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Ash Content
Appears in
Published 2004
The ash content is an indication of the mineral content of a given sample of flour. To perform the test, a 50-gram sample of flour is incinerated at 900°F; what remains is a charred little pile that is almost all minerals. The pile is weighed, and the result is expressed as a percentage of the original, unincinerated flour.
Ash content is important to the baker for several reasons. First, it indicates the degree of milling. The mineral (and protein) content of flour increases toward the periphery of the grain. A low ash content therefore suggests that the flour was milled from the heart of the endosperm (the source for patent flour). An increasing ash content suggests that the flour was milled from farther out on the endosperm.