Flour Milling Process
The wheat milling process involves separating the wheat grain into three constituents
germ, bran, and endosperm. It is a complex and intricate process. Once the wheat is prepared it
is weighed, inspected, and graded. Then, the grain is separated by size, shape, and weight.
Cleaning: sticks, stones and other such impurities are removed from the wheat
Tempering and conditioning: At this stage, the wheat is soaked in water to easily remove the bran.
Steps involved in wheat milling:
The wheat milling process involves separating the wheat grain into three constituents
germ, bran, and endosperm. It is a complex and intricate process. Once the wheat is
prepared it is weighed, inspected, and graded. Then, the grain is separated by size,
shape, and weight.
Cleaning:
sticks, stones and other such impurities are removed from the wheat. Then, the whole pure wheat
is passed for further processing into the conditioning bins.
Tempering and conditioning:
At this stage, the wheat is soaked in water to easily remove the bran. Conditioning is done before
milling to ensure moisture content is uniform throughout the grain. The moisture helps prevent the
bran from breaking during the milling process.
Gristing:
This is a particularly important stage where, the conditioned wheat and cleaned wheat are mixed to
create the required type and quality of flour.
Separating:
The grist then goes through a series of rolls which rotate at various speed levels. The rolls only
split the wheat grain open to separate the inner white portion form the bran.
Milling:
The wheat is grounded by a machine that crushes it into pieces. It is then put through sifters from
which the meal obtained is processed further with repeated grinding and sifting. Then, the meal becomes
fine flour, wheat germ and wheat bran.
Blending:
Here, constituents are mixed to produce different flours. For instance, a blend of wheat bran and white
flour produce whole wheat flour.
Others
Wheat milling involves several steps, including cleaning, conditioning, grinding, and sifting. Each step determines the
yield and properties of the flour. There are many milling techniques that use different grinding and sifting machines.
Roller milling is the most common method of refined wheat flour production.The wheat flour milling process has six main steps:
Cleaning: Removes dirt and debris Tempering and conditioning: Adds a small amount of water to the kernels to soften the bran layer
Gristing: Combines different types and amounts of wheat to achieve a certain quality of flour
Separating: Separates the bran and wheat germ from the endosperm
Milling: Separates kernel components and recombines them to make flour
Blending: Ensures consistent quality products
Packaging and storage: Packages the flour into bags or bulk containers
Each step is crucial and determines the yield and properties of the flour. For example, conditioning toughens the bran, making it
easier to separate from the endosperm.
The milling process has developed over centuries, from the manual use of a pestle and mortar to automated mills. Roller milling is the most
common method of refined wheat flour production.