Types of Flour

What is Flour?

1. Flour that is used in baking comes mainly from wheat, although it can be milled from corn, rice, nuts, legumes, and some fruits and vegetables. The type of flour of flour used is vital at getting the product right. Different types of flour are suited to different items and all flours are different you cannot switch from one type to another without consequences that could ruin the recipe.
2. Flour is obtained by grinding grain, most commonly of wheat but also from rye, buckwheat, barley, potato, corn etc.
3. The wheat kernel or 'berry 'consists of three parts: bran r covering the germ; and endosperm.
4. During milling, the three parts are separated and recombined accordingly to achieve different types of flour.
5. Wheat varieties are typically known as 'White' or Brown if they have high gluten content, and soft or weak flour if gluten content is low. Hard flour, or "bread" flour, is high in gluten and so forms a certain toughness which holds its shape well once baked. Soft flour is comparatively low in gluten and so results in a finer texture. Soft flour is usually divided into cake flour, which is the lowest in gluten, and pastry flour, which has slightly more gluten than cake flour.
6. All-purpose flour is a blended wheat flour with an intermediate gluten level which is marketed as an acceptable compromise for most household baking needs.
   In terms of the parts of the grain (the grass seed) used in flour -- the endosperm or starchy part, the germ or protein part, and the bran or fiber part -- there are three general types of flour.
7. White flour is made from the endosperm only. Whole grain flour is made from the entire grain including bran, endosperm, and germ. A germ flour is made from the endosperm and germ, excluding the bran.
8. Whole-wheat flour is wholegrain wheat flour.
9. Bleached flour is flour that was subjected to flour bleaching agents in order to whiten it (freshly milled flour is yellowish) and give it more gluten-producing potential. Similar effect can be achieved by letting the flour slowly oxidize with oxygen in the air ("natural aging"), however this process is too slow to be commercially viable. Oxidizing agents are therefore employed, most commonly organic peroxides like acetone peroxide or benzoyl peroxide, nitrogen dioxide, or chlorine.
10. Bromated flour is flour with a maturing agent added. The agent's role is to help with developing gluten, a role similar to the flour bleaching agents. Bromate is usually used. Other choices are phosphates, ascorbic acid, and malted barley.
11. Cake flour is a finely milled flour made from soft wheat. It has very low gluten content, making it suitable for soft-textured cakes and cookies. Higher gluten content of other flours would make the cakes tough.
12. Graham flour is a special type of whole wheat flour. The endosperm is finely ground, as in white flour, while the bran and germ are coarsely ground. Graham flour is uncommon outside of the USA. It is the basis of true graham crackers. Many graham crackers on the market are actually imitation grahams because they do not contain graham flour or even whole-wheat flour.
13. Pastry flour (also called cookie flour or cracker flour) is flour with gluten content slightly higher than cake flour, but lower than all-purpose flour. It is suitable for fine, light-textured pastries.
14. Self-rising or self-raising flour is "white" wheat flour that is sold premixed with chemical leavening agents. It was invented by Henry Jones. Typical ratios are:U.S. customary: one cup flour 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder a pinch to 1/2 teaspoon salt Metric: 100 g flour 3 g baking powder 1 g or less salt
15. Durum flour is a flour made of durum wheat. It has the highest protein content, and it is an important component of nearly all noodles and pastas.