Flour is finely ground grains or starchy portions of plants and has been cultivated since approximately 6000 BCE. In Europe, the most common flour is wheat-based. Flour is used in a wide variety of products, including bread and pastry crusts, which can take a variety of forms, depending on the ingredients used in addition to flour. When mixed with water, flour forms gluten, which creates an elastic structure capable of holding the gas produced by the yeast consuming sugars, giving bread its airy texture.

 

Elizabeth Dyke uses wheat flour to make bread, cake, pies, puddings, and a remedy for a rupture. Dyke uses barley flour for some pudding recipes.