ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, March 12, 1997              TAG: 9703120099
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3    EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON THE ROANOKE TIMES 

TODAY, IT ISN'T THE SAME OLD GRIND

Store bought or fresh ground?

The question coffee drinkers have pondered for years also is beginning to confront bread fans as stores carrying fresh-ground flours begin to multiply.

Theodore R. Hazen, restorer of an old-fashioned mill at Explore Park, votes for traditional over modern flour-making methods.

"Store-bought flour isn't good for you," Hazen asserted.

Dave Linden, co-owner of Heartland Bread Co. in Roanoke and Salem, which bakes with and sells ground-on-the-premises wheat flours, said he can't agree with Hazen that there's anything unhealthful about store-bought flour. But he boasts that his baked goods are healthier than those made with commercial fours.

His store, part of a trend spreading like gourmet coffee shops in bigger cities, uses chemical-free whole-grain wheat from Montana and grinds it using stones, instead of the metal rollers used in large, commercial mills. This grind-and-bake process leaves little time for nutrients to deteriorate, Linden said. The result is a denser bread.

"It's going to make the freshest tasting bread," Linden said. "It doesn't go through a process ...''

That process, according to Virginia Tech flour expert Frank Conforti, goes like this:

Wheat is stripped of the bran, its source of fiber, and the germ, the source of its vitamins and fat. Metal rollers grind the remaining endosperm. Sifting removes debris. For common white, or bleached flour, chlorine gas is applied to turn the flour white.

In an enrichment phase, the manufacturer adds vitamin powders, a response to nutritional deficiencies found in the U.S. population years ago. In fact, Conforti, an associate professor of foods, said flour must be enriched to be legally sold across state lines.

Finally, the flour is aged.

Conforti sees no risks to consuming modern flours from stores, many of which he uses in university labs.

The chlorine gas step, mentioned by Hazen as one reason for his concern, was the subject of Conforti's dissertation and the professor said he is certain it presents no risk and provides more than cosmetic benefits. The bleaching adds "bakeability" features valued in recipes involving large amounts of sugar, such as those for chocolate cake. Unbleached flour is also available, Conforti said.

But if you prefer stone ground whole flour, the mill being reassembled at Explore Park will provide another place to buy it in about a year.

LENGTH: Medium:   52 lines