Flour is a substance, generally a powder, made by grinding raw grains or roots and used to make

many different foods. Cereal flour is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for most
cultures. Wheat flour is one of the most important ingredients in Oceanic, European, South
American, North American, Middle Eastern, North Indian and North African cultures, and is the
defining ingredient in their styles of breads and pastries.
Wheat is the most common base for flour. Corn flour has been important in Mesoamerican cuisine
since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas. Rye flour is a constituent of bread in
central Europe.
Cereal flour consists either of the endosperm, germ, and bran together (whole-grain flour) or of the
endosperm alone (refined flour). Meal is either differentiable from flour as having slightly coarser
particle size (degree of comminution) or is synonymous with flour; the word is used both ways. For
example, the word cornmeal often connotes a grittier texture whereas corn flour connotes fine
powder, although there is no codified dividing line.