Editing Flour (section)

{{Short description|Cereal grains ground into powder}}
{{Other uses}}
{{distinguish|Flower}}
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
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{{Infobox food
| cookbook = Flour
| image = Flours.jpg
}} 
[[File:All-Purpose Flour (4107895947).jpg|thumb|All-purpose flour]]
[[File:Farine de manioc et de mais.jpg|thumb|[[Cassava]] flour (left) and [[maize flour|corn flour]] (right) in [[Kinshasa]], [[Democratic Republic of Congo]]. These flours are basic ingredients for the cuisine of [[Central Africa]].]]
[[File:Soy_powder.jpg|thumb|[[Kinako]]]]

'''Flour''' is a [[powder]] made by [[Mill (grinding)|grinding]] raw [[grain]]s, [[List of root vegetables|roots]], [[bean]]s, [[Nut (fruit)|nuts]], or [[seed]]s. Flours are used to make many different [[food]]s. [[Cereal]] flour, particularly [[wheat flour]], is the main ingredient of [[bread]], which is a [[staple food]] for many cultures. [[Maize flour|Corn flour]] has been important in [[Mesoamerica]]n cuisine since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas. [[Rye]] flour is a constituent of bread in both [[Central Europe]] and [[Northern Europe]].

Cereal flour consists either of the [[endosperm]], [[cereal germ|germ]], and [[bran]] together (whole-grain flour) or of the endosperm alone (refined flour). ''Meal'' is either differentiable from flour as having slightly coarser particle size (degree of [[comminution]]) or is synonymous with flour; the word is used both ways.

The [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]] has cautioned not to eat raw flour doughs or batters. Raw flour can contain harmful bacteria such as ''[[E. coli]]'' and needs to be cooked like other foods.<ref name="CDC-2021">{{cite web |title=Raw Dough Can Contain Germs That Make You Sick |website=CDC |date=28 July 2021 |url=https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/no-raw-dough.html |access-date=21 October 2021 |archive-date=17 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217011323/https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/no-raw-dough.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Normal processing of flour from which the outer layers have been removed (white flour) removes nutrients. Such flours, and breads made from them, may be fortified by adding nutrients; this is required by law in the UK.