they lend a cloudiness and distinct “cereal”
flavor to starch-water mixtures. Light that
passes right through a gelated mesh of pure
starch and water is scattered by tiny starch-
lipid or starch-protein complexes, producing a
milky, impenetrable appearance. Grain
starches contain a high proportion of
moderately long amylose molecules that
readily form a network with each other, and so
make sauces that quickly thicken and congeal
when cooled.
Wheat Flour Wheat flour is made by grinding
wheat grains and sieving the bran and germ
from the starch-rich endosperm(p. 528).
Wheat flour is only about 75% starch, and
includes about 10% by weight of protein,
mainly the insoluble gluten proteins. It’s
therefore a less efficient thickener than pure
cornstarch or potato starch; it takes more flour
to obtain the same consistency. A common
rule of thumb is to use 1.5 times as much