Walking down the baking aisle can be intimidating, especially for someone just starting on their baking journey. What are all these different flours, am I choosing the right one, which one is healthiest? These are all valid questions you may ask. If this is the case, then you’re in the right spot.
What Are All the Different Wheat Flours & What Kind Should I Be Using?
There are many different types of flours and alternatives, but for all intents and purposes, we will be sticking with the main wheat flours you will find at the grocery store.
All-Purpose
All-Purpose (AP) is the most common flour and offers the most variety. With a medium protein content ranging from 9 to 12%, this is equivalent to 13 grams of protein in a serving size of 1 cup (125 g). It is good to use in cakes, cookies, quick breads and more. At the grocery store, you will find different kinds of all-purpose flour, like bleached, unbleached and enriched; we encourage you to choose enriched AP flour over regular, as enriched flour means the nutrients lost during the milling process are added back in. For bleached and unbleached, this is all on preference of the baker. Bleached is usually used in commercial baking due to consistent performance and appearance. To learn more, this article from Bakers Authority gives a great breakdown.
Falling under the umbrella of AP flour, self-rising flour is made by adding salt and leavening to all-purpose flour. This flour is most commonly used in biscuits.
Whole Wheat
Whole Wheat flour is milled from the entire kernel, so it doesn’t lose as many nutrients in the milling process as AP flour does. With this, the flour tends to be heavier and more dense than white flour. Whole Wheat flour has a protein content between 11 to 15%, making it so a serving of 1 cup (120 g) is 16 grams of protein. This flour is good for rolls, waffles and many recipes that call for AP flour, just will be chewier with Whole Wheat flour.
White Whole Wheat
White Whole Wheat flour is milled exactly the same as Whole Wheat flour, with the only difference being made with a white wheat variety as opposed to a red wheat variety. The nutritional value is on par with Whole Wheat flour as well, making it a good alternative for cakes and pastries that have a higher nutritional value but milder taste.
Bread
Bread flour is milled with commercial bakers in mind, but is available at the grocery store and can be used in everyday baking. Since this flour has higher gluten strength, it is perfect for artisan bread, pizza dough, bagels and other denser, baked items. The protein content of this flour is on the higher end as well, 12 to 14% to be exact, resulting in 16 grams of protein per 1 cup serving (120 g).
Which one is the healthiest?
There isn’t an exact answer for which one is the “healthiest,” as this depends on your dietary needs. Dietitians generally recommend Whole Wheat flour because it delivers the highest levels of protein, fiber and B vitamins.
When choosing which wheat flour to use in your baking, there is much more that goes into the decision than what sounds best. Get to know what you want your end result to be and how you can set yourself up for a more nutrient dense, well balanced dish.