Heat-treated flour

A method for creating heat-treating flour comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a flour;
• b) thermally dehydrating said flour such that a moisture content of said flour is reduced to 1.5 to 4.1%, said flour is not gelatinized during said step of thermally dehydrating said flour, to obtain a dehydrated flour;
• and,
• c) heating said dehydrated flour at a temperature of 330F or less while maintaining the moisture content of said dehydrated flour at 1.5% or above to obtain said heat-treated flour;
• wherein at least 7% of a total amount proteins in said heat-treated flour are denatured and said heat-treated flour includes discernible starch particles,
• said heat-treated flour exhibiting an increase in moisture absorption of at least 3% relative to untreated flour,
• said heat-treated flour is not gelatinized during said step of heating said dehydrated flour,
• said heat-treated flour having a water activity (Aw) of up to 0.45,
• steps b) and c) are carried out as two discrete unit operations,
• a particle size distribution of said heat-treated flour is such that greater than 80% of particles are between 90 and 150 microns,
• said step of heating said dehydrated flour carried out in a separate heating apparatus and at a different temperature, a different period of time, or combinations thereof from a heating apparatus used in said step of thermally dehydrating said flour.