flour

I’m a bit of Jane-come-lately to the whole wheat flour party. While I’ve always enjoyed the heartiness of a great loaf of whole wheat bread, other baked goods made with whole wheat flour always brought to mind hockey pucks rather than delicate treats. But, thanks to better availability of all kinds of specialty flours, including different types of whole wheat flours, those old assumptions are falling by the wayside.

Of course, there’s a nutritional advantage to using whole wheat flour. It’s a whole grain, because the flour is milled for the entire wheat kernel and includes:

The bran, a source of fiber, B vitamins, minerals and protein
The germ, which is also high in protein, vitamins, minerals and fats. Because whole wheat flours have some fat in them, they can turn rancid; store them in the freezer.
The endosperm, which is the white, starchy portion of the kernel. Refined white flours–like all-purpose, bread flour, pastry flour or cake flour–are milled from the endosperm and have been stripped of the nutrient-rich bran and germ.

These days, you’ll find a range of whole wheat flours at health food stores (especially in the bulk bins) and even at your local supermarket. To learn more about the differences between these flours, I talked to Suzanne Cote, a spokeswoman for King Arthur Flour. Here are the different types you’ll find:

Whole wheat flour. This is milled from hard red spring wheat, which gives it a characteristic dark color and assertive flavor (some call it nutty, others find it bitter). It’s a “strong” flour, meaning it’s high in protein. That gives baked goods structure, which is great for a hearty whole wheat bread but can make more delicate items like muffins or cookies tough.

White whole wheat flour. Milled from hard white spring wheat, this flour has a creamier color, softer texture and milder flavor than regular whole wheat flour. Yet, “the fiber and nutrition are very similar,” says Cote. It’s also a high-protein flour, so it’s a good candidate for breads and doughs. It has become my go-to whole wheat flour, and I love using it in pizza dough.

Whole wheat pastry flour. Sometimes also called graham flour (which refers to the grind), this is made from soft white winter wheat, so it has less protein than regular or white whole wheat flour. Use this for tender baked goods, including cookies, muffins, brownies and snack cakes.

But you don’t have to banish all-purpose flour from your kitchen. “Depending on what your application is, you can play with different wheat flours” says Cote. “There’s nothing wrong with blending.”

If you’re adapting an existing recipe, start by substituting a whole wheat flour for one-quarter to three-quarters of all-purpose, Cote suggests.

“The thing to remember about whole wheat flour is that it’s a really thirsty flour compared to all-purpose,” she adds. If your batter or dough looks a bit dry, add a little more liquid.

Armed with this knowledge, I’m happy to use whole wheat flour in a lot more baked goods. Is it ideal for everything? No. You’d still want to use highly refined cake flour, for example, to make a lighter-than-air angel food cake. But for everyday baking–cookies, quick breads and these muffins–I’ll turn to whole wheat.

Mention “flour,” and I think of the stuff made from wheat. But if cooks don’t live in a wheat-cultivating region–or can’t eat wheat products–they rely on flour milled from rice, nuts, beans and other raw ingredients.

flour-power-think-beyond-wheat Many of those so-called “specialty” products are going mainstream, thanks to the growing ranks of consumers diagnosed with celiac disease (also known as gluten intolerance). The gluten-free market is projected to balloon to $6.6 billion in sales by 2017.

I’m not gluten intolerant, but I appreciate the increased availability of intriguing new ingredients turning up on supermarket shelves, in health-food store bulk bins and, as always, tucked away in ethnic markets.

But there’s a caveat to using these flours: The gluten in wheat flour gives baked goods structure, so you can’t simply swap out wheat flour for gluten-free flours in recipes and expect the same results. If you’re gluten intolerant you’d use a blend of gluten-free ingredients (or pick up a box of gluten-free baking mix) to mimic the qualities of wheat flour. Others without intolerance can sub some of the wheat flour in a recipe with one of these specialty flours (The Cook’s Thesaurus has a great guide to subbing specialty for wheat flours).

Here are three types of specialty flours. Please note: these are ideas for cooks like me, who aren’t gluten intolerant but are curious about what these ingredients can bring to our cooking. If you have celiac disease, check out Shauna James Ahern’s blog Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef.

Nut flour

These have a finer texture than nut meals, but they can be used in many recipes that call for nut meal. Almond flour is the most common type, but you’ll also see flour made with hazelnuts and chestnuts. They have a high fat content and can go rancid quickly, so store them in the freezer.

Try it: These flours add deep, nutty flavor and moisture to baked goods. Substitute for up to a quarter of the all-purpose flour. Nut flours also are a tasty way to thicken sauces.

Rice flour

Rice flour can be milled from white, brown, red or any variety of rice, and it has a long tradition throughout Asia, from India to Japan. Brown rice flour has a nutty quality whereas white rice flour is more neutral.

Try it: Rice flour lends baked goods a crumbly texture, which you can use to your advantage–in shortbread, for instance, which should be crumbly, or to create a tender crumb in cakes. Substitute rice flour for a quarter of the all-purpose flour in baked goods. Use starchy Japanese mochiko (made from glutinous short-grain rice) as a thickener.

Bean flour

Visit any Indian market and you’ll be blown away by the variety of flours milled from beans and other legumes, which are used in baked goods. These days, you’ll find chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour in many supermarkets, too. Bean flours add and earthy, well, beany flavor to food.

Try it: I used chickpea flour to make this socca, a Provencal street-food snack. It’s also a key ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking for falafel and is ideal for making a super-smooth hummus. As with nut flour, bean flour is a terrific to thicken a sauce. Robin Asbell’s terrific new book, Big Vegan, uses chickpea flour in a number of creative ways, including a sauce for terrific vegan mac ‘n’ “cheese.”

There’s a whole world of wheat flours, too, and we’ve tackled in The Whole Story on Whole Wheat Flours. In the meantime, try this simple socca. Viva la France!

Tag Archives: flour

The Whole Story on Whole Wheat Flour

Flour Power: Think Beyond Wheat