I know a lot of people who like to bake. That is: they like to take a box, mix or package of something, dump it into a bowl and mix it with two eggs and a cup of water or oil. I think it’s a great start but if you want to get technical, it isn’t really baking.
It’s assembly. Preparation.
Unless you’re altering the mix or product to be more innovative (think: Cake Pops) it’s hardly the same activity as getting down and dirty with a bag of flour and a few pounds of butter.
I didn’t mean for that to sound inappropriate.
This blog is a family place.
If you’ve ever avoided the Baking Needs aisle in favor something boxed, bagged or frozen because you were intimidated by shelf after shelf of flour at the grocery store, then consider this a personal letter from me to you.
A key ingredient in any dough, crust, bread or pasty, flour comes in many sizes, colors and packages.
Here are a few of the types of flour that almost – if not always – live on the shelves in my cabinet.
All-Purpose Flour
The most common type of flour, all-purpose, is milled from the heart of the wheat berry, which holds the lightest color and richest, gluten-producing protein. You can use all-purpose flour in most recipes, so try it in some unique ones like brie and chive biscuits or peach crumb bars.
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 a super easy recipe for whole grain wheat sandwich bread or whole wheat beer bread.
Cake Flour
Though many recipes that call for cake flour are easily doable with all-purpose flour (hence the “all-purpose” in its name), cake flour has a lower protein content that will lend to a lighter crumb and a moister cake. If you’re ready to get your hands dirty with cake flour, start with a vanilla layer cake or olive oil lemon cake.
Bread Flour
Though it looks very similar to all-purpose flour, it’s made from a hard, high-protein wheat with more gluten strength than it’s counterpart. Because it often produces a lighter texture and finer crumb, it’s a great choice for no-knead refrigerator bread.
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 a milder flavor and lighter color. It produces baked goods with texture lighter than whole wheat flour so for discerning palates, it’s a great way to eat more whole grains.
36 Comments
Mayeda Lane
September 28, 2011 at 3:44 pmHow does the different types of flour affect cookies
Colline
May 29, 2011 at 5:41 pmThank you for the much needed education: I did not realise there was such a difference in flours!
Geni
May 29, 2011 at 10:32 amThanks for the education. My new favorite flour is almond meal, which I suppose isn’t a flour, but I love the texture and layer of flavor it adds to muffins or quickbreads…even cookies.
theUngourmet
May 21, 2011 at 3:43 amGreat info! I learned a lot about flours at a recent baking conference too. I love your photo of the measuring cup! 😉
Nami @ Just One Cookbook
May 20, 2011 at 9:14 pmGreat post for someone like me who don’t bake and get confused by all different kinds! 🙂
Maria @ Scandifoodie
May 20, 2011 at 7:47 amThis is great, especially for when I’m browsing US recipes (as here in Australia they tend don’t really use terms ‘cake flour’ and ‘bread flour’).
Jessica
May 20, 2011 at 11:56 amWhen I use younger I mixed and swamped flours in recipes without anything thinking twice about it. Now i know better when to use what but i love learning the whys and hows of ingredients. Like baking soda and baking powder are the same just have different leavening effects and in some cases/recipes can be interchangeable.
Joanne
May 20, 2011 at 11:46 amI am happy to say that I too have all of these flours sitting on my shelves! And now I actually know the difference between them. Awesome post!
Barbara
May 20, 2011 at 11:12 amGreat informative post on flours, Maris!
Tanvi
May 20, 2011 at 6:34 amWonderful article…I didnt knw the differences in such detail.Thanks for sharing.
Q:- I needed self rising flour today but had no clue how to do it at home.from AP flour .do you have tips for that?
Cakewhiz
May 20, 2011 at 2:37 amthanks for summarizing all this! lately, i have been using unbleached all-purpose flour and i like how it’s working. it’s good to know what other types of flour can be used in baking. i am saving this for future reference 🙂
Bee
May 20, 2011 at 1:22 amI always use all-purpose since I know no better–thanks for the info!
Tara
May 20, 2011 at 1:19 amThanks for the guide! I didn’t know the difference between cake flour, bread flour, and all purpose flour. I would love to try them and see how my baked goods turn out!
Sherilyn
May 20, 2011 at 12:05 amGreat guide Maris. So easy and simple. My little boy was eyeing off the muffin say “me” ” me” when he spotted it in your post. I’m gathering i will be baking in a short moment from now.
Caroline
May 19, 2011 at 10:51 pmGreat post, Maris! And very informative. That banana muffin looks spectacular. 🙂
Tracy
May 19, 2011 at 10:01 pmWonderful and informative post!!
mand
May 19, 2011 at 7:22 pmThanks for this post! I usually have all purpose, whole wheat, and cake flour in my pantry and use them randomly when I’m running low on one or the other.
Gen
May 19, 2011 at 7:06 pmGreat post!!!!! Loved all of these tips!
Kelly
May 19, 2011 at 6:18 pmThis is a fun guide for those who are getting started. Lately I’ve been having a lot of fun with different flours, like the coconut flour I used in the bars I brought to the bake sale:
http://pink-apron.com/2011/05/apple-butter-coconut-crumble-bars/
It’s so much fun to play around and try different things. I agree with you, using a cake mix is more assembly, though I will admit for a long time it was the only thing I knew as baking.
Michelle @ A Voracious Appetite
May 19, 2011 at 5:46 pmThis is a great intro to flour. There are so many different types of flour out there it can get confusing. Thanks for sharing!
marci
May 19, 2011 at 3:07 pmAnother one is whole wheat pastry flour. Flours are really confusing! Now there’s chickpea flour, almond flour, etc. Anything can be ground to a flour. I try not to complicate and just keep AP, WW, and whole wheat pastry in my pantry.
Kate
May 19, 2011 at 3:02 pmThis is such a great post and an awesome guide! I oftentime just use all purpose because I never know what exactly I should buy and waht exactly I should use it for. Thanks so much!
Delishhh
May 19, 2011 at 2:37 pmGreat guide – i didn’t know about cake box mixes until i moved to the US. Always curious how long cake boxes have been around.
Lucy @ The Sweet Touch
May 19, 2011 at 2:30 pmThank you for this guide to flours. I usually just buy whatever the recipe calls for but I never knew the science behind it:)
Nicole@HeatOvenTo350
May 19, 2011 at 2:11 pmWhat a great summary of flour types. It really does make a difference what kind you use in certain recipes.
yummychunklet
May 19, 2011 at 1:57 pmGreat flour rundown! And, sorry I couldn’t stay longer at the bake sale to search you out. I completely forgot about a late lunch with a friend, so I only had time to pop in and out. I’ll definitely have to try and sign up to bake something next year!
Greg
May 19, 2011 at 1:45 pmThe first ever NSFW baking post! Ha, teasing. Such a great round up/tutuorial!
Peter
May 19, 2011 at 1:39 pmI am at war with gluten, so I make biscuit-y type deals with a mixture of rice flour and almond flour.
They are surprisingly edible.
Daryl
May 19, 2011 at 1:36 pmThis is a terrific guide for me. I veer know the difference in flours This is very helpful.
Tara @ Chip Chip Hooray
May 19, 2011 at 1:06 pmAah, thanks for this, Maris! I’ll be honest, sometimes I get frustrated with recipes that don’t just use the all-purpose or whole wheat stuff I’ve always got in my cabinets, but reading about the effects each has on what I’m making is helping me see sense a bit. 🙂 One follow-up question for you–what about pastry flour? I’ve had several recipes call for that, and I’m assuming it falls somewhere in the realm of cake flour…
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
May 19, 2011 at 12:42 pmI used to wonder what cake flour was for the longest time because we don’t really get it easily here. If only I had had a guide like this! 😀
Three-Cookies
May 19, 2011 at 12:39 pmFlour, 2 eggs and cup or oil – whats this the recipe for?:)
Beth @ DiningAndDishing
May 19, 2011 at 12:36 pmI am a terrible baker! But trying to get better. I’m so much better with cooking because the ingredients and measurements do not have to be as precise. This is a useful little guide for sure :).
Vivienne
May 19, 2011 at 12:29 pmi’m trying to incorporate different types of flour in my baking these days! a lot of fun (when things go well heh!) thanks for the informative post – i didn’t know the diff between whole wheat and WHITE whole wheat before!
Erica
May 19, 2011 at 12:26 pmGREAT post! I am an avid baker. I really want to branch out and try some of the other “flours” like chickpea, coconut, etc. Its so much fun to experiment
Nelly Rodriguez
May 19, 2011 at 12:12 pmThis is a great, simple guide to flours! Love it and will share it…