Flour facts for kids

Different kinds of wheat and rye flour.

Kinako

Flour is a fine powder made from grinding grains. Most flour comes from wheat. But it can also be made from many other grains, nuts, and even vegetables. Flour is a key ingredient in many delicious foods we eat every day.

You'll find flour in bread, pasta, cookies, cakes, and tortillas. It's made in a special place called a flour mill. Here, grains are crushed between large stones or steel wheels. This process turns the hard grains into soft powder.

There are different types of flour used in cooking. The main ones are all-purpose flour, self-raising flour, and cake flour. Self-raising flour has a special ingredient called a leavening agent. This agent helps food expand and become light and fluffy when it bakes. It creates tiny bubbles in the dough. Flour without this agent is called all-purpose flour, or plain flour.

Some people even make flour at home! When flour comes from a factory, the outer part of the grain is often removed. This outer part contains fiber, which is good for your body. Homemade flour keeps more of these nutrients. You can make flour from many things, like pumpkins, pumpkin seeds, different types of rice, or wheat.

The History of Flour and Milling

A field of wheat ready for harvest.

People discovered how to make flour around 6000 BC. They would crush wheat seeds using simple millstones. The Romans were the first to use cone mills for grinding. For a long time, most mills used the power of wind (windmills) or water to grind grain. Later, steam power was used.

In the 1930s, some flour began to be "enriched." This means important nutrients like iron, niacin, thiamine, and riboflavin were added back into it. Mills started doing this more widely in the 1940s. In the 1990s, folic acid was also added to the list of nutrients. This helps make sure people get enough of these important vitamins and minerals.

Related Pages

• Kinako
• Wheat flour

Images for kids

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  All-purpose flour

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  Cassava flour (left) and corn flour (right) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. These flours are basic ingredients for the cuisine of Central Africa.

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  A Walz set of roller mills.

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  Flour being stored in large cloth sacks

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  A variety of types of flour and cereals sold at a bazaar in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

See also

In Spanish: Harina para niños