IMPROVEMENTS IN CONVERTING WHEAT OR GRAIN INTO FLOUR AND BREAD AND OTHER ARTICLES OF FOOD
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Gibson Brodie, sometime, of Borneo, and presently
of Glasgow, North Britain, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CONVERTING WHEAT OR GRAIN INTO FLOUR AND BREAD AND OTHER ARTICLES
OF FOOD."
Sealed the 25th January 1878, and dated the 9th August 1877..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Gibson Brodie at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th August 1877.
WILLIAM GIBSON BRODIE, sometime of Borneo, & presently of Glasgow, North
Britain, Merchant. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONVERTING WHEAT OR GRAIN INTO FLOUR
AND BREAD AND OTHER ÅRTICLES OF FOOD."
This Invention relates to the conversion of wheat or grain into flour and bread
and other articles of food in a manner much more economical, and at the same time
retaining a greater amount of the valuable and nutritious elements of the wheat
much more effectually than by any other method at present in use..
The process or processes are described as follows:- -The wheat is first cleansed
of all extraneous substances as perfectly as possible by means of the ordinary or
most approved machinery. It is then once ground and boulted in the usual or
most approved method, the grinding being done either by stones, rollers, or other-
wise, and the boulting by wire, cloth, silk, or otherwise.
The grinding and boulting most suitable for the purposes in view are such as
will produce no more than about 50-sacks of flour of 280 pounds from the grinding
and boulting of 100 bolls of wheet of 240 pounds each.
By the grinding and boulting above described, the produce of the wheat is
separated into, first, fine flour, herein-after destinguished as flour No. 1, and, second,
the entire residue of the wheat, which will herein-after be destinguished as flour No. 2.
The sharps or middlings are then separated from the flour No. 2 in the usual or
most approved methods, and which sharps or middlings will be herein-after des-
tinguished as flour No. 3, and the portion of the wheat thereafter remaining will
herein-after be distinguished as flour No. 4.

page_text: The flour Number 3 is then immersed in water of natural tempereature in the
proportion of about 20 gallons to every 100 pounds of the flour. In this state it is
allowed to remain for any length of time up till about 4 hours, and is stirred
frequently and violently so as to loosen the flour still adhering to the skin or fibrine.
The length of time of immersion and amount of stirring or washing required will
depend a good deal upon the hardness or softness of the kind of wheat operated
upon. Thereafter this flour No. 3, in its wet state, after having been thoroughly
stirred and washed as above described, is passed through sieves of wire or silk
cloth of such size or number as the quality of the bread desired may necessitate.
Passing it through a 60 shot copper-wire cloth is suitable for the purpose required
of making household bread of a fine quality.
In passing it through the sieve, care is taken to extract, by pressure or otherwise,
as much of the liquid contained in the flour as possible. By this operation, the
flour adhereing to the skin or fibrine is loosened and entirely removed along with
the water. The liquid portion left is then allowed to remain undisturbed for a
period of from about 6 to 12 hours, according to circumstances, so that it may settle
and allow the superfluous water to be removed by syphon or otherwise, until the
quantity of water or dampness left is only sufficient to take up and absorb all the
dry flour No. 1.
It is better to remove as much of the water as possible, and, if necessary, add pure
water subsequently in the process of baking. As a gallon of water is about the
usual quantity required to every six 4 pound loaves, care is used not to allow more
than this proportion to be left in drawing off the water for the number of loaves
intended to be produced. The necessity of curtailing these water processes above
described to about the periods named arises from the fact that should the flour so
treated be kept in contact with water much more than the total time of' these
operations, the flour is apt to ferment or become sour.
No departure from the usual methods of baking is necessary, but it is better
that flour No. 3 be used in its wet state for the preliminary processes,
such as
sponging in loaf bread baking, and flour No. 1 added, and thereafter pure water
used to the required extent.
By the use of flours Nos. 1 and 3 combined, bread of great whiteness is produced,
and when bread of the ordinary household colour is desired, then flour No. 4 is
treated in the same manner with water as flour No. 3, and added in the various
stages of baking in place of using water, and pure water thereafter is added to the
extent required. Flour No. 3 is still used in the preliminary processess.
The skin or fibrine, which is the only part of the wheat remaining undisposed
of, may be advantageously used as manure or as cattle food, and, when dried, is
well adapted for all kinds of bedding.
The said Invention and process are also applicable to all kinds of grain and flour,
and for all kinds of plain and fancy bread, biscuits, or cakes, as well as for the
production of the aforesaid manure, cattle food, and bedding.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by.
the said William Gibson Brodie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th February 1878.
WILLIAM GIBSON BRODIE, sometime of Borneo, and presently of Glasgow, North
Britain, Merchant. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONVERTING WHEAT OR GRAIN INTO FLOUR.
AND BREAD AND OTHER ARTICLES OF FOOD."
This Invention relates to the conversion of wheat or of grain of any kind into
flour or bread and other articles of food, in a manner much more economical and
at the same time retaining a greater amount of the valuable and nutritious elements
of the wheat much more effectually than by any other method at present in use.
The process or processes are described as follows:-The wheat is first cleaned of
all extraneous substances as perfectly as possible by the ordinary or most approved
machinery. It is then once ground and bolted in the usual or most approved
method, the grinding being done either by stones, rollers, or otherwise; and the
bolting by wire, cloth, silk, or otherwise.
The grinding and bolting most suitable for the manufacture of loaf bread of good
colour are such as will produce no more than about fifty sacks of fine flour of two.
hundred and eighty pounds each from the grinding and bolting of one hundred bolls
of wheat of two hundred and forty pounds each.
By the grinding and bolting above described, the produce of the wheat is
separated into, first, fine flour, herein-after distinguished as flour No. 1," and,
second, the entire residue of the wheat. From this residue the sharps or middlings
are then separated in the usual or most approved methods, and such sharps or
middlings will herein-after be distinguished as "flour No. 2," and the portion of
the wheat thereafter remaining will herein-after be distinguished as "flour No. 3."
The "flour No. 2" is then immersed in water of natural temperature, in the
proportion of about twenty gallons to every hundred pounds of the flour. In this
state it is allowed to remain for any length of time up to about eight hours, and is
stirred frequently and violently so as to loosen the flour still adhering to the skin
or fibrine. The length of time of immersion and amount of stirring or washing
required will depend a good deal upon the hardness or softness of the kind of wheat
operated upon. Thereafter this flour "No. 2," in its wet state, after having been
thoroughly stirred and washed as above described, is passed through sieves of wire
or silk cloth of such size or number as the quality of the bread desired may neces-
sitate. The finer the bread desired, the finer the bolting cloths and sieves must be..
Passing it through a sixty shot copper-wire cloth is suitable for the purpose required,
as before described, of making household bread of a good color.
In passing "flour No. 2" through the sieves, care is taken to abstract, by pressure
or otherwise, as much of the liquid contained in the flour as possible, and such
quantity of water may be used as may be necessary to clear the sieves of all but
the skin or fibrine intended to be removed. This skin or fibrine may be used in
making biscuits or other kinds of bread by addition of a little dry flour of any quality
desired, or it may be used as food for cattle. By the operation above described, the
flour adhering to the skin or fibrine is loosened and entirely removed along with
the water. The liquid portion of flour No. 2" left is then allowed to remain
undisturbed for a period of from six to twelve hours, according to circumstances, so
that it may settle and allow of the superfluous water to be removed by syphon or
otherwise, until the quantity of water or dampness left is only sufficient to take up
and absorb all the dry "flour No. 1."
It is better to remove as much of the water as possible, and, if necessary, add
pure water subsequently in the process of baking, as the colour of the water used
in washing is deteriorated and darkens the bread. As a gallon of water is about
the usual quantity required to every six four-pound loaves, care is used not to allow
more than this proportion to be left in drawing off the water for the number of

page_text: loaves intended to be produced. The necessity of curtailing these water processes,
above described, to about the periods named, arises from the fact that, should the
flour so treated be kept in contact with water much more than the total time
named of these operations, the flour is apt to ferment or become sour.
No departure from the usual methods of baking is necessary, but it is better
that "flour No. 2" be used in its wet state for the preliminary processes of baking,
such as sponging in loaf bread baking, and "flour No. 1" added, and thereafter pure
water used to the required extent.
The proportions of said products used in the above processes may be stated as
follows: Should the produce of "flour No. 1" be fifty sacks of two hundred and
eighty pounds each, and the produce of "flour No. 2" be sixteen sacks of two
hundred and eighty pounds each, then eighty-nine pounds and three-fifths of a
pound being the relative produce of "flour No. 2," are used in conjunction with
two hundred and eighty pounds of "flour No. 1," and so on in proportion, according
to the quantity of flour desired to be baked.
By the use of "flours Nos. 1 and 2" combined, bread of good color is produced,
and when bread of ordinary household color is desired, then "flour No. 3" is treated
in the same manner and by the same water processes as above described with
regard to "flour No, 2," and used in the similar relative proportions to "flour No. 1,"
according to the produce of the same respectively, and in combination with "flour
No. 1" and "flour No. 2" (instead of using water) in the various stages of baking
in the manner above described, and pure water added when required, as aforesaid;
"flour No 2" may still be used in the preliminary processes. These examples are
given as illustrations of the modes of using the several products of the wheat, but
they may be varied according to circumstances.
Should the "flour No. 1" produced by the first grinding prove to be of inferior
colour for the purpose intended, any kind of flour, although foreign to the process
above described, may be used in place of the "flour No. 1" in the same manner
as above described, in combination with "flour No. 2" and "flour No. 3," or either
of them, with similar profitable results.
The skin or fibrine, which is the only part of the wheat remaining after the
above processes, may be advantageously used as manure or as cattle food, and when
dried, is well adapted for all kinds of bedding.
The said Invention and processes are also applicable to all kinds of grain and
flour, and for all kinds of plain and fancy bread, biscuits, or cakes, as well as for the
production of the aforesaid manure, cattle food, and bedding.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the manner of per-
forming the same, I would have it understood that I claim as my improvements in
converting wheat or other grains into flour and bread, and other articles of food,-
First. The combined processes of grinding the grain, separating the finer flour
from the coarser parts, and afterwards treating the coarse parts with water to
detach the flour from the skin or fibrine, substantially as described.
Second: The manufacture of bread and other articles of food from the products
obtained by the treatment of grain, as herein described, by combining the moist
flour yielded by the wet process with other dry flour, substantially as described.
Third. The improvements in converting wheat or other grains into flour and
bread and other articles of food, substantially as described.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Gibson Brodie, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.