Flour bleaching agent
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Flour bleaching agent is a food additive added to flour in order to make it appear whiter (freshly milled flour is yellowish) and to oxidize the surfaces of the flour grains and help with developing of gluten.
Usual bleaching agents are:
- Organic peroxides, namely benzoyl peroxide
- Calcium peroxide
- Nitrogen dioxide
- Chlorine
- Chlorine dioxide, which is reported to produce diabetes-causing contaminant alloxan when reacting with the proteins contained in flour
- Azodicarbonamide
- Atmospheric oxygen, used during natural aging of flour
Flours treated with bleaches and improving agents generally show higher loaf volume, finer grain, and better look. However, people with very sensitive palates can detect a slight bitter aftertaste.
Chlorinated cake flour improves the structure forming capacity, allowing using dough formulas with lower proportion of flour and higher proportion of sugar. In cookie manufacturing, chlorination of flour is used to control the cookie spread – treated flour reduces the spread and provides tighter surface. The changes of functional properties of the flour proteins are likely to be caused by their oxidation.
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