The literature on the role of chlorine treatment of flour for use in high-ratio cake production is discussed in relation to current knowledge of cereal chemistry and cake technology. A brief perspective of the present use of chlorine in high-ratio cake flours is included. Investigations of the uptake of gaseous chlorine by flour and its distribution among and chemical action upon the major flour components (water, protein, lipid, and carbohydrate) are assessed. The physical effects of chlorination as demonstrated by experiments with batters and cakes and by physicochemical observations of flour and its fractions are also considered. The characteristics of the starch in flour appear to be critical in high-ratio cakes. Chlorine treatment modifies the gelatinization behavior of the starch granules yet does not change their gelatinization temperature not is there evidence of chemical attack upon the starch molecules. Therefore, it is suggested that chlorine effects the necessary changes in starch behavior by reacting with the noncarbohydrate surface contaminants on the granules. Alternative methods of improving high-ratio cake flours are mentioned, particularly heat-treatment processes.

Starch was extracted from wheat by a wet‐grinding process and purified by differential centrifugation followed by shaking with toluene and water. The contrast in pasting, surface and baking properties between dried impure, and dried purified, samples of the starches shows that the surface properties of the granules are profoundly affected by the presence of indigenous “non‐starch material”. These effects can be eliminated by utilizing the non‐dried starch, or by removing such non‐starch material by shaking with toluene prior to drying the granules.