Bromated Flour vs Unbromated Flour: What’s The Difference?

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You may have missed it, or perhaps you have noticed that many flour bags come with tags stating that they are “bromated flour.”

Very few people seem to take notice of flour being bromated, however, with the rising number of potential health issues, it’s always a good idea to know as much as possible about your food.

With this being said, we’ll be taking a look at Bromated flour vs. Unbromated flour so that you can make an informed decision over which is best for you and your family.

What is Bromated Flour?

There are many methods for processing flour resulting in various types. One such method is bleaching, a technique used to provide common varieties of all-purpose white flour.

This variety of flour comes both bleached and unbleached and is one of the most widely used, but bleached flour has become extremely common.

Bleached flour is whiter than its unbleached counterparts. It reaches the deep intense degree of whiteness we know thanks to several ingredients shared with the same process of bleaching clothes. 

Unfortunately, even though most bleaching agents are eliminated by the time you get your all-purpose flour, a few toxic compounds still remain. One of these toxic bleaching agents is potassium bromate.

What are the Potential Hazards of Using Bromated Flour?

Firstly, before looking at potassium bromate itself, one must keep in mind just how many harmful agents are used in the processing of bleached flour.

There’s Azodicarbonamide, Chlorine Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, and the dread Potassium Bromate which has become illegal in the European Union, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Nigeria, South Korea, and Peru.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies potassium bromate as a category 2B carcinogen which means that there is some evidence connecting the compound to causing cancer in humans.

In addition, this harsh oxidizer can lead to kidney damage, lung irritation, shortness of breath, and nervous system irritation, causing headaches, anger issues, mental fog, and general confusion.

Potassium bromate has been linked to many different cancers, including cancer of the thyroid, kidney, and GI tract. Presently, there’s an acceptable limit of 60 ppm but was tightened from 75.

At first, food scientists believed that only negligible levels of residue were left in the flour, but they eventually later discovered that all bromate gets converted to bromide when cooked.

Azodicarbonamide (ADA) may be an approved whitening agent, but certain studies have connected the chemical to allergies, respiratory issues, and asthma.

ADA is actually banned in most regions of the world, with only Canada, the USA, and three other countries allowing it to be added to flour.

Furthermore, Chlorine Dioxide and Nitrogen Dioxide are connected to impaired growth levels and a string of potential health complications as well.

Essentially, modern science knows that there is no safe level of susceptibility to a carcinogen, and while conclusive studies are currently lacking, there is lots of evidence connecting Potassium bromate to everything from cancer to reproductive issues.

Bromated Flour vs. Unbromated Flour Comparison

	Bromated Flour	Unbromated Flour
Mixing Time	Fast Mixing Time	Extended Mixing Time
Baking Temperature	Ready To Use After Mixing	Dough Temperature At Times Needs Adjustment
Elasticity	High Elasticity	Low Elasticity
Rising	Rapid Rising Time	Limited Rising Ability
Color	Intense White	Off-White To Yellow
Gluten	High In Gluten	Lower In Gluten
Oxidization	Potassium Bromate	Untreated

Bromated Flour vs Unbromated Flour

Bromated Flour

Bromated flour comes bleached and pretreated with potassium bromate. Loved for its rising and elasticity, here’s a closer look at the defining characteristics of bromated flour.

• Mixing Time

Bromated flour has potassium bromate and other bleaching compounds, which reduce the mixing time by improving oxidization.

As a result, dough reaches elasticity quicker, requiring far less kneading than unbromated flour. The difference is most prominently felt when making the dough by hand.

• Baking Temperature

Recipes using bromated flour give you a dough that’s ready for use as soon as it’s made. There’s no temperature variance and no cooling down of the dough or pastry required before baking.

• Elasticity

Potassium bromate is a flour strengthener, improving the elasticity of dough with less work necessary. Bromated flour ensures uniform bread with a texture that’s the optimal midway between crunchy and chewy. 

• Rising

Bromated flour rises much better thanks to the oxidative benefits of potassium bromate. The rising benefits are one of the main motivators for commercial bakeries using bromated flour.

• Color

All varieties of bromated flour are whiter than unbromated flour. Baked goods come out matt white without any discoloration, granting the same level of whiteness seen in commercial varieties of bread.

• Gluten

The molecular bridges that connect gluten as bread rises are strengthened by the addition of potassium bromate. Gluten levels are typically higher in bromated flour.

• Oxidization

Bromated flour contains the active oxidizing agent Potassium bromate. Oxidizing agents improve the reformation of gluten, leading to fluffier, puffier, better rising bread.

Unbromated Flour

Unbromated flour is a safe, healthier choice. There are no bleach or bleaching agents, so no ppm level to ever worry about.

However, there are a few differences to keep in mind when working with unbromated flour-like its longer mixing time – let’s take a closer look.

• Mixing Time

Unlike bromated flour, there’s no oxidizing agent added to strengthen the dough. As a result, dough made using unbromated flour takes more mixing and a longer mixing duration to reach the same strength and elasticity.

• Baking Temperature

Handling unbromated flour is also difficult because sometimes additional mixing can cause the increased final temperature of your dough, which can be prevented by adding lower-temperature water at the start of mixing.

• Elasticity

Unbromated flour has no added oxidizing agent, which means that there is less gluten reformation and, consequently, less elasticity.

• Rising

With no oxidizing agents added, dough made from unbromated flour rises less.

• Color

The color of both the unbromated flour itself and baked goods made from unbromated flour take on a tinge of cream, developing an off-white color instead of the snow-white color of bromated flour.

• Gluten

Unbromated flour has the lowest concentration of gluten out of all flours but still contains gluten nonetheless.

Aged unbromated flour that’s developed a yellow color has a higher amount of gluten than other varieties, coming close to rapidly matured bromate flour.

• Oxidization

Unbromated flour is untreated and therefore has no compounds that assist oxidization, gluten reformation, rising, and elasticity.

How To Check If Your Flour Is Bromated Or Unbromated?

If your flour doesn’t list whether it’s bromated or not, you’ll need to check the ingredients for potassium bromate.

It’s the only way to tell whether or not your flour is treated without physically opening the all-purpose or other flour package and checking the color to gauge if it’s bleached.

When it comes to which is best between bromated flour vs. unbromated flour – it all depends on how healthy and strict your diet is.