolling the dough , and then steam the steamed buns in a cage. When they come out of the cage, the steamed buns steamed with special flour for bun skin are better than those steamed with ordinary flour!
"Hey, it's really amazing! Get me a bag, and I'll go back and steam the buns for my little grandson." The aunt saw the effect and bought it right away, and other melon eaters also bought it after seeing the effect. When they go back and pass it on, it is estimated that after a while, many people will definitely come to buy this kind of flour if they want to steam buns.

This kind of food tasting activity is carried out in various cities. Today it is at the entrance of the supermarket, tomorrow it goes to the square, and the day after tomorrow it goes to the residential area. With online advertisements, it quickly attracts many consumers with better economic conditions. When buying flour, I also began to choose based on the use and my own eating habits.

Not only ordinary consumers, but some small vendors are also eyeing these special flours. For example, Qiao Changshun, who learned how to fry fried dough sticks from his master, bought a bag of special flour for fried dough sticks after trying the fried dough sticks, and went back to find his master. , "Master, try the fried dough sticks I made today, and see if I can succeed?"

"How long have you wanted to become a teacher with me? Let me tell you, don't think that deep-fried dough sticks are easy, there are many ways in it!" The master began to pick faults when he saw his movements, "Fried deep-fried dough sticks should be kneaded less Noodles! And the dough doesn’t need to be very smooth, just a little lumpy, you knead the dough too many times, the oil doesn’t need to be too hot, it’s [-]% hot and you can put it in the pot and use it lightly when using chopsticks.”

But as he talked, the master felt that something was wrong. Qiao Changshun made a lot of mistakes in frying fried dough sticks, but why did the fried dough sticks in the pot look as good as those fried by himself?

"Master, how would you like to try it?" Qiao Changshun picked up a deep-fried dough stick, put it on the rack to drain the oil, and asked the master to taste it.

The master took the deep-fried dough sticks, first broke them to see the shape and color of the stubble, and then put them into his mouth with some doubts. The fried dough sticks were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and fluffy just right. It was not much worse than the deep-fried dough sticks he fried. .

"What's going on here?" The master asked suspiciously. Judging from the way Qiao Changshun fried the fried dough sticks, shouldn't the fried dough sticks have such a good effect?
"Hey, master, this is the role of technology! How many times have I told you, now is the age of technology, we have to keep pace with the times!" Qiao Changshun said, taking out the special powder for deep-fried dough sticks, which is full It's all technology, nothing hard work.

(End of this chapter)