Flour

  Flour is one of the most common ingredients we use. Flour is a fine powder made from ground wheat or other grains. Flour is the staple ingredient in bread and other baked goods. There are many different flours and if you use the wrong one in a recipe, you may not get the desired results. Below are some of the most common types of flours, their characteristics and uses

All Purpose or A.P. Flour: This is a blend of hard and soft wheat that may be bleached. A.P. flour is the most common and widely used flour. Some of these are bleached and labeled as so; the flour that naturally bleaches itself over time is labeled as unbleached. Bleached flour has less protein and is best used for quick breads, cookies, pie crusts and pancakes. Unbleached is best used for yeast breads, strudels, puff pastry and turnovers.

Cake Flour: Cake flour is made from soft wheat and is very starchy and finely textured. Cake flour has the lowest amount of protein of all flours. Cake flour is chlorinated which leaves it slightly acidic which helps distribute fat evenly through the batter and allows the cake to set faster; this is helpful because it allows the cake to set faster and makes it less likely to collapse.

Pastry Flour: Pastry flour is made with soft wheat and is middle of the road on protein content. Pastry flour yields tender and flakey pie crusts, biscuits, brownies and cookies. Do not use for yeast breads.

Bread Flour: White flour made from high protein wheat. Bread flour is unbleached; the high protein yields more gluten strength thus making it perfect for bread.

Whole Wheat Flour: This flour has the most nutrients and fiber; it is made from the entire grain including bran, endosperm, and germ. The gluten level is fairly low so it is often mixed with bread or A.P. flour when making yeast breads.

Self Rising Flour: Self rising flour is low in protein and already has salt and a leavening agent added to it. Do not use for yeast breads.

Semolina Flour: This is made from durum wheat, the hardest kind with the highest gluten; Used mostly in Pastas

Durum Flour: Finely ground semolina flour.