Graham Flour

Meticulous eaters are very cautious when it comes to the bread they eat. Since bread is a staple food in the United States and most countries, some health experts attribute unhealthy bread varieties to certain ailments due to flour refining process which loses the natural nutritive value of the grain (kernel) components: bran, germ and endosperm.

As early as the 17th century, bakers have been looking for ways to make bread that are not only filling but healthy as well. In 1829, an American minister named Sylvester Graham came out with a new variety of baking flour that is less refined by retaining the natural nutritive value of the grain. He did this by separately grounding the endosperm into very fine powder, producing fine white flour. In contrast, the bran and the germ are grounded together coarsely, retaining their natural composition. He mixed the two by-products and came out with an all new brownish flour variety that is less refined in texture yet very nutritious, bakes well, has a longer shelf life and very tasty. Graham lent his name to this flour and used it in baking bread that were supplied in his chain of hotels.

The use of Graham flour in place of processed white flour met challenges especially among bread manufacturers at that time because of the tedious separating and refining process. Still, Graham flour became popular especially among health advocates and dieters. In 1850, Graham founded the American Vegetarian Society, promoting the Graham flour to wider circles.

Graham flour is not readily available in all markets, that's why some bakers substitute flour mixtures to come up with bread that is close to it in terms of nutrition, texture and taste. A cup of pure Graham flour is equal to 2/3 cup white flour, 1/3 cup wheat bran and 1 ½ teaspoon of wheat germ. Unprocessed (whole) wheat flour are sometimes used but do not produce a near exact quality.