Flummoxed by Flour and all the different terms?
The most widely used type of flour is wheat flour. It is made by finely grinding wheat grains to a fine powder.
The difference between wholemeal, brown and white flour is the percentages extracted from the wheat at milling.
Wholemeal/wholewheat flour is made from the whole wheat grain, nothing added, nothing taken away, and is the highest in fibre and nutrients.
Brown flour generally contains 85% of the original grain. White flour generally contains 75% of the wheat grain.
Wheat grains contain proteins, that go on to form gluten, when the flour is mixed with water. Gluten is like a net that holds together the bread structure and helps dough to rise when heated, by trapping gas bubbles ( carbon dioxide, CO2 ).
Essentially, it is down to protein content i.e. the capacity for gluten development that determines what flour we use in our baking. The power is in the protein!
We welcome many visitors from the US to the Irish Soda Bread Way and are often asked what is the equivalent flour available in America. It can be confusing for us all! We will attempt to demystify it somewhat!
Plain Flour/ Cream Flour/All Purpose(AP) Flour
This has a protein level of 8-11%. It is suitable for most cooking purposes including Irish Soda Bread.
Self-Raising Flour
This is similar to plain flour but with baking powder added. It can be used for cakes and biscuits. To make self-raising flour yourself just add 2 teaspoons of baking powder to 450g/1Lb of plain/AP flour.
Strong Flour/Bread Flour
This has the highest protein level of 12-14% and is used for yeast baking. It is not suitable for cakes.
Cake Flour
This has a protein level of 8-10% and is not widely available outside of the US. In Ireland we would use Plain/Cream flour instead.
Wholemeal / Wholewheat Flour
This has the highest level of protein at 13-14%. It gives a heavier texture and is often combined with white flour. We used this for our traditional brown soda bread( mixed with some white flour) at The Irish Soda Bread Way.
00 Flour
This looks like plain flour but is a special grade suitable for pasta and noodle-making.
Storage of Flour
Store your bag of flour in a large airtight container or bag. Exposure to air may lead to oxidation of oils in the flour leading to a rancid flavour! Keep in a cool dark place.
Don’t store for more than 6 months.
