Gloss How-To: Navigate the Flour Shelf

There is also something intimidating about baking from scratch, something basic and fundamental, but nonetheless, daunting: there are many, many different kinds of flour.

If you’ve ever avoided the Baking Needs aisle in favor an Entenmann’s coffee cake because you couldn’t tell the difference between cake flour, whole wheat flour and white whole wheat flour, then read on.

A key ingredient in any dough, crust, bread or pasty, flour comes in many sizes, colors.

All-Purpose Flour: The most ubiquitous flour, all-purpose is milled from the heart of the wheat berry, which contains the lightest color and richest, gluten-producing protein. It is strong enough to stand up to high-rising bread doughs, but also a perfect base for moist cookies, brownies and flaky pastries. You can bake baguettes with all-purpose flour, so light and crusty that you’ll swear you’d been transported to France right from your Midwestern living room.

Whole Wheat Flour: Well known for its nutritional properties, whole wheat flour is milled from the entire grain (including the bran, germ, and endosperm). Since the entire wheat berry is used, the result is flour with a heavier texture and darker color. Start with some whole wheat beer bread.

Cake Flour: No, there’s no law that says you have to bake a cake with cake flour. In some cakes, all-purpose will work just fine. Generally, however, cake flour has a lower protein content that will lend to a lighter crumb and a moister cake. If you don’t believe me, bake snickerdoodle cupcakes and then come back so I can say “I told you so.”

Bread Flour: Similar in appearance to white flour, it’s made from hard, high-protein wheat and has more gluten strength and a higher protein content than all-purpose. The best choice for yeast products, its texture is often lighter producing a finer crumb.

White Whole Wheat Flour: Milled from the high-gluten producing hard white wheat berry, white whole wheat flour has all the nutrition of the whole wheat berry but with milder flavor and lighter color.  It bakes goods lighter in texture than whole wheat flour and a perfect way to sneak whole-grains into your diet. Even in carrot cake cupcakes with lemon frosting.

(Photo Credit: Google Images)