Flour (Atta)
Hard wheats have a
high gluten content, which provides elasticity, so
doughs made out of atta flour are strong and can be rolled out very thin.
Atta is the Hindi or Urdu word for dough;
it is used by metonymy to mean "flour used for
baking". Atta refers to the pulverized whole wheat with brownish white
color. In India and Pakistan a common term used for atta is "chakki
atta" which is mostly used in rural areas. Chakki atta is ground wheat without
any additions or subtractions, and is thus in more natural form. The word
Chakki derives its meaning from traditional Indian way of grinding wheat in
between two stone plates; modern day flour mills use stone crushers in the
flour milling process.
WHEAT POWDER / FLOUR, ATTA, SOOJI,
MAIDA
In India and Pakistan
wheat products like 'wheat powder' or 'wheat flour',
'atta flour', 'maida flour' and 'sooji' (semolina,
also known as 'rava') are available in the market. There is technical
difference between maida flour and sooji flour in terms of bran content; maida has negligible bran
content. Maida flour is used mainly for making bhaturas and naan, types of Indian
breads similar to roti or chapati,
while sooji is used mainly in the preparation of a delight "kesari".
WHOLE WHEAT GRAINS
Whole wheat grains
contain all three parts of the kernel (kernel means a grain or seed, as of a
cereal grass, enclosed in a husk). There are, mainly, three parts for a wheat
grain.
PARTS OF A WHEAT GRAIN
1. Germ (2%)
– Embryo of the wheat kernel.
2. Endosperm (85%)
– Nutritive tissue surrounding the embryo.
3. Bran – Multi-layered
outer skin of the kernel.
INDIA/PAKISTAN: PRODUCTS OF
PULVERIZED WHEAT GRAINS
·
Wheat powder/flour – 'Whole Grain'
(Mixture of germ, endosperm and bran)
·
Atta flour – mixture of endosperm and
bran
·
Maida flour – endosperm
·
Sooji/rava – coarse endosperm
PREPARATION
The Atta flour found
in commerce varies in fiber content from near 0% to 12%. Wholemeal (US whole
wheat) atta is obtained from grinding complete wheat grains. It is creamy brown
in color and quite coarse compared to other types of flour.
Traditionally, atta
is made by stone grinding, a process that imparts a
characteristic aroma and taste to the bread. The high bran content of wholemeal atta makes it a fiber-rich food. This may
help to regulate blood sugar as well have other health benefits. The
temperatures attained in a chakki (mill or grinder, traditionally from
stone), produced by friction, are of the order
of 110–125 deg C. At such high temperatures, the carotenes present in the bran tend to exude the characteristic
roasty smell, and contribute to the sweetness of the atta.
The various quality control parameters
for the atta industry are ash content, moisture content, acid insoluble ash, water
absorption, alcoholic acidity, granulation profile,
damaged starch and gluten content.
What Is The Difference Between Atta And Maida?
Maida is basically endosperm of wheat grain whereas wheat flour or atta contains husk bran, germ, and endosperm of wheat. Wheat flour or atta is used to make rotis, whereas maida is used to make naan and paranthas. Whole wheat flour is considered better for our health than white flour or maida.
