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What Makes a Grain “Whole?”
A whole grain is the entire seed of a cereal
plant, containing bran, germ, and endosperm.
To say something is “whole grain” means that
it’s consumed in its whole, intact state, or is
cracked, rolled, or ground, without any of its
three component parts removed.
Most grains share the same basic structure,
so to make things easy, I’ll use wheat as my
example. A grain of wheat is pretty small, and
to most people, fairly unfamiliar, in terms of its
makeup. To better illustrate its anatomy, which
is paramount to your understanding of making bread, I like to compare its structure and
physiology with something much more familiar:
an egg. It’s not a perfect analogy, but once you
see it, I don’t think you’ll ever forget it or be confused by it again.
As you know, an egg has three parts: the shell,
yolk, and white. These parts directly correlate to
the three parts of a wheat berry (kernel), which
are the bran, germ, and endosperm. Now, let’s
add just one more “body” part to each item: the
egg carton that the eggs are sold in, and the
husk that encases each grain. So far, our comparison looks like this:
• Egg carton = Husk
• Egg shell = Bran
• Egg yolk = Germ
• Egg white = Endosperm
Shell
Husk
White
Endosperm
Yolk
Bran
Carton
Germ
Egg
Wheat
Keep this in mind as we talk about the function
of each part of the grain.
The husk, sometimes called a hull, is simply
packaging, like the egg carton. It holds the
grain in place on the stalk, but is discarded
after harvest. It’s a paper-like substance that
blows away in the wind, called chaff. I mention
this part for two reasons. When shopping for
grains, some types will be labeled as hulled,
and I want you to know what it means. Anytime
you see that, it’s okay, because hulls are the
inedible part. Second, when you get your grain
home, there will sometimes be kernels in it that
are still encased in their husks, or have pieces
of husks interspersed. Just pull those out and
discard them.
Next comes the bran, which is the equivalent
of the eggshell. Well, almost. Here’s where
the analogy isn’t 100% accurate, because you
definitely want to consume the bran, but you
don’t eat eggshells (unless you’re a very bad
cook). But look at the function of the shell. It
holds the egg intact, protecting the interior.
That’s what the bran does too. It’s made up
of several thin layers, similar to your skin, and
serves to protect the wheat, holding all of the
nutrition intact until it’s broken open by milling
Getting to Know Grains & Flours
19