5 Types of Flour for Noodles and Their Uses

1. Wheat Flour

Wheat flour is the most common raw material in the noodle industry. This flour comes from wheat grains (Summer wheat) which is ground to a fine powder.

The main advantage of wheat flour compared to other flours is the gluten content, which is a protein network that forms when glutenin and gliadin mix with water. Gluten is what gives the dough its elastic properties so that the noodles don’t break easily when boiled or pulled.

The higher the protein content of wheat flour, generally the chewier the texture of the noodles produced. Therefore, manufacturers usually choose high protein flour to make ramen or egg noodles, while medium protein flour is more commonly used for wet noodles and instant noodles.

Apart from providing elasticity, wheat flour also has the ability to absorb water well so that the dough is easier to shape. This characteristic makes the production process more stable, both on a household and industrial scale.

Wheat flour is often used to make egg noodles, yellow noodles, ramen, udon, instant noodles and pulled noodles.

The advantages of wheat flour noodles are that they are very elastic, do not break easily, are easy to shape, and are stable during boiling. The disadvantage of wheat flour noodles is that they contain gluten so they are not suitable for disease sufferers celiacas well as people with gluten sensitivity.

2. Rice flour

Rice flour is made from rice that is ground into a fine powder. Unlike wheat flour, this flour contains almost no gluten, resulting in a very different texture.

Noodles made from rice flour tend to be softer, smoother and less elastic. However, this texture is a characteristic of various traditional Asian noodles such as vermicelli, rice noodles, and Vietnamese and Thai rice noodles.

Because they do not have a gluten network, the structural strength of rice noodles depends on the starch thickening process when heated. To improve the quality of the texture, the industry often adds other starches, for example mung bean starch.

Rice flour is used to make vermicelli noodles, Southeast Asian rice noodles, kwetiau, and various types of gluten-free noodles.

The advantages of rice flour noodles are that they are gluten free, bright white in color, soft in texture, and easy to digest. The drawback is that rice flour noodles break more easily than noodles made from wheat flour if the manufacturing process is not correct.

3. Konnyaku flour

Konnyaku flour comes from the root of the plant Amorphophallus konjac. In Indonesia, plants that are in the same group as konjac are known as porang plants.

The main component of this flour is glucomannan, which is a water-soluble dietary fiber which has the ability to absorb very large amounts of water and form a strong gel.

Because of its high fiber content, konnyaku flour is widely used to produce shirataki noodles, which are noodles that are known to be low in calories and low in carbohydrates.

The texture of Konnyaku noodles is very distinctive, namely chewy like gel and does not break easily even if boiled for quite a long time.

Apart from being used as the main ingredient for shirataki noodles, konjac flour is also often mixed with other flours to increase fiber content and improve textural characteristics.

Konnyaku flour is used to make shirataki noodles and make several types of noodles that are low in calories and high in fiber.

The advantages of konnyaku noodles are that they are very low in calories, high in dietary fiber, chewy in texture, and gluten-free. The disadvantage of konnyaku noodles is that the taste is relatively neutral, so they are usually combined with strong sauce or spices.

4. Green bean flour

Mung bean flour or starch comes from mung bean seeds (Radiant vine) which is processed to obtain starch with a fairly high amylose content. The amylose content produces a strong gel so that the noodles become more supple, transparent and do not break easily.

In various Asian countries, mung bean starch has long been used as the main ingredient glass noodlesor vermicelli. Apart from that, mung bean starch is also often added to rice noodle dough because it can increase structural strength and reduce starch loss during the boiling process.

These characteristics make mung bean flour one of the best raw materials for producing high quality transparent noodles.

Mung bean flour is used to make vermicelli noodles, glass noodlesand rice flour noodle mixture.

The advantages of green bean flour noodles are that they are transparent in color, very chewy, do not crumble easily, and are stable when boiled. The downside is that the price of green bean flour is relatively more expensive than rice flour.

5. Kudzu Root Flour

Kudzu root meal comes from the roots of the plant Pueraria montanaand has long been used in the Japanese food industry and several East Asian countries.

Kudzu starch is known to have the ability to form a clear, soft and stable gel. These properties make it very good as a thickener or additional ingredient in making noodles.

In the noodle industry, kudzu root flour is usually not used as a sole ingredient, but is mixed with other starches to increase elasticity, clarity and texture stability during boiling.

Apart from being applied to noodles, kudzu starch is also widely used as a thickening agent in soups, sauces and traditional Japanese desserts.

Kudzu root flour is usually used as an additional ingredient for premium noodles, transparent noodles, and several types of noodles with a more elastic texture.

The advantages of kudzu root noodles include a clear gel form, soft texture, high water holding capacity, and stability to heating. The disadvantage is that production is limited, so the price is relatively expensive.

CONCLUSION

Each type of flour has different characteristics so its use in making noodles is also different.

1) Wheat flour produces elastic noodles and is the most widely used throughout the world.
2) Rice flour is suitable for producing soft, gluten-free noodles.
3) Konnyaku flour is a choice for people who want noodles that are low in calories and high in fiber.
4) Mung bean flour produces transparent noodles with a very chewy texture.
5) Kudzu root flour is used as an additional ingredient to improve the texture quality and clarity of noodles.

Understanding the characteristics of each flour is not only important for the food industry, but is also useful for people who want to try making their own noodles at home or choose products that suit their nutritional needs.

CLOSURE

This is a discussion of the 5 types of flour used in making noodles and their uses. It turns out, behind the bowl of noodles that we often enjoy, there is quite interesting food science. The differences in protein, starch and fiber content in each flour can produce very diverse noodle textures and characters.

Hopefully this thread can add insight and be useful for all Kaskus readers.

If GanSist has ever tried making your own noodles or has interesting information about food technology, don’t hesitate to comment.

Thank you for reading, hopefully it’s useful .

SOURCE

American Association of Cereal Chemists International. (2010). Approved Methods of Analysis(11th ed.). AACC International.

Liu, Y., Xu, M., Wu, H., Jing, L., Gong, B., Gou, M., Zhao, K., & Li, W. (2018). The compositional, physicochemical and functional properties of germinated mung bean flour and its addition on quality of wheat flour noodle. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 55(12)5142–5152.

Tan, H. Z., & Li, Z. G. (2009). Starch noodles: History, classification, materials, processing, structure, nutrition, quality evaluating and improving. Food Research International, 42(5–6)551–576.

Wang, S., Zhang, Y., Wang, S., Gao, Q., & Dai, L. (2021). Structure, properties and applications of kudzu starch. Food Hydrocolloids, 119106817.

Wu, F., Meng, Y., Yang, N., Tao, H., & Xu, X. (2015). Effects of mung bean starch on quality of rice noodles made by direct dry flour extrusion. LWT – Food Science and Technology, 63(2)1199–1205.