Since then, the baking section at your grocery store has evolved a lot. Previously, the only options for Flour were unbleached all-purpose or bleached all-purpose. But that has changed. There are many types of Flour, including wide gluten-free varieties. Choosing the right kind and when to use it can be challenging. To make Ree Drummond’s rosemary-onion bread with blue cheese topping or to make a batch of Linzer cookies, should you purchase Flour? What does it matter what Flour you use? The short answer to this question is yes. While all flours serve the same purpose, each has a different flavor, texture, and nutritional value.
Before we get started, let’s first understand the science behind gluten. Gluten is made up of wheat proteins. It is a glue to keep baked goods from drying out after they rise. Wheat flour can be made from either hard wheat or soft wheat. Hard wheat is used to make pasta and loaves of bread, while soft wheat is used for baking cakes and biscuits. Gluten-free flours don’t contain any wheat proteins.
Keep any whole wheat or specialty flours in the fridge or freezer to extend their shelf life. Whole wheat and nut-based flours naturally contain oils that can turn rancid. You can safely chill all flours. However, most white flours (including self-rising, all-purpose, cake, pastry, and nut-based flours) are shelf-stable and can either be kept in the pantry or canisters on the counter in a dry, cool place. This guide will show you how to store your baking staples.
These flours may be substituted for any other, but it is essential to get to know them well. You should also note that we have included 21 (!) While we have included 21 (!) of the most popular types of flours, you will find much more available (fruit and vegetable flours are the newest to hit the market). Choose the one that suits your baking goals and personal preferences!
All-Purpose Flour
This one is the most versatile. All-purpose Flour can be made from either hard or soft wheat or a combination of both. Its protein content is between nine and 12 percent. This is not high or low. Bleached Flour can be bleached to speed up the process of whitening. Unbleached Flour will naturally lighten with age. Although unbleached Flour can have a denser texture, it is interchangeable.
It can be used for: Everyday baking and cooking – the possibilities are endless
Whole Wheat Flour
Time to get a little scientific: Wheat kernels are broken down into three parts before being milled—the endosperm, germ, and bran. Standard white Flour comprises milled endosperm, but whole wheat flour includes all three elements. This makes for a nutty flavor and dense texture. (Try it in Ree’s mom’s muffins .) For this reason, whole wheat flour is more perishable: It’s best to store the Flour in the fridge or freezer.
It can be used for everyday cooking and baking; you might also use it with all-purpose Flour.
Bread Flour
Comparing bread flour versus all-purpose Flour, the former has the highest protein content of refined wheat flour, clocking in at up to 14 percent. The extra protein holds together the porous, chewy texture and browned crisp crust beloved in yeasted loaves of bread.
It can be used for loaves of bread such as bagels, dinner rolls, pizza dough, and pretzels.
Cake Flour
Of all the wheat flour, cake flour has the lowest protein content (five to eight percent) and is milled to a beautiful texture. This means less gluten and less structure—and, thus, tender and moist results. Ree names cake Flour as an essential ingredient in her quest for perfect pancakes and use it to make her red velvet sheet cake.
It can be used for Cookies, cakes, muffins, and pancakes.
Pastry Flour
Pastry flour is the middle ground between cake flour and all-purpose Flour. Professional bakers love that it’s finely milled with a protein content that hovers around eight to nine percent, striking the perfect balance between flakiness and tenderness while maintaining structure.
It can be used for: Cookies, crackers (puff pastry dough), croissants (puff pastry dough), pie tarts, and pie crusts.
Self-Rising Flour
Lower in protein than most all-purpose flours, self-rising Flour has baking powder and salt mixed in—which explains how Ree pulls off a blackberry cobbler with five ingredients. However, please don’t use it as a swap for other flours; the leavening agents will alter the final result.
Use it for Cookies, pancakes, and scones.
Instant Flour
Known on the market as Wondra, instant Flour is a pre-cooked, low-protein, and finely milled Flour beloved for its ability to dissolve instantly in hot or cold liquids—think gravy without lumps! A quick dredging of just about anything in instant Flour will also yield crisp results when pan-frying.
It can be used for crusts, gravies, coatings, and pie crusts.
“00” Flour
The Italian-style Flour, doppio zero (double zero), has a beautiful texture. It’s milled from the most challenging type of wheat for a protein content more akin to all-purpose Flour. Dough made with this kind of Flour can be stretched or rolled out very thinly without breaking.
It can be used for pizza dough, pasta dough, crackers, and flatbreads.
Semolina Flour
Semolina flour is made from durum wheat and has a high protein content (close to that of bread flour at 13 percent). The gluten helps dough gets stretched thin without breaking or shrinking back—a necessary trait when making fresh pasta!
Use it: Pasta dough, gnocchi, and focaccia.
Rye Flour
Milled from rye kernels, a cousin of wheat, rye flour has a lower protein content than standard all-purpose Flour. Less gluten means a denser loaf; rye flour adds a distinctive, nutty taste.
Use it: cookies and bread.
Spelt Flour
This is a whole wheat flour milled from whole grains of spelled, an ancient grain that is a type of wheat. Unlike standard whole wheat flour, spelled Flour behaves more like all-purpose Flour (no need to worry about dense, heavy results!) while adding its unique flavor, often described as slightly sweet and tangy.
It can be used for cakes, cookies, and crumbles. For bread recipes, you can experiment with substituting up to 50% of the all-purpose Flour. This will add nutritional value and flavor.