Key to baking: Use the right flour
Published 11:03 am Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Using the right flours is the key to delicious and wholesome baked goods.
For 100 percent whole-wheat yeast breads, stick to traditional whole-wheat flour milled from hard wheat, which is higher in gluten.
Whole-wheat flour can be substituted for white flour in recipes, but there are a few challenges to achieving the desired result. Begin by replacing half of the white flour with whole-wheat. If that suits your taste, experiment further by increasing the amount of whole-wheat.
To make a total exchange in a quick bread, muffin, cake or cookie recipe, try whole-wheat pastry flour. Milled from soft wheat, it has less gluten-forming potential than regular whole-wheat flour and helps ensure a tender result in delicate baked goods while providing the nutritional benefits of whole grains.
White whole-wheat flour, made from a special variety of white wheat, is light in color and flavor but has the same nutritional properties as regular whole-wheat flour as well as five times the dietary fiber of all-purpose flour.
Storage tip: Whole-wheat flours go rancid more quickly than more-processed white flours, so store them in the freezer.
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