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Wheat flours are the main ingredient in most bread products. Wheat is rich in gluten, a protein that gives dough its elasticity and strength.
Select wheat flours for bread baking.
When yeast and flour are mixed with liquid and then kneaded or beaten, the gluten forms and stretches to create a network that traps the carbon dioxide bubbles produced by the yeast.1
All-Purpose Flour was developed for the home baker. It is a general all-purpose flour that is useful for cookies, muffins, rolls and some breads. The flour is usually made out of hard red winter wheat and/or soft winter wheat. The flour is usually bleached, malted and enriched.
White Bread Flour typically has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour and is capable of producing breads and rolls of excellent quality. Bread flour is usually made with a greater percentage of hard red winter or hard red spring wheat which have higher gluten content and give the bread dough the elastic quality necessary for greater product volume. Protein levels vary from 10.5%-12.0%. This flour is usually malted, enriched and can be unbleached or bleached. Common applications include breads, pizza crusts and specialty baked goods.
Self-Rising Flour is typically all-purpose flour (flour made from hard red winter or soft red winter wheat) blended with baking soda and salt. The flour is predominantly used for scratch biscuits, pancakes and cookies. Protein levels run from 9.5%-11.5% and the flour is enriched. This type of flour cannot have a very high protein level otherwise baked end-products will not have a light and fluffy texture and will not “relax” during the baking or cooking process.
Cake Flour is usually bleached and of soft texture and smooth feel. It is milled from soft winter wheat. It has a low protein or gluten content, and produces cakes with a tender crumb. Protein content is typically 8.5%-10% and the flour is enriched.
Pastry Flour can be bleached or unbleached and is used for cookies and pastries. It comes from soft winter wheat, and is very starchy. It has a low protein content, and produces pies and pastries with a flaky or tender consistency. Protein content is typically 8.5%-10% and the flour is enriched.
Fine French Bread Flour is mostly used for baking in France. It is an unbleached
light flour that is very fine and free-flowing. A small amount if often added to French bread recipes to reduce the gluten content slightly and achieve the texture associated with French specialty breads.
Whole Wheat Flour is milled from the whole grain. It contains all of the bran and germ from the wheat berry. Most whole wheat are made out of hard red wheat, but hard white wheat is gaining in popularity due to its lighter appearance and naturally sweeter taste. It is used for breads, rolls and some pastries. Because it contains the germ and bran, it retains vital nutrients. It needs to be used fresh, and stored properly as it gets rancid quickly due to the high fat content from the wheat germ. Typical protein levels range from 11.5%-14.0% and most whole wheat flours are enriched.
White Wheat Flour is a new strain of winter wheat that is especially sweet and light colored. It just might be the superior grain. Whole white wheat bread has the vitamins and minerals that normal whole wheat bread has but with a sweeter more appealing taste and texture. It can be used as a substitute
for all-purpose flour because of its light flavor and lighter texture.
High Gluten Flour has the highest gluten content of all the wheat flours used for baking. This flour comes from Hard Winter or Spring Wheat, and has a gluten content from 12-13%. This flour is used for dough that needs extra strength and elasticity such as pizza, focaccia, mullet-grain breads and Kaiser rolls.
Vital Wheat Gluten is flour milled from the pure gluten derived from washing the wheat flour to remove the starch. The gluten that remains is dried, ground into a powder and used to strengthen flours lacking in gluten, such as rye or other non-wheat flours.
Brown Bread Flour is flour that contains about 80-90% of the wheat kernel, with some of the bran removed. You can use brown bread flour instead of whole-wheat flour to produce a loaf with a lighter finish. It will have a denser texture and more flavor than white bread.
Granary Flour is a combination of whole-wheat, white and rye flours mixed with malted wheat grains. Use this flour to add texture and a flavor that is slightly sweet and nutty.
Spelt Flour is rich in nutrients and is made from spelt grain. Spelt is an ancient grain that dates back to about 5000 BC, when it was first cultivated in the region now called Iran. A kernel of spelt looks like a large grain of rice.3
This flour is best used with white bread flour. Even though it does contain gluten, spelt seems to be tolerated by most wheat-sensitive people.
Semolina Flour (or durum flour) is cream- to canary yellow – colored. It is a high gluten flour that is made from the endosperm of durum or hard winter wheat before it is fully milled into a fine flour. It is traditionally used for making pasta; however, it also makes a nice bread if combined with other flours. The loaf is generally very heavy if only semolina is used.
Kamut Flour is an ancient relative of durum wheat, twice the size of common wheat, with 20 to 40% more protein, higher in llipids, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. It is a delicious, sweet alternative for all products that now use common wheat.2
Rye Flour has a strong, earthy flavor and contains a small amount of gluten. Whole-grain rye in the form of groats or berries is ground into light, medium, and dark rye flours and pumpernickel flour, the coarsest rye meal. Rye grows well in climates that are cold and wet and not suitable for wheat cultivation. Rye dough is very sticky and hard to handle. If rye is used on its own, it produces a very heavy bread so it’s better to combine it with other flours.
Sources:
1 Copyright © 2007 – ACH Food Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
2www.kamut.com
www.FLOUR.com<br>
Copyright © 1999 Mosher Products
Copyright 2005. U.S. Wheat Associates. All Rights Reserved.
Shapter, Jennie. Bread Machine – How to prepare and bake the perfect loaf. Hermes House 2003.
www.thewondermill.com
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