Maida (flour)

[1][2] It is a super-refined[citation needed] wheat flour used in Indian cuisine to make pastries and other bakery items like breads and biscuits.

[citation needed] Maida is made from the endosperm: the starchy white part of the grain.

[3] Although naturally yellowish due to pigments present in wheat, maida is typically bleached, either naturally due to atmospheric oxygen, or with any of a number of flour bleaching agents.

[4] While it is milled from winter wheat that has a high gluten content, heat generated during the milling process results in denaturing of the protein, limiting its use in the preparation of leavened breads.

[6] While it is a minor product of xanthophyll oxidation, there is no evidence that trace amounts of alloxan formed comprise a health risk.