The Bread of the Past

In the mediaeval period, flour was bolted through different sieves. This meant that you had six grades of flour ranging from pretty much bran all the way up to what was known as firsts. The stuff you used to make mauncet loaf, or very, very posh stuff that was very, very white. It suited your genteel digestion, which couldn't cope with coarse bran and you didn't want to firt base at least. But now our flour is made from a wheat where effectively every every head of wheat is a clone.