I’ve been learning a bit about whole wheat lately, particularly whole wheat flour, and I thought I’d share some of what I have known for a while along with some of the new things I’ve learned. (I’m dividing this topic into several parts since it seems there are so many different aspects of it, so stay tuned for more!)
There are a few types of whole wheat flour that I might have in the pantry at any given time – “normal” whole wheat flour, white whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour. “Normal” whole wheat flour is milled from hard red wheat and is (by my definitions, at least) a medium fineness of grain. In our house it is used mostly for yeast breads, though I’m sure it’s great for other things, too. White whole wheat flour is ground from hard white wheat and has a milder flavor than flour ground from hard red wheat. Unless it’s specified as pastry flour or another type of flour, white whole wheat flour has the about same texture as “normal” whole wheat flour, and we use it for yeast breads as well.
Whole wheat pastry flour, on the other hand, is ground from soft white wheat and is a much finer-textured as well as milder tasting flour. We use it for all kinds of quick breads (i.e., breads that don’t use yeast, like banana and zucchini) and in cakes, cookies, desserts, etc. The texture is similar enough to unbleached “all-purpose” white flour that it is an easy one-for-one substitute. I tend to prefer whole wheat pastry flour for its flavor as well as for the (relative) steadiness of my blood sugar after I’ve eaten cookies or other sweet treats made with whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour.
In addition to flavor and texture differences, there’s also a difference in protein and gluten amounts in each of these types of whole wheat flour, which I’m sure is what makes them better or worse for different uses. I think it suffices, though, to say that “normal” whole wheat or white whole wheat flour is great for recipes using yeast, and whole wheat pastry flour is great for recipes without yeast.
Something to note when substituting whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour in a recipe is that sometimes you will need to increase the liquid in the recipe just a tad to get the right wetness of your dough since whole wheat flour tends to absorb liquid a little more than refined all-purpose flour. I generally don’t have to do this in my quick breads (no yeast) or things that are not made largely of flour. Yeast breads, however, seem to be a little more tricky and finicky about the wetness of the dough, so you’ll need to pay more attention to those.
Part 2: the nutrition of freshly ground whole wheat flour, or why I’d love to have (or have access to) a grain mill.
