WHEAT GERM IN BREAD.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 244, 12 September 1940, Page 8

WHEAT GERM IN BREAD.

SUCCESSFUL PROCESS. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Sept. 11. “The reception by the Press and interested individuals has been very gratifying and much useful criticism has been received,” said Dr D. G. McMillan, referring to the new process evolved by the Wheat Research Institute for the manufacture of white bread containing the wheat germ. \ The Minister added that it was apparent from some inquiries received that there were some misconceptions in regard to the nature and purpose of the process and the steps being taken to put it into practical operation.

“The novelty of the Wheat Research Institute process has been questioned. There is nothing new about adding vitamins to flour or bread, but there is everything new about adding vitamins, or natural substance containing them, in such a way that the palatahilit.y and keeping qualities of the bread arc not affected,” said Dr McDlillan. Wholemeal flour contained the wheat germ, hut bread made from it was unpalatable to many people. The Dforris Dfills process of America was quite different from the New Zealand one, and it probably could not be operated with New Zealand wheats. It required special expensive machinrv and was heavily protected by jiatents. Furthermore, it gave bread containing very much less of the wheat germ than the New Zealand process made possible. More recently, synthetic Vitamin B was being added to bread in Britain. Valuable as this was in Britain, the use of the wheat germ by the New Zealand process had ifiany advantages. The essential distinguishing feature of the Wheat Research Institute process was in the prefermentation of the wheat germ with yeast before addition to the flour. It gave a loaf of fine texture, good appearance, palatable taste, and a content of 10 per cent, of wheat germ compared with 2 per cent, in wholemeal—not that it was intended to replace wholemeal, which had other qualities of its own. The formulae for the new bread had been supplied in bulletin form to all bakers. Some mills already had supplies of the wheat germ in stock, and several others had .made preliminary runs and could start production at a day’s notice.