A comprehensive guide to common wheat flours found in grocery stores: what they are, how they're different, and how to choose the right one for whatever you're cooking.
flourpedia.com - As a practiced baker, I usually walk down the baking aisle at the supermarket with confidence. I know which flours I need and which brands I prefer. But over the last few months, faced with shelves devoid of my usual go-to flours, like good old all-purpose and bread, I’ve been left wondering what I can bake with the flours that are left, such as whole wheat, self-rising, and instant. I know I’m not the only one.
This moment serves as the perfect opportunity to explore flour in depth
and to demystify the flours you’ll find on supermarket shelves. All wheat
flours are not created equal: Each flour has its own distinct qualities, from
its protein content and how finely it’s ground to the variety of wheat it’s
milled from, all of which affect the way it acts once made into a batter or
dough. I’m going to break down the differences and show you, the home baker,
which sack of flour to reach for, and when.
What Is Wheat?
Before diving into the similarities and differences between various wheat flours, it’s helpful to understand a little more about the grain they’re made from. Wheat is a type of grass plant that produces ears of grains—rows upon rows of seeds wrapped in papery husks (the chaff), which, over the last 10,000 years, humans have learned to cultivate, harvest, process, and transform into breads, noodles, fried doughs, and so much more.
Much like corn, you need to strip wheat grains of their husks in order to render them edible (or at least digestible). Wheat plants are considered mature when they turn a golden color, similar to straw. At that point, the stalks are cut and gathered into sheaves, or bunches, to dry as they ripen. Once dry, the stalks are threshed, loosening the grains, then winnowed, using air movement to separate the grain from the chaff (some less common varieties of wheat, like spelt, emer, and einkorn, have an inedible hull that also needs to be separated from the grain and removed). The resulting grains can be eaten whole—the stuff you'll find in a wheat berry, farro, or spelt grain bowl, for instance—or they can be processed further.
If you look closely at one of these whole grains, you’ll first notice a dark outer covering. This fibrous, protective outer layer is known as the bran and it’s loaded with B vitamins, a high amount of dietary fiber, and a good amount of protein. Peeling away the bran reveals the endosperm, which constitutes almost 85% of the kernel. It's composed largely of starch and protein, and serves as the food source for the germ, or embryo, hidden within. Comprising just 2.5% of the kernel, the germ is rich in essential fatty acids, protein, minerals, and vitamins B and E. Under the right conditions, the germ can sprout, or germinate, and grow into a plant, beginning a new cycle of life.
For our purposes, though, we’ll be talking about what happens when you
mill that wheat (whether bran-on for whole wheat, or bran-off for white flours)
into a powdery product known as—you guessed it!—flour. you can find more about wheat and kernel composition here
How Wheat Becomes Flour?
Though evidence exists that hunter-gatherers were bashing seeds into
flour at least 32,000 years ago using a rudimentary process akin to pounding
ingredients in a mortar and pestle, we can generally say that there are two
prevailing methods for milling wheat into flour: stone milling and roller
milling.
Why Protein Matters?
It's crucial to take protein level into consideration when considering the perfect flour for a recipe.* Bread flour typically has a protein content of 12-14%, all-purpose ranges from 9-12%, pastry flour contains 8-9%, and cake flour has about 7-8%.
*Flour labels aren’t very forthcoming with information about exact protein content or wheat variety. To find this, you’ll need to dig deeper and go directly to the producer's website.
These protein percentages are an indicator of the gluten-potential of any given flour. Gluten, formed when wheat flour is mixed with water, accounts for the structure and texture in baked goods and breads. In general, the higher the protein content, the more gluten the dough can potentially develop.** This does not mean that high-protein flour is better than low-protein; rather, different types of flour are better suited for different purposes. At Serious Eats, we stress that "choosing the right flour is by the far the most important decision you’ll make when it comes to how much, if any, gluten you want."
**One exception to this is whole wheat flour, which has a protein content between 11 and 15%. Although it contains plenty of protein, the presence of sharp, fibrous bran particles affects the final volume of the dough by tearing strands of gluten. That’s why 100% whole wheat bread can be incredibly dense.
High-protein flours perform well in airy, crusty loaves, but can spell
disaster for tender biscuits. Low-protein flours lack the protein needed for
chewy bagels and are best suited for tender and fluffy cakes.
Common Types of Wheat Flour
For the purposes of this guide, I’m focusing on the most widely available bread and durum wheat flours in the US.* In general, you should try to use the exact type of flour called for in any recipe, especially if you're not an experienced baker. That said, experimentation with different flours can be fun and educational; just know a recipe may not work as expected if you deviate from its specifications.
*I specifically chose to avoid the inclusion of other wheats—einkorn,
emmer, spelt, khorasan—in this guide since they aren't typically available at
supermarkets and may need to be purchased directly from a miller. GrinderFinder is a great tool for sourcing these rarer flours in the US.
Whole Wheat Flour
Whole wheat flour makes up only 6% of all flour produced in the United States. Milled from hard red wheat, its protein content ranges from 11-15 percent. Much of the whole wheat flour you find at the supermarket has been processed in a steel roller mill: the three edible parts of the grain are separated, milled, and then recombined to approximate the natural ratio in the wheat kernel. Since it contains the germ and bran, it's darker in color, more assertive in flavor, and has a shorter shelf life (due to the bran and germ’s propensity towards rancidity). It works well in heartier recipes, like carrot cake, gingerbread, and crackers, where its rich flavor and coarser texture are welcome additions. It can also be mixed with all-purpose or bread flours to create breads that have a lighter wheat flavor and a less dense crumb. We recommend King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour, a national brand that is widely available.
Graham flour, named after Dr. Sylvester Graham, a prominent figure in the early nineteenth century health food movement, is a type of whole wheat flour that has a slightly coarser grind. With its nutty and sweet flavor, it works well in graham crackers and pie doughs. Whole wheat and graham flours can be used interchangeably in recipes, so if you have one or the other, don’t be shy about substitution.
Then there’s white whole wheat flour. Wait, how can it be white and whole
wheat? White whole wheat flour is milled from hard white wheat, with a protein
content around 13%. It contains the edible parts of the whole kernel, meaning
it’s as nutritious as whole wheat flour. It’s lighter in flavor and color and
works well in recipes that call for whole wheat or graham flour. Several
commercial mills (Heckers & Ceresota Flour, King Arthur Flour, and Gold
Medal) produce white whole wheat flour.
To ward off rancidity, whole grain flours should be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to six months, because cool and dark conditions with the least amount of exposure to moisture and air slow down oxidation.
Bread Flour
Of the refined wheat flours, bread flour—milled from hard red spring,
hard red winter, or a blend of both hard wheats—has the highest protein
content, ranging from 12-14 percent. Its high protein content contributes to
strong gluten potential. When mixed with water, a gluten network emerges
(absent any bran and germ that can tear stands of gluten) and does a fantastic
job of trapping gas bubbles and forming air pockets, leading to a strong,
elastic dough that will yield open, airy breads with a chewy texture. If you’re
interested in baking bread, dinner rolls, and bagels, make sure to keep a bag
of widely-available King Arthur Bread Flour on hand. We recently tested
combining vital wheat gluten with all-purpose flour as a substitution for bread
flour, and in a pinch, it will work.
Durum
Known as macaroni wheat or semolina, durum wheat (Triticum turgidum) is in the family of wheat but is a different species from bread wheat. Descended from emmer, it’s a hard wheat with a high protein content that hovers at 13 percent. Although it contains a lot of protein, it lacks a specific set of DNA found in bread wheat, which makes the gluten it can develop more extensible and inelastic. This isn’t great for bread but it’s perfect for pasta. Its golden color comes from high concentrations of carotenoids, or pigments, which give the wheat a lovely, deep yellow hue.
Durum wheat flour is sold at different levels of coarseness. Coarsely
ground semolina is commonly used for desserts, couscous-like pastas, and
sometimes to prevent doughs from sticking to surfaces (pizza peels and sheets
of fresh pasta are often dusted with semolina for this reason). Medium grind
semolina flour is used to make Roman-style gnocchi, and pasta dough for shapes
like orecchiette. Finely ground semolina flour, labeled "semola
rimacinata," can also be used for pasta, but is primarily used in baking,
for bread and focaccia doughs.
00 (Doppio zero) Flour
Italian "doppio zero" (double zero) flour, is highly sought after for pizza, flatbreads, focaccia, and pasta. (Italian flours use a grading system of 00, 0, 1, and 2, in which the numbers correspond to the fineness of the grind and the amount of bran and germ removed. On one end of the spectrum is Type 2, which is the coarsest flour containing the most bran and germ. On the other end of the spectrum is Type 00: it has the finest grind, a powdery texture, and contains very little of the bran and germ.)
Within Type 00, protein content fluctuates between 11.5 to 13% because of the proprietary blend of wheats used. Mulino Caputo, an Italian miller of flours that you can find in the US, produces a wide range of 00 flours, each of which are formulated for different purposes. Their 00 flours are labeled specifically for fresh pasta and gnocchi, for cakes and pastry, for long fermentation doughs, and for pizza. However, the ones you’ll mostly see in the United States are their Pizzeria flour in a blue bag or The Chef’s Flour in a red bag.
Both are highly desirable when making a traditional Neapolitan pizza. While you can substitute bread flour or all-purpose flour (neither of which aremilled nearly as fine), or even King Arthur’s Italian-style flour (theirversion of 00 flour, which has a low protein content of 8.5%), it won’t produce quite the same results.
All-Purpose Flour
With its moderate protein content of 9-12%, all-purpose flour lives up to its name as the most versatile type of wheat flour available.
That isn't to say that all all-purpose flours are interchangeable, and they aren't suitable for all things. The protein content of each depends on the brand and the type of wheat used. King Arthur and Hecker’s all-purpose flours are milled from hard wheats, resulting in a higher protein content ranging from 11.4 to 11.7%, edging them up into the bread-flour domain. These flours are great for making bread and pizza, but their increased gluten potential makes them less appealing for delicate pastry doughs and batters.
Gold Medal and Pillsbury all-purpose flours blend hard and soft wheats, yielding a mid-range protein level of around 10 to 11%—perfect for cookies, pancakes, and pie dough, but also capable of producing a passable loaf of bread. White Lily uses soft wheat and has approximately 9% protein, making it closer in protein content to pastry flour than other all-purpose flours, and thus better suited for use in pastries and biscuits than in bread doughs. For these reasons, we recommend stocking Gold Medal’s Blue Label as a standard all-purpose flour because it provides a mix of protein and starch that we find to be the most versatile for a wide range of recipes.
Instant Flour
If you’ve heard of Wondra, then you’re acquainted with instant flour. Introduced in the 1960s by Gold Medal Flour, Wondra is made by a process called pregelatinization, in which low-protein flour is pre-cooked, dried, and milled into a super-fine powder. While it’s mostly used to instantly dissolve into any hot or cold liquids (no more lumpy gravy!) and as a coating for fried meat, fish, or vegetables because it produces delicate, crispy crusts, that’s only the beginning. Julia Child recommended using it in crepe batter in The Way to Cook as a way to eliminate the rest time, since Wondra doesn’t need time to hydrate. In The Baking Bible, Rose Levy Beranbaum uses it to create sponge and angel food cakes, since Wondra yields a tender crumb.
Pastry Flour
Ground from soft red winter or soft white wheats, pastry flour occupies a happy place in between all-purpose and cake flour. Its mid-level protein content (8 to 9%) strikes the right balance in baked goods and pastries that call for structure, flakiness, and tenderness, like cookies, danishes, and tart shells. Although primarily used by professional bakers, Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur Flour make pastry flours that are available to home bakers. If you’re new to pastry flour and are looking for a place to start baking with it, I recommend exploring Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur Flour’s recipe databases, which you can find here and here.
Self-Rising Flour
Self-rising flour arrived in the US from England in 1849 but rose to prominence in Southern kitchens as a result of the founding of the White Lily brand in Tennessee in 1883. In the US, self-rising flour is traditionally made from low-protein wheat grown in the South, which is likely why biscuits emerged as aSouthern food staple; the ideal wheat was readily available for making those light, fluffy biscuits. What sets it apart from all-purpose flour is that baking powder (a leavening agent) and salt (a gluten strengthener) are pre-mixed in. Be aware that this flour has a shorter shelf life—the baking powder becomes less effective over time—and should be used within six months of purchase.
Cake Flour
Cake flour is milled from the innermost part of the endosperm of soft wheat. It has a higher percentage of starch and the least amount of protein (7-8%) when compared with other wheat flours, which keeps cakes delicate. You can buy both unbleached and bleached cake flour, but remember that the process of chlorination improves the baking properties of soft wheat flour by weakening gluten and lowering pH. Bleached cake flour churns out cakes that are moist and light as it’s capable of holding more sugar, butter, and additions such as nuts, fruit, or chocolate; unbleached alternatives, on the other hand, willoften fall flat. We call for bleached cake flour exclusively in angel food cake, pumpkin spice cake, strawberry cake, and blackberry cake.
Our favorite brands are Swans Down and Softasilk, the most commonly available chlorinated cake flours. Note that although cutting all-purpose flour with cornstarch is a widely used substitute for cake flour, it may not provide the best results. The addition of cornstarch can soak up moisture in the batter, producing an angel food cake, for example, that bakes up heavy and dense.
Title : From AP to 00: A Guide to Common Wheat Flours
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