Have you ever found yourself stranded in the baking aisle of the grocery store debating which flour would be best for your baking needs? Well, the Wheat Foods Council has developed a two-page document to help with all of your flour-related questions.
From all-purpose to whole wheat, the plethora of flour choices can seem endless and daunting to the inexperienced baker. Flour is arguably the most important ingredient in home baking and deciding which type to use is essential for a successful, tasty product.
So, how can so many different types of wheat flour come from just this one grain? Well, there are six different classes, or types, of wheat. Each class is used for specific purposes to get the best possible finished product. Hard red and hard white wheat is best for yeast breads. Whereas soft wheat is best used in cakes, pastries and other baked goods, as well as crackers and cereal. Durum wheat is the hardest of all wheat and makes the best pasta.
From these six classes, several different flour products are derived. The following is a short summary of some of the most popular flour products.
All-purpose flour: This flour is the most widely used of all flours. It comes from the finely ground part of the wheat kernel called the endosperm, which gets separated from the bran and germ during the milling process. It is made from a combination of hard and soft wheat, hence the term all-purpose. This type of flour can be used universally for a wide range of baked products – yeast breads, cakes, cookies and pastries.
Bread flour: This flour is milled primarily for commercial baking use, but can be found at most grocery stores. While similar to all-purpose flour, it has a higher gluten content, which is optimal in making yeast breads.
Self-rising flour: This is a type of all-purpose flour that has salt and a leavening agent added. One cup contains 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt. Self-rising can be substituted for all-purpose flour in a recipe by reducing salt and baking powder according to these proportions. It is commonly used in biscuits and quick breads or even cookies, but is not recommended for yeast breads.
Whole wheat flour: This flour is milled from the entire kernel of wheat. The presence of bran reduces gluten development; therefore, items baked with whole wheat flour tend to be heavier and more dense than those made from enriched flour. Bakers often add additional gluten to counteract this (one tablespoon/cup of whole wheat flour used).
Click here to see the complete document and additional flour types.
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