Maida (flour)

Short description: Type of Indian wheat flour

Maida flour

Maida is a white flour from the Indian subcontinent, made from wheat. Finely milled without any bran, refined, and bleached, it closely resembles cake flour. Maida is used extensively for making fast foods, baked goods such as pastries, bread,[1] several varieties of sweets, and traditional flatbreads.[2] Owing to this wide variety of uses, it is sometimes labeled and marketed as "all-purpose flour", though it is different from American all-purpose flour.

## Contents

* 1 Production
* 2 Controversy
* 3 Applications
* 4 See also
* 5 References

## Production

Maida is made from the endosperm: the starchy white part of the grain. The bran is separated from the germ and endosperm which is then refined by passing through a sieve of 80 mesh per inch (31 mesh per centimeter).[3] Although naturally yellowish due to pigments present in wheat, maida is typically bleached, either naturally due to atmospheric oxygen, or with any of a number of flour bleaching agents.[4]

While it is milled from winter wheat that has a high gluten content, heat generated during the milling process results in denaturing of the protein, limiting its use in the preparation of leavened breads.[5]

## Controversy

A common misconception is that maida contains alloxan, which itself is banned in a lot of countries for usage in food, added as a bleaching agent or formed as a byproduct of bleaching.[6] While it is a minor product of xanthophyll oxidation, there is no evidence that trace amounts of alloxan formed comprise a health risk.[7]

## Applications

Maida is used extensively in Central Asian cuisine, cuisine from the Indian subcontinent and Caribbean cuisine. Flatbreads such as naan and tandoori roti are made using maida. Bhatoora is a fluffy, deep-fried, leavened bread made with maida and yogurt.

## See also

* Atta
* Graham bread
* Semolina
* Jalebi

## References

1. ↑ Manu Vipin (2011-10-31). "A life without bread and pasta? Unthinkable!". Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/A-life-without-bread-and-pasta-Unthinkable/articleshow/10552852.cms.
2. ↑ Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst. "The Food Lover's Companion - Fourth edition by Barron's Educational Series (2007)". http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/flour/index.html.
3. ↑ "Patent US5114079 - Simplified method and apparatus for producing white flour from wheat grain". https://www.google.com/patents/US5114079.
4. ↑ "Patent US2433611 - Bleaching of wheat flour and like milled products". https://www.google.co.in/patents/US2433611?dq=white+flour+bleaching&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ouU8VbOrA8G4uATWp4DgCQ&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCA.
5. ↑ "Patent US6098905 - Method for producing an atta flour". https://www.google.com/patents/US6098905?dq=flour+milling+process+maida&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_Nw8VZfrC8jjuQS27oDwCQ&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA.
6. ↑ "Why this Kolaveri against Kerala porotta?". The Times of India. 10 July 2013. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food/food-reviews/Why-this-Kolaveri-against-Kerala-porotta/articleshow/20521904.cms.
7. ↑ Schwarcz, Joe (2003), Alloxan, Department of Chemistry McGill University: Office of Science and Society, p. 1, http://oss.mcgill.ca/everyday/alloxan.pdf, retrieved September 10, 2011

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