Wheat flour is generally the most adbundant ingredient in baked goods such as cookies and cakes. Most of us know that, but what about the different types of flour? Is whole wheat better or worse than white flour? What about bleached versus unbleached flour? Bread flour? Cake flour? It can be a little boggling, but let's just break it down.
There are generally two types of wheat flours, those made from hard wheat, and those made from soft wheat. The terms "hard" and "soft" designate protein content. High protein flours are milled from hard wheat, and low protein flours are milled from soft wheat.
"Hey, I thought cakes were carb heavy? What's up with all this talk about protein?" I'm glad you asked.
While it is true that wheat flour is very starchy and full of carbs, there are two main proteins contained in wheat flour, glutenin and gliadin. While they are dry, they just hang out being part of the flour. But, when they are combined with water, the two proteins combine to form gluten. And this is the protein of concern when it comes to baking. Gluten is a rubbery, stretchy protein that can form a web within a dough that can trap air bubbles--that's what makes bread rise. The higher the protein content of the flour, the more gluten it can produce when mixed with water, and the tougher and chewier the end product.
Now that you know about the protein in flour, let's get back to our discussion.
 Flours made from hard wheat, and thus higher in protein, are best used in breads.
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Flours made from soft wheat are lower in protein and are best used in making products that need to be tender, such as cookies, cakes and pie crusts. |
Here are the wheat flours that you are most likely to see on the shelves of your grocery store:
Bread flour is made from hard wheat and contains a relatively high percentage of protein. When agitated, lots of gluten is formed, and baked goods made using bread flour are hearty and chewy.
Cake flour is made from soft wheat that has been bleached, and it is one of the lowest-protein wheat flours readily available. The bleaching not only whitens the flour, but it also makes it slightly acidic. This is helpful in baking as an acidic environment hastens protein coagulation. This means that baked goods will "set up" faster.
All purpose flour is made from a combination of hard and soft wheats. It contains enough protein so that you can make a nice loaf of bread but not so much that it yields a chewy cake. As its name suggest, it is "all purpose."
Unbleached all purpose flour has a soft, creamy color and is not as acidic as bleached flours. My all purpose flour of choice is unbleached flour.
Whole Wheat flour is made from wheat that still contains the bran and the germ--it is made from whole kernels of wheat. Since part of the bulk of whole wheat flour is made up of fiber, it contains less protein than an equal volume of white flour. Further, the sharp edges of the bran can cut gluten strands and somewhat impede "riseability." This is why breads made with 100% whole wheat flour tend to be a bit dense and not rise quite as high as breads made from white flour or a combination of white and whole wheat flours.
Interested in buying some specialty flours for baking? I can help. Visit my Essential Baking Ingredients Store.
