The Origins of Flour Milling

Throughout recorded history, people have been grinding grain to make bread. Traditionally, grains like wheat were stoneground, which means that various types of stone tools were used to mill flour. As time progressed, different cultures developed increasingly advanced methods for grinding flour.

The ancient Egyptians began with a stone mortar. Later, they adopted a design with two round stones stacked atop one another, with the top stone turned by hand. Eventually, human and animal-powered milling methods gave way to mills powered by wind and water. These more powerful mills used large stones to grind wheat slowly and gently.

White Flour as a Status Symbol

Flour produced through these traditional methods is known as stoneground flour. It retains all parts of the wheat kernel—the bran, endosperm, and germ. The bran and germ are the most nutritious parts of the grain, but they also make stoneground flour coarser and less prone to rising in baked goods. The ancient Egyptians were among the first to seek a finer texture for flour. Around 3000 B.C.E., they began using hand sieves to sift flour, separating the coarser parts from the finer grains. This process created the first version of “white” flour, which was time-consuming to produce and typically only affordable for royalty.

Over the centuries, similar practices were adopted by other cultures. In Medieval England, for instance, flour was sifted through cloths of varying weaves in a process known as “boulting.” The finer flour produced lighter, more delicate baked goods, which were only accessible to those who could afford it.

Due to the expense of producing fine, white flour, it became a status symbol. Common people could only afford coarser stoneground wheat flour, while the poorest relied on cheaper flours made from grains like rye and barley.

White Flour: Then and Now

Until about 1870, white flour was made through sifting. Although the bulky parts of the bran and germ were removed, the flour still contained some wheat germ oil, preserving a portion of its nutrients.

However, between 1870 and 1890, steel roller milling became the dominant method. This process not only sped up flour production but also allowed millers to completely separate the different parts of the wheat kernel. As a result, flour could be produced much faster, and the bran and germ were excluded, leaving only the soft endosperm.

The result was a completely automated production of very fine white flour, which became affordable for the average household. Additionally, this flour was more shelf-stable and visually appealing, with a purer white color compared to the grayish-white of hand-sifted or stoneground flour.

Within a decade of the introduction of steel roller mills, many traditional stone-grinding mills across Europe and North America closed down—they couldn’t compete with the efficiency of modern mills or the public’s growing preference for white flour. Everyone wanted a bit of “royalty” in their home.

Delicious, But Less Nutritious

While mass-produced white flour became extremely popular and profitable, it also brought some significant problems. Before the advent of steel roller mills, households used stoneground flour, which contained all the naturally occurring vitamins and minerals from the bran and germ. But steel roller mills discarded these parts, leaving only the nutritionally deficient endosperm.

This lack of nutrients was particularly problematic for the poorest households, which had previously relied on wheat flour products for a substantial portion of their daily nutrition. By the 1930s, studies estimated that the average American was consuming only one-third of the thiamine they had been getting when stoneground flour was the norm.

As white flour consumption increased, deficiency-related illnesses began to emerge, such as beriberi (thiamine deficiency), pellagra (niacin/tryptophan deficiency), and anemia (iron deficiency).

In the 1920s, Benjamin R. Jacobs documented how modern milling practices resulted in the loss of vital nutrients. He recognized that the milling industry would not revert to stoneground practices and began advocating for the addition of lost nutrients—a practice known as enrichment. (Enrichment adds back naturally occurring nutrients, while fortification adds new ones.)

The first tests of flour enrichment began in the 1930s. By 1941, the U.S. mandated the enrichment of white flour with iron, niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin (folic acid was added in the 1990s). Although this practice didn’t make white flour as nutritious as stoneground flour, it nearly eradicated the deficiency-related illnesses that had been observed.

Modern-Day White Flour

Today, it’s illegal in most countries to sell white flour that hasn’t been enriched. While enrichment is not a perfect solution, it helps prevent widespread vitamin and nutrient deficiencies like those seen a century ago.

White flours, such as all-purpose flour in the U.S., remain the go-to choice for most home bakers and commercial operations. They produce lighter products, better rise, and a finer texture in baked goods, which has become the norm.

However, due to its highly processed nature, some people prefer to use only whole grain flours. These flours are seen as simpler, less processed, and retain their full nutritional value naturally.