Flour Types and Varieties

Introduction to Flour Types and Varieties

If you hear the word “flour”, and you are like us when we began learning about whole grains, the image that comes to mind is a white powder that you know to be consistently neutral in flavor and predictable in performance. In truth, “flour” is like “love”: a single word standing in for many possibilities.

The differentiation between one variety of flour and another can be subtle, especially considering that the planet is home to tens of thousands of wheat varieties. Flour types, however, are limited and more easily identified:

• Hard Red Winter
• Hard Red Spring
• Soft Red Winter
• Durum
• Hard White Wheat
• Soft White Wheat

Hard Red Winter Wheat and  Hard Red Spring Wheat generally have the highest protein content and are primarily used in baking that requires structure (gluten formation), such as bread. Soft wheats with lower protein are suited to lighter baked goods such as cookies, muffins, and cakes. Durum wheat is high in protein and is primarily used to make pasta.

What follows is a basic introduction to different types of flour, the characteristics that differentiate them from each other, and their recommended best uses.

How to identify whole-grain flour: The linked guide organized by the Whole Grains Council clearly describes how to identify products made from whole-grain flours. In short, if the first ingredient is “whole [grain type] flour,” not “enriched” [grain type] flour, or if the label states “100% whole wheat,” then you can safely believe the product includes 100% whole grain flour.

Whole wheat flour can be milled from any type or variety of flour. What makes a flour whole is the presence of all three edible parts of the wheatberry, either milled whole or milled after each element is separated and then recombined to mimic the natural ratio of the original wheat. Whole wheat flour, if fresh, actually tastes fresh (not rancid) and has a more pronounced texture than refined flour. The texture and taste vary according to the wheat variety, the soil it was grown in, and the milling method used.

Graham flour is a whole wheat flour distinguished by the customary coarseness of the grind. This flour’s fame began in the 19^th century when graham flour introduced a local specialty, southern biscuits. Then as now, farmers added wheat to their crop rotations to restore soil health after the rice harvest. They selected a specific wheat variety, Red May, for its flavor and used it to make biscuits, crackers, and graham crackers.

Bread flour is milled fine and has the highest protein content, providing strong gluten formation. The exact percentage of protein content can differ by commercial brand and, if you use non-commodity wheat varieties, by farm and season.

Durum wheat is a descendent of emmer wheat. It has an attractive golden color and a high protein content, but the gluten it forms is less elastic than bread wheat, making it ideal for pasta.

Semolina wheat is milled from durum wheat and contains the same high protein/high gluten qualities, but semolina is a coarser grind.

Instant flour is often better known by its brand name, Wondra. Introduced by Gold Medal in the 1960s, Wondra is milled fine and used to thicken gravies and soups, coat foods destined for the fryer, and bake into delicate pastries.

Self-rising flour is very similar to all-purpose flour, with the addition of baking powder and salt. In the U.S., southern kitchens often use this flour to achieve their famous flaky biscuits.

Cake flour is a low protein flour (7-8%) milled from the endosperm. It contains a higher starch content than all-purpose flour and produces light and tender products.