Types of Flour
Basic Types of Flour
The three basic flour categories are:
Wholemeal - 100% extraction, made from the
whole wheatgrain with nothing added or taken away.
Brown - usually contains about 85% of the original
grain, some bran and germ have been removed.
White - usually 75% of the wheatgrain. Most of the
bran and wheatgerm have been removed during milling.
Other Varieties of Flour
Wheatgerm - white or brown flour with at least
10% added wheatgerm.
Malted wheatgrain - Brown or wholemeal flour with
added malted grains.
Stoneground - Wholemeal flour ground in a
traditional way between two stones.
Organic - Flour milled from grain that has been
grown to organic standards. Growers and millers must be registered
and are subject to regular inspections.
The choice of flours for home cooking and baking
Plain Flour - also known as all-purpose. Use
for shortcrust pastry, sauces and gravies where a raising agent is
not required.
Self-raising - Flour to which a raising agent has
been evenly mixed. Use for cakes, scones and puddings.
Soft Flour - a soft white flour which has been
milled very finely to give sponges, cake and scones a higher rise
and finer texture.
Strong Flour - a flour with a high protein content
providing a high volume and open texture. Ideal for bread and all
types of yeast cookery, Yorkshire puddings and puff pastry
Wholemeal - 100% extraction, made from the
wholewheat grain with nothing added or taken away.
Brown - usually contains about 85% of the original
grain. Some bran and germ have been removed.
White - usually 75% of the wheatgrain. Most
of the bran and wheatgerm have been removed before
milling.
Wheatgerm - white or brown flour with at least 10%
added wheatgerm.
Malted wheatgrain - brown or wholemeal flour with
added malted grains.
Stoneground - wholemeal flour ground in
traditional way, between 2 stones.
Search out British flour and work with them. Buy and always keep a selection of different varieties - they are the key ingredient to producing excellent breads, pastries and cakes.
