This guide to Flour Types and uses will explain the difference between flours. How and why we use different types of flour and explain alternative types of flour available.
It’s is one of those ingredients we use all the time. But are we using the correct type of flour for the dish we are creating? Were not just talking white or brown here but what grain was used in its production. What are the characteristics of the flour we are using? Will it help us? Make things difficult, or just cause an absolute disaster.
Read on and we will aim to solve some of the mysteries. use this guide along with our pages on Making Bread at Home, and What is yeast.
For more flour facts look up fabflour.co.uk and flour.com
What is Flour?
Well, what is flour? A type of flour can be made from many grains, beans, nuts, roots, or seeds. As long as they have enough starch content to allow us to grind them into flour.
Most of the time we are talking about wheat flour but there are many other options out there. For example, rye, spelt, cassava, arrowroot, corn, rice, chickpeas, potato, and nuts.
Each of these flours have there uses but as a baker our primary consideration is gluten. The gluten content of the flour provides strength and elasticity to a dough. While a high gluten content may be an advantage in making a perfect loaf. It would spoil our attempts at making perfect shortbread.
So, what is gluten?
Gluten is formed when two proteins in the flour are hydrated and merged together. The higher the ratio of protein in the grains the more gluten can be formed in a dough. By stretching the gluten (kneading). We can strengthen its elasticity, allowing the dough to rise in the oven without breaking.
If you have ever wondered why your pastry shrinks back as you try to roll it out, it’s the gluten. The dough has been overworked. This toughens the gluten which like an elastic band is pulling back against been stretched. That’s why a lighter hand produces the best pastry and shortbread.
What are the grades of flour?
It’s important to use the correct flour for the job in hand. In British kitchens we refer to cake flour, plain flour, and strong flour. This is simply a useful reference to the amount of protein in the flour.
Cake Flour. 8-9% protein. Not that easy to find now, most people use plain flour as a replacement. If you want to try it out add roughly 15% cornflour to plain flour and sift together. Semolina or rice flour can also be used for a coarser texture. This is quite a common technique in making shortbread.
Plain Flour, 10-12% protein. Readily available and possible the most common flour found at home. Self-Raising flour is simply plain flour with chemical raising agents added.
Strong Flour, 12-16% More commonly used for bread or leavened products. We will cover this in more detail with a later post on bread making.
Flour Types and uses.
White wheat flour.
The everyday flour you will use. This is made by crushing the kernel of the wheat to make flour. The flour is then sieved to remove the outer layers. This process removes flavour from the flour. But been so fine allows for better gluten development.
Most flour is produced on a roller mill which is very efficient keeping costs down. Some flour is still produced by stoneground milling where two millstones are used to crush the grains. This is less aggressive than a rolled mill. And more of the nutrients are retained within the flour and have a better flavour.
Wholemeal flour.
This is flour which contains 100% of the kernel, endosperm, germ, and bran. The bran content produces a coarser texture that white flour. As most of the nutrients in the grain are in the bran the flour is more nutritious than white flour.
Brown flour.
Similar to above but brown flour will contain less bran and may not contain any germ. This will produce a smother, and lighter dough than wholemeal flour.
Rye flour.
One of the best flavoured flours for baking bread. Rye is a grass (like wheat) and has a rich fruity flavour. Bread made with rye flour don’t need as much working as with white flour. This means less work, and a shorter production time.
Semolina.
Basically, an intermediate process in the flour production. Semolina is the coarsely ground endosperm of wheat. This can be found both coarse and fine milled grades. Soft wheat versions are used cooked as a dessert. The classic Durum wheat version been used for the production of pasta and breads.
Durum Wheat produces a high gluten content flour that is difficult to turn into fine flour. And is more commonly found in a semolina version.
European flour grades.
The French and Italians use a grading system to describe their flour. The French have a ‘T, number attached to regulate the ash content of the flour. T110 is a brown flour and as the numbers go down so does the flour’s ash content. This makes the flour finer and whiter. T55 been a common grade to use in kitchens. The flour will be named according to its purpose. So in a French bakery you will see sacks of flour marked croissant, baguette, etc
The Italians again tend to name their flours but grade them differently according to milling and bran content.
They are.
000, very fine flour.
00, fine flour.
0, medium fine flour
Tipo 1, a coarse grade
Tipo 2, very coarse flour
Farina almost straight from the mill, a wholemeal flour.
00 flour is the version banded about on the media and is really an all-purpose flour.
Alternative flours.
Almond flour.
Gluten free almond flour is basically very finely ground almonds. It is possible to make at home by blanching and peeling the almonds. Then dry them off and grind in a food processor.
Chickpea Flour.
Chickpea flour is made as you might suspect from chickpeas.
It’s an extremely useful flour with a mild and slightly sweet flavour. It has both a high protein and fibre content and is very useful as a gluten free alternative.
Corn Flour.
Commonly used to thicken sauces this is made from whole corn kernels, and is gluten free
It can also be mixed with wheat flours to reduce the protein content of the flour in pastry, shortbread, and cakes.
Arrowroot Flour.
As the name may suggest, arrowroot flour is made with the starch of the root of the arrow, a type of tuber.
Mainly used to thicken dishes it gives a clearer, glossier finish that cornflour. It is very low in protein and again gluten free.
Nutritionally it is very high in carbohydrates with minimal amounts of fat and protein.
Acorn Flour.
Not In common use, but with a sweet nutty taste can but used to make breads, muffins, flatbreads, and pastries. Naturally gluten free it is commonly mixed with other flour.
Buckwheat Flour.
Buckwheat flour is ground from buckwheat seeds which are actually a herb. The resulting flour with its earthy flavour is both healthy and again gluten free.
Oat Flour.
Oat flour is a whole grain flour made from oats. Once more the flour is gluten free, (see tips below) Great mixed with other flours and easy to make at home.
Cassava Flour.
Yet another gluten free flour, Cassava flour comes from a starchy tuber called cassava, and it has a nutty and savoury taste.
Chestnut Flour.
Great for desserts, cakes, and pastries this is a very starchy flour with a sweet flavour. While not as well-known as other flours it is gaining in popularity and is a feature of some Italian cooking.
Flour tips.
Removing bran.
A good tip when making a wholemeal loaf is to remove the bran with a fine sieve and set it aside while making the dough. This stops the shards of bran cutting into the dough, which makes gluten development harder. Once the dough has had its initial development the bran can be added back in or dusted on top. So, you still get enjoy the extra flavour and texture of wholemeal flour.
Mixing white and wholemeal /rye flours.
Wholemeal and rye flour have a wonderful flavour, but the bread can be heavy textured and difficult to cut. Adding a proportion of white bread flour to the recipe will give structure and lift to the dough.
Use wet hands when handling rye flour dough.
Baking with rye flour? It makes great bread however it is very sticky and can be difficult to handle.
The best solution to this is to wet your hands and tools with cold water, before handling the dough. This will allow the dough to slide off and not stick.
Beware of allergies.
When using nut-based flours remember to check for nut allergies with your guests.
Get a great Pizza crust.
Use semolina or polenta as a dusting agent when rolling out the dough. When baked you will have a crisp, sandy crust.
Flours with a higher protein content need more liquid.
Remember not to make your dough too dry when bread making. A dry dough will be difficult to knead and will inhibit the creation of gluten.
Beware of gluten free flour types!.
As you will have seen there are a number of Gluten free flours available to us. But beware! Just because the product used to make the flour is in itself, gluten free be careful. It may have become cross contaminated in production or packaging. Be careful to check that the product is certified gluten free before serving to anybody on a gluten free diet.
Enjoy Life!.
John.
©John Webber. 2023