Flour and water paste. Early civilisations used the paste created by mixing flour and water as an early form of glue. Wheat flour contains a high leve

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Flour and water paste. Early civilisations used the paste created by mixing flour and water as an early form of glue. Wheat flour contains a high level of the proteins glutenin and gliadin which, when added to a liquid and mixed, combine to form gluten. The presence of gluten in a suspension (colloid) with water, creates a sticky, elastic mixture. Heating or drying, de-hydrates the mix and coagulates the gluten. This, along with the starch also present in flour, stabilises the shape of the final product. Some early bricks were made from straw soaked in flour and water paste, which was then baked in the sun.

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Size: 2848px × 4256px
Photo credit: © MARTYN F. CHILLMAID/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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