White flour is flour milled from wheat with the bran and germ removed, leaving the starchy endosperm — typically 72 to 74 percent of the original dehusked grain. The result is a fine, pale flour that makes soft, light-textured breads, cakes, and pastries, and keeps far longer than wholemeal because the germ’s perishable oils are gone. The cost is nutritional: refining removes most of the fibre, B vitamins, iron, zinc, and phytochemicals, which is why many countries mandate fortification of white flour with iron, B vitamins, and sometimes folic acid. Some white flour is chemically bleached for extra whiteness; unbleached is creamier but bakes the same.