Almost certainly, some wheat flour is present in nearly every pantry. This is the most common type of flour on our planet and it has endless uses: from bread to cakes, from pasta to cookies. It’s just magic, how all these totally different dishes can be made with the same ingredient. It’s true that it’s possible to use general baking flour for all varieties. But if you want to make your cake softer and bread crust harder, it’s better to use different types of flour. What types? Keep reading!

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9 TYPES OF WHEAT FLOUR

The type of flour depends on many factors, such as sort of wheat, method of milling, size of grain, content of protein (gluten*) and so on.

*Gluten (from Latin gluten, “glue”) is a group of proteins, called prolamins and glutelins, which occur with starch in the endosperm of various cereal grains. This protein complex supplies 75–85% of the total protein in bread wheat. (Wikipedia)

All-purpose flour / Plain flour

Definitely, it is the most common type of flour for all bakers. If a recipe says just “flour” as one of ingredients, it most likely means all-purpose flour. As its name suggests, all-purpose flour is good for anything. Having a fine structure and containing moderate amount of protein this flour can make cakes fluffy and bread chewy at the same time.

Plain flour is made of a mixture of hard or soft wheats. As all white flours, it has only the endosperm from the wheat kernel, which makes this type of flour poor in vitamins and minerals.

Protein: 9-12%

Best used for: this flour can be successfully used for any baking needs: from cakes to bread.

Pastry flour

It is finer than all-purpose flour, as it is made from soft varieties of wheat. This thin structure and lower protein content makes pastry flour perfect for flaky and light baking products. 

Pastry flour is made of soft wheat. It contains only the endosperm. This flour is refined and bleached.

Protein: 8-9%

Best used for: cookies, pancakes, puffs, croissants, quiche, pie, tart, scone, brioche, sweet buns, muffins.

Self-Raising Flour

It is the same flour as pastry flour, but self-raising flour already contains 2 baking ingredients: baking soda and salt. The proportion of the mixture is usually like this:

• 1 cup (100 g) flour 
• 1⁄2 teaspoons (3 g) baking powder
• a pinch to ​1⁄2 teaspoon (1 g or less) salt

You should be careful with self-raising flour and avoid adding extra chemical leaveners. The best option is don’t use self-raising flour at all. It is easier to control the quantity of baking powder and salt by using all-purpose flour or pastry flour and adding the leaveners manually, as recipes instruct.

Self-raising flour is made of soft wheat. It contains only the endosperm. This flour is refined and bleached.

Protein: 8-9%

Best used for: cookies, pancakes, muffins, scones. 

Cake flour 

Cake flour has the lowest protein content, that makes baking results softer and more tender. This variety is also milled very finely and, as a result, has a silky structure, which helps to absorb more liquid and sugar, making cakes moister and sweeter.

Cake flour is made of soft wheat. It contains only the endosperm. This flour is refined and bleached.

Protein: 5-8%

Best used for: all types of cake.

Pasta flour / 00 flour

This type of flour comes from Italian traditional flour commonly used for pasta making. 00 (also called Doppio Zero) refers to Italian grading system, where 00 is the finest milled flour. The very fine texture of the 00 flour makes it possible to roll dough out to super thinness without breaking it, which is perfect for pasta and lasagna sheets. Comparatively high content of protein  creates the perfect density and chewiness for these kinds of dishes.

Pasta flour is made of hard wheat. It contains only the endosperm. This flour is refined and bleached.

Protein: 11-12%

Best used for: pasta, lasagna sheets, pizza, focaccia, flatbread, grissini.

Bread flour

Bread flour is milled from hard varieties of wheat, which have high protein content. It helps to develop a strong and elastic dough, makes for a better volume, a chewier crumb and crunchy crust. Having excellent rising ability, this type of flour is perfect for sourdough and yeast dough.

Bread flour is entirely made of hard wheat. It contains only the endosperm. This flour is refined and bleached.

Protein: 12-14%

Best used for: artisan bread, yeasted bread, sourdough bread, bagels, baguettes.

Whole wheat flour / Wholemeal flour

This is the best choice for healthier baking. Milled from whole grain, this type flour contains a much higher amount of fiber, as well as minerals. Whole wheat flour, similar to bread flour, has a high percentage of protein, which makes it ideal for different types of bread. Beside this, whole wheat flour can be used for any sorts of baking, making it healthier option. At the same time, the structure and taste will be slightly changed, which is not always acceptable, especially for sweet baking.

Whole wheat flour is made of hard wheat. It contains all the components of the wheat kernel (endosperm, bran, and germ), which makes this flour rich in fiber and minerals.

Protein: 13-14%

Best used for: sourdough bread, bagels, pizza crust, flatbread.

Semolina

Semolina is coarsely ground hard or soft wheat flour. Depending on the type of wheat it was made from, semolina can be used for savoury and sweet dishes. Hard wheat semolina (also known as Durum Semolina) is commonly used in Italy for pasta making, because of its high protein content and rough structure. While soft wheat semolina works well for sweets and desserts.

Semolina flour can be made either of hard or soft wheat. Because of its coarse structure, it preserves more useful minerals from the wheat kernel than refined flour.

Protein: 12-14%

Best used for: pasta, couscous, bread, pies, cakes, puddings, dosa, upma, halva.

Spelt flour

Spelt is one of the wheat species. Entirely milled from whole grain, spelt flour is extremely rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins. High content of protein makes this flour perfect for savoury and chewy cooking, such as bread and pasta. To make sweet baking richer in minerals, up to half the usual flour can be substituted for spelt flour without changing the result.

Spelt flour is made of a stand alone type of wheat. It contains all components of the wheat kernel (endosperm, bran, and germ), which makes this flour rich in fiber and minerals.

Protein: 13-15%

Best used for: bread, bagels, pasta, muffins, pies, rolls.

HOW TO STORE WHEAT FLOUR

The approach to storing wheat flour is very similar for all of its types.

The three main rules are:

• low moisture
• no light
• low temperature

It means, the best practice to keep any type of wheat flour in a cool, dry and dark place. It can be a kitchen cupboard, but it might be a dedicated pantry as well. Whatever you use for keeping your flour, it should not be situated directly next to your oven.

Follow these steps to keep your flour fresh and safe from pests as long as possible.

1. Once you have brought flour from the store, put it in a freezer for 24-48 hours. It will kill all weevils and their eggs, if they are present in the flour. 
2. Transfer flour to an airtight container: either plastic or glass. It will help to prevent moisturising and oxidation. Use a separate container with a flour name label for each type of flour, so you will not mix them up, as different flours look very similar. Get your FREE Flour Name Labels here.
3. You can sieve flour before transferring, to be sure there are no traces of bugs. No one wants to eat bugs. But you can skip this step, as you will sieve a portion of flour every time you are going to bake. Do not you sieve flour for baking? This is the best time to start 🙂
4. If you notice a moth in your home, it is better to take extra precautions and keep flour in the fridge. Especially semolina flour, which moths like a lot. By the way, flour in the fridge lasts 2 times longer. So, If you have some spare room in your fridge – keep flour there.
5. Refined flour (all-purpose, pastry, cake, self-rising and bread flour) is more shelf-stable than wholemeal flour, as the last one contains a bran and germ, which in turn, contain oils that ruin flour flavour when they oxidise. Hence, if you don’t use wholemeal flour often – keep it in the fridge.

Check the table of flour lifetime below:

USEFUL LINKS

Get your FREE Flour Name Labels here

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