What Is Flour and How Can I Use It?

Whole wheat flour  is a powdery substance derived by grinding or mashing the wheat's whole grain.

It is used in baking but typically added to other "white" flours to provide nutrients (especially fiber and protein), texture, and body to the finished product.

Whole wheat flour is more nutritious than refined white flour, although in a process called food fortification, some micronutrients are added back to the white flour (required by law in some jurisdictions). Fortified white wheat flour does not, however, contain the macronutrients of the wheat's bran and germ (especially fiber and protein). Whole wheat is a good source ofcalcium, iron, fiber, and other minerals like selenium.

Shelf life

Whole wheat flour has a shorter shelf life than white flour. The higher oil content contained in the bran of the wheat, as the higher oil content leads to rancidity with longer term storage. It is also more expensive, due to its relative unpopularity and the inclusion of the wheat bran and wheat germ, which producers of white flour can sell separately.

To avoid rancidity store your whole grain flour tightly sealed in the freezer.

Typically, whole wheat flour is not the main ingredient of baked goods, as it adds a certain "heaviness" which prevents baked goods from rising as well as white flours.

This adds to the cost per volume of the baked item as it requires more flour to obtain the same volume, due to the fewer and smaller air pockets trapped in the raised goods. Thus, many baked goods advertised as whole wheat are not entirely whole wheat; they may contain some refined white wheat, as long as the majority of the wheat used is whole wheat.

Nevertheless, it is possible to make a high-rising, light loaf of 100% whole wheat bread, so long as one increases the water content of the dough (the bran and germ in whole wheat absorb more water than plain white flour), kneads the dough for a longer period of time to develop the gluten adequately, and allows for a longer rise before shaping the dough.

Some bakers let the dough rise twice before shaping. The addition of fats, such as butter or oil, and milk products (fresh milk, powdered milk, buttermilk, yogurt, etc.) can also greatly assist the rising process.

All-purpose flour is milled from wheat to a moderate protein level, usually around 10 to 12 percent, which is why it handles so many jobs passably well.

It is the default flour in most home kitchens, the one a recipe means when it just says "flour."

Unbleached simply means it was not treated with chemical whiteners. It keeps a faint cream color and ages naturally, and it behaves the same as bleached flour in nearly every recipe. The protein content drives results, not the color.

That middle-of-the-road protein is the whole point. It builds enough gluten for a sturdy loaf or a chewy cookie, but not so much that a cake turns rubbery.

How to Use It

Reach for it whenever a recipe does not specifically call for a tenderer or stronger flour. Cookies, muffins, pancakes, quick breads, pie dough and most everyday baking are squarely its territory.

It also thickens. A tablespoon whisked into fat makes a roux for gravy, and a spoonful coats meat before browning so a stew gains body.

How you measure matters more than the brand. Scooping the cup straight from the bag packs in too much flour and leaves baked goods dry and dense. Spoon it in and level the top, or better, weigh it: one cup is about 120 grams (4¼ ounces).

It carries enriched doughs nicely too, from a tender Brioche type Bread to the spiced swirl of Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls, where you want some chew but not the dense pull of a bread-flour crumb.

Cooking and Pairing

All-purpose plays well with the leaveners and liquids around it. Pair it with baking powder or soda for quick breads, with yeast for everyday loaves, and with eggs and milk for batters like Popovers with Plum Jam, where moderate gluten gives the structure to climb and hold a hollow center.

The usual mistake is overworking it. Stir a muffin or pancake batter just until the flour disappears; every extra turn builds gluten and toughens the crumb. Lumps are fine and bake out.

The opposite mistake is underbaking thickened sauces. Raw flour tastes pasty, so let a roux or floured gravy bubble a couple of minutes to cook the starch through.

Substitutes

Match the swap to the job. For a chewier, sturdier result, bread flour steps up with more protein, useful in pizza and rustic loaves. For a more tender crumb, cake flour drops the protein, though you may need to adjust liquid.

You can mimic self-rising flour by adding 1½ teaspoons of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of salt per cup.

Whole wheat flour subs in for up to half the all-purpose in most recipes. Go further and the bran cuts gluten strands, giving a denser, drier result unless you add liquid.

Buying and Storing It

Any major brand of unbleached all-purpose is fine.

What varies is the protein, with national brands often slightly higher than regional ones, which shows up as a touch more chew.

Keep it airtight in a cool, dark cupboard, where it holds six to eight months. The natural oils in the wheat eventually go stale, so a long-stored bag can pick up a faint cardboard smell.

For longer storage, freeze it; in an airtight bag it stays fresh for a year or more. Let it come to room temperature before baking so it hydrates evenly and does not chill your butter.

Bread flour is wheat flour milled from harder, higher-protein wheat, typically 12 to 14 percent protein. That extra protein is the entire reason it exists. It builds more gluten, the stretchy network that traps gas and gives bread its chew and lift.

Compared with all-purpose, the difference is structural. The same recipe made with bread flour holds a taller rise, a more open crumb, and that satisfying pull when you tear a piece.

It is a workhorse for yeasted doughs, not a general baking flour. Use it where you want strength, not tenderness.

How to Use It

This is the flour for chewy, structured breads: artisan loaves, baguettes, bagels, pizza and rolls. The strong gluten lets a dough stretch thin without tearing and hold the bubbles that bake into an airy interior.

It does its best work in lean doughs where flour, water, yeast and salt do everything, like a slack, blistered Ciabatta #2. The high protein lets the dough hold a very wet, sticky hydration that gives those big irregular holes.

It also earns its place in enriched and pulled doughs. A coil of Linda's Giant Cinnamon Roll or a batch of soft Mini-Hot dog buns - Sliders keeps its shape and springs back because the gluten is strong enough to take the pull.

Knead it well. Bread flour rewards the development that would overwork a cake batter; you are building the structure that makes the loaf.

Cooking and Pairing

Bread flour wants water and time.

Higher protein absorbs more liquid, so a dough that looks too dry at first often hydrates as it rests, and a long, slow ferment deepens flavor while the gluten relaxes.

Pair it with steam in the oven for a crackly crust, and with a hot stone or steel for the burst of oven spring it is built to deliver.

The common mistake is using it everywhere. In cookies it can bake up tough and chewy rather than tender, and in cakes it turns the crumb rubbery. Save it for things you want to have bite.

The second mistake is shorting the water. Swap bread flour into an all-purpose recipe without adding a little liquid and the dough turns stiff and dry.

Substitutes

All-purpose flour is the everyday stand-in. The loaf will be a touch softer with a slightly tighter crumb, fine for sandwich bread, just less chewy.

To close the gap, add wheat gluten: about 1 teaspoon per cup of all-purpose nudges the protein up toward bread-flour strength.

Cake flour is the wrong direction entirely. It lacks the protein to build a real bread structure, and the loaf will collapse.

Buying and Storing It

Check the protein on the side panel. Bread flours run from around 12 percent up to 14 percent, and the higher numbers give the chewiest results, worth seeking out for bagels and pizza.

Store it like any flour: airtight, cool and dark, where it keeps six to eight months. The freezer extends that to a year or more in a sealed bag.

Bring it to room temperature before mixing. Cold flour slows the yeast and can leave you waiting on a sluggish first rise.

Cake flour is wheat flour milled fine from soft, low-protein wheat, usually 7 to 9 percent protein. Less protein means less gluten, and less gluten means a soft, fine, tender crumb. That tenderness is its whole reason for being.

It is also milled finer than all-purpose and most often bleached, a treatment that weakens the proteins further and lets the flour carry more sugar and fat without collapsing.

The result is a cake that rises high and feels almost cottony, the texture you want in a layer cake or a sponge.

How to Use It

Reach for cake flour when a delicate crumb is the goal: angel food, chiffon, sponge and tender butter cakes. The low protein keeps the structure from turning chewy even when you beat the batter to incorporate air.

It is what gives a Feather Light Angel Food Cake with Egg White Frosting its cloud-soft texture, since there is almost nothing but whipped whites and flour holding it up.

The fine grind matters in high-ratio cakes, the kind carrying more sugar and liquid than flour, like a Best Ever Red Velvet Cake. All-purpose would give a coarser, sturdier crumb.

Sift it before measuring. Cake flour clumps easily, and a packed cup throws off a delicate batter where a tablespoon too much reads as dry.

Cooking and Pairing

Cake flour partners with gentle leaveners and whipped air. It works with baking powder, with creamed butter and sugar, and above all with beaten eggs, which do much of the lifting in a low-gluten batter.

The biggest mistake is overmixing once the flour goes in. With so little protein you would think it forgiving, but beat it hard after adding flour and you still toughen the crumb and knock out air. Fold gently and stop early.

The second is using it for the wrong job. Cake flour cannot carry a yeast bread or a sturdy cookie; it has no muscle, and the result spreads or sinks.

Substitutes

You can fake cake flour from all-purpose.

For each cup, remove 2 tablespoons of all-purpose and replace them with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, then sift several times to blend and aerate. The cornstarch dilutes the protein and softens the crumb.

It is not a flawless match, since the grind is coarser, but it is close enough for most cakes.

Self-rising flour is also low protein, but it has baking powder and salt added, so only swap it in if you adjust the leavening accordingly. Bread flour is the wrong choice; its protein makes a tough, rubbery cake.

Buying and Storing It

Look for boxes labeled cake flour, often bleached, in the baking aisle near the all-purpose. Bleached versions give the softest, whitest crumb, which is why most cake flour is sold that way.

Store it airtight in a cool, dark spot, where it holds six to eight months. Because it is so fine, it absorbs odors and moisture quickly, so keep it sealed away from anything fragrant.

For long storage, freeze it in an airtight bag for up to a year. Let it warm and sift it again before use, since freezing can pack it down.

A flour similar to refined white pastry or cake flour, however not all of the bran and germ portions of the wheat kernel have been removed during the milling process.

Whole-wheat pastry flour is produced from soft-wheat and it has a fine-texture and a high starch content.

Because of the presence of some of the bran and germ, pastry items made with whole-wheat pastry flour are more nutritious than pastries made with white pastry flour, but they are not quite as light and airy.

Self-rising flour is flour which has been blended with salt and baking powder, so that the flour comes with its own leavening. This type of flour is especially popular in the American South, where it is commonly used in biscuits, cakes, and various dessert items, but it can be found all over the world. Basically, the feature which distinguishes self-rising flour is the addition of leavening, which cuts a step out of food preparation.

Because self-rising flour is often used in pastries, it is typically lower in protein than other kinds of flours. This has an impact on the way the flour behaves. Foods made with self-rising flour tend to be lighter, fluffier, and more crumbly. This can be a disadvantage for breads, depending on the type of bread one is attempting to make. Some cooks swear by self-rising flour, arguing that it makes the tenderest, lightest baked goods.

If you have a recipe which requires self-rising flour and you don't have any around, you will need to add salt and baking powder to the recipe for it to turn out right. You may also see recipes which require self-rising cake flour, a low-protein, lightweight flour which has been mixed with leavening. You can use regular cake flour with added leavening as a substitute in these cases.

One thing to be aware of when using self-rising flour is that baking powder is activated as soon as it is exposed to moisture. This means that baked goods should be put in the oven as soon as possible after the wet and dry ingredients are mixed, because otherwise the food will rise outside the oven, and collapse when it gets inside. This is also a danger with any type of quick-leavened food made with baking soda or baking powder, so if you're been struggling with flattened cookies or sagging cakes, this may explain your problem.

Semolina  is the coarse, purified wheat middlings of durum wheat used in making pasta, and also used for breakfast cereals and puddings.

Semolina made from durum wheat is yellow in color. It is usually the basis for dried products such as couscous, which is made by mixing roughly 2 parts semolina with 1 part durum flour.

When flour comes from softer types of wheats it is white in color. In this case the correct name is flour, not semolina which comes only from durum wheat.

When boiled, it turns into a soft, mushy porridge. This flour is popular in northwestern Europe and North America as a dessert, boiled with milk and sweetened, called semolina pudding. It is often flavored with vanilla and served with jam.

In Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Russia, it is eaten as breakfast porridge, sometimes mixed with raisins and served with milk. In Swedish it is known as mannagrynsgröt, or boiled together with bilberries, as blåbärsgröt. In the Middle East, it is used to make desserts called Harisa or so called Basbosa or Nammora.

Millet has been cultivated since ancient times and is considered an ancient grain. Common millet is used for flour milling.

In ancient Rome, millet was used to make a kind of milk porridge. The method of preparation is still in use by some African tribes. Millet can be a important part of the diet in Asian and Africa.

It is not a commonly used in European and North American cuisines however is gain popularity with gluten-free diets.

Millet is sold in the form of flour, grains, flakes. Millet is easy to prepare, simmered for 20 minutes in twice it's volume of boiling water or milk.