HC Deb 17 October 1944 vol 403 c2234W
Sir E. Graham-Little

asked the Minister of Food what are the ingredients of the new national loaf; what proportion of the wheat grain and the wheat germ respectively is retained in the flour from which it is prepared; and what proportion of this flour goes into the composition of the loaf as compared with other ingredients.

Colonel Llewellin

Apart from water, yeast, salt and various improvers which are the recognised adjuncts of bread baking, the national loaf is made from national flour, which is milled solely from a pure wheaten grist except in a few areas where the inclusion of 2[...] per cent. rye is authorised. Imported white floor is being mixed into national flour at the rate of 5 per cent. of the output, and calcium is added at the rate of 7 oz. per 280 lb. of flour. In addition, the baker may use potatoes, potato flour and fat as permitted in the Bread (Control and Maximum Prices) Order, 1943. With regard to the second part of the Question, from 1st October the extraction of national flour from wheat has been 82½ per cent. and when milling to this figure approximately 75 per cent. of the available germ is retained in the flour. With regard to the last part of the Question, approximately 97 per cent. of the dry ingredients of national bread is flour.