In any baking, wheat flour is the most common type used, even though there are other choices. On the same, wheat flour comes in different types, and the level of gluten content distinguishes all these types. Gluten is a protein in wheat that provides texture and gives baked products their shape. During kneading, gluten develops, and the dough becomes elastic. Strong flours have a higher gluten content than weak flours. Read on to find out the different types of wheat flour.
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Table of Contents
All-Purpose Flour
All-purpose wheat flour has a moderate gluten amount of around 12 %. The word all-purpose comes from the fact that this wheat flour can be used to make almost all baked products. Whether you want cakes, scones, pastries, or bread, you can comfortably use all-purpose flour. However, professional bakes prefer using specific wheat flour for particular products. All-purpose flour can be bleached or unbleached, which indicates the method used to produce it. Bleached flour means agents like chlorine dioxide and benzoyl peroxide were used to give it the white color. Unbleached all-purpose flour means the flour was allowed to bleach naturally without adding chemicals.
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Self-Rising Flour
Self-rising flour is nothing more than all-purpose flour, only that it has salt and baking powder. This kind of flour is convenient to use in baking. The only issue is that you do not know the amount of baking powder in it. Another issue is that the baking powder loses its strength with time. Therefore, you might have an issue knowing how much is lost and how much you need to add for your products to rise well.
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Whole-Wheat Flour
There are two types of whole wheat flour-white whole wheat flour and 100% whole wheat flour. The latter comes from hulled red wheat and has a high level of fiber and nutrients compared to other types of flour. Whole wheat flour makes heavier baked products and bread. However, the only issue is that its lifespan is shorter. White whole wheat flour has a mild taste and touch.
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Bread Flour
Bread flour falls under the strong flour category, with a high gluten content of around 14%. Bread flour feels coarse and not pure white. Bread flour is the ideal wheat flour for making products like loads, crusty rolls, pizza dough, etc.
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Pastry Flour
Pastry flour has a gluten content of around 10%, making it stronger than cake flour. The flour is best for making cookies, muffins, yeast dough, biscuits, and pie dough. It also has an off-white color, like bread flour.
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Cake Flour
Unlike bread flour, cake flour is soft and has a low gluten content of about 9%. The grains are finer and whiter in color than bread flour. This flour is the best for making pastries and cakes because of its soft texture. Because of the low gluten level, cake flour produces soft baked products like muffins, sponge cakes, layer cakes, and pound cakes.
Wrapping It Up
You should know different wheat flour types if you want to be a good baker. These types dictate the type of baked products you make with them. Therefore, ensure what differentiates them and where to apply each type.