Wheat Flour

Wheat is the bread grain of North India, Pakistan and much of Sri Lanka, but it is milled very differently for each bread. Within our atta and flour department this category brings together chapati atta, multigrain atta, maida and steamed wheat flour.

Chapati atta is hard wheat ground whole, and it makes soft, pliable rotis, phulkas and parathas. Multigrain atta blends wheat with other grains and pulses for a nuttier, denser bread. Maida is finely milled white flour without the bran, used for naan, bhatura, samosa pastry, Kerala parotta and Sri Lankan godamba roti. Steamed wheat flour has been cooked before drying, which Sri Lankan Tamil cooks rely on for pittu, string hoppers and wheat roti.

Match the flour to the bread. For everyday rotis, choose a medium chapati atta; for flaky layered parathas, atta with a little maida works well; for anything leavened or stretched thin, maida alone. Aashirvaad is one of the atta names most Indian households recognise.

Make roti dough with warm water, knead for five minutes until smooth, then rest it covered for at least twenty minutes so the gluten relaxes and the rotis puff on the flame. Keep opened atta sealed, as whole wheat flour picks up damp and smells in a humid kitchen.