Flour
Flour
Every time when I see the word "natural" on any product it sets off an internal alert. But most people are satisfied enough to just buy it because they believe that if product includes the word "natural" it is a good product. A lot of people also confuse the word "natural" with the word "organic", which leads them to even bigger confusion.
You can split flour into these basic categories:
1. Wheat flour:
- Whole wheat flour
- Made from whole wheat kernels which consists of these three parts:
- Bran
- Includes mostly wheat fibers
- Germ
- Nutrient-dense embryo that would sprout a new plant
- Endosperm
- Largest part of the wheat
- White flour from wheat
- Made only from Endosperm
- In the following section, it is referred to as white flour
2. Other kinds of flours:
- Whole grain flour:
- Maid from whole grain kernels or their combinations:
- Wheat, Rye, oat, barley, and more
- Gluten-free flour
- Made from gluten free ingredients such as gluten-free grains (corn, millet, rice, sorghum), nuts, and starches.
- Main purpose of this flour is to replace the regular wheat flour
"Flour made from whole kernels (wheat or any other) is the healthiest flour option."
Is whole wheat/grain flour the only way?
Whole wheat/grain flour is better for your health since it is richer in protein and includes much more fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other goodies compared to regular white flour. While it is great to use as much whole wheat/grain flour as possible, it could be hard to fully replace regular white flour in the kitchen. One of the main reasons for this is that whole wheat/grain flour has lower gluten forming abilities, which means it is harder to reach lofty breads (unless you use specialized whole wheat bread flour). That is why a lot of recipes that call for whole grain flour require a combination with all purpose or bread flour (to prevent dense and not fully developed pastries). But there is great news about white flour as well: you can find nutritious white flour which will be healthy in moderate consumption.
How to select the best possible white flour?
If you select high quality and low processed white flour, you will be able to enjoy a decent amount of nutrients, especially when it comes to protein. Some high quality wheat bread flours, which are not bleached (unbleached) and not bromated (unbromated), can reach up to 15% of protein. How great is it to prepare your bread with white flour, which includes about half of the amount of protein that can be found in chicken!
The bleaching of flour is done to make flour look whiter and softer, which helps you reach a more consistent and fluffier baking product and brings you many benefits in terms of better results. It may sound great, but it is good to know that bleaching is performed by chemical bleach. The majority of nutrients are lost during the bleaching process. Bleach is toxic and is not good for your health. It can cause serious health issues including cancer. This is why the bleaching of flour is prohibited in the European Union.
Bromating flour is used to improve dough strings, allow for higher rising, and help you reach a nice white color aside from other benefits. Again, this is another great sounding idea, but only until you learn that bromating is performed by a toxic additive called Potassium Bromate. Similar to bleaching, the majority of nutrients are lost during this process, and it is also not good for your health. It also can cause serious health issues including cancer (thyroid, kidney, and other types). This is why bleaching is prohibited in the European Union, Canada, China, and many more places.
Knowing the health risks of both of bleaching and bromating and knowing that the majority of nutrients are lost during them, is why I always buy flour which specifically says on its’ packaging "unbleached and unbromated". If it is not mentioned on the packaging, it most often means that they are automatically included. This is my major focus with selecting flour for my family and the major way to make sure that I'm buying highly nutritious ingredients which will not harm my family.
The great news is that you don’t really need the advantages of using bleached or bloated flour. These are used to make baking super easy, but if you are willing to put into your baking a little thought and bake by following any good recipe, you will reach the same great results with unbleached and unbromated flour as with bleach and bromated.
I would like to also mention that the majority of bakers I’ve come in contact with in the U.S., especially larger producers, use bleached and bromated flour to eliminate the need for skilled bakers to be present in the kitchen as well as to improve the consistency of their products. For this reason, I started baking bread from good flour at home on regular basis, and if I buy bread, it is always from a local baker which can prove to me that they use good flour. In my recipes, you will find a great and easy recipe for homemade bread, which tastes great and works really well if you use good flour.
Major kinds of wheat flours:
Cake flour
- White flour that is for tender baked goods such as cakes, biscuits, etc.
- Lowest content of protein usually between 6 - 8%.
Pastry flour
- White flour for pies, tarts, and cookies is the perfect balance between flakiness and tenderness of final products.
- Lowest content of protein usually between 6 - 8%.
All-purpose flour
- White flour that offers the most universal usage and can be used for any baking products.
- Can include up to 12% of protein.
Bread flour
- It is often called also high-gluten flour since it has high gluten form ability.
- Most common bread flour is white flour but you can find whole wheat versions as well (in order to whole wheat flour to be a bread flour it bren parts need to be processed finer so it not cut the gluten strands during rising.
- Great for any kind of pastry using yeasts to rise - bread, cinnamon rolls, buns, rolls, and more
- Can include up to 15% of protein.
Whole wheat flour
- Healthier flour that you can buy for more nutrients.
- Whole wheat flour has lower gluten-forming abilities because the shards of bran in the whole wheat flour tear the strands of gluten during rising (unless it is specialized bread flour which solve that problem). That is why is often recommended to combine whole wheat flour with all-purpose or bread flour while preparing bread and pastry with yeasts.
- Can include up to 14% of protein.
Flour with added ingredients
- You can find flours mixed with other ingredients which are here to make our life a little easier
- Great example of this kind of flour is self-rising flour which has baking powder and salt added.
I personally always have three kinds of flour at home: all-purpose, bread flour (white), and wholegrain. Bread flour is the version that gets used most often because I bake fresh bread and buns a few times a week. When I run out of all-purpose flour, I substitute it with bread flour with no negative results on the quality of the final product. With these three kinds of flour I can bake or cook anything. I also appreciate that having only three kinds saves space in my pantry and prevents the risk of spoiling. The decision of what you use, is up to you and what you like and prefer.
In my recipes I never ask for cake flour or pastry flour since I don't find them substantially beneficial. Instead of these two flours, I use all-purpose flour and still reach great results. If you prefer to bake with both cake and pastry flours, go ahead and modify the recipes - the amount stays the same no matter the flour you use (or you can modify the base based on your own preferences or experience).