All About Wheat Flour

This year we’re writing a series of blog posts dedicated to sharing with home bakers guides to essential ingredients we bake with at the Bakehouse and at BAKE!^Ⓡ, our hands-on teaching bakery for home bakers. As true artisan bakers, we use traditional recipes, time-honored processes, our hands, and flavorful ingredients, many locally sourced, to make our artisan bread, pastries, cookies, and cakes. Our baked goods, all hand made from raw ingredients, are rooted in age-old American, European, and Jewish traditions. Thus far, we’ve covered Baker’s Yeast and Salt in our Series of Ingredients Guides for Home Bakers.

For the third installment of the Series, we turn to the world of Wheat Flour in all its variety and myriad uses as a fundamental baking ingredient. Different types of wheat flour, and the unique properties they possess, affect the texture, flavor, and structure of the lion’s share of artisan baked goods we make here at the Bakehouse and at BAKE!. 

First Things First – All About Wheat! 

Wheat has been a staple of the human diet since it was first cultivated as a domesticated grain crop from wild Einkorn and Emmer some 12,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent (an area encompassing present-day Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran). Its ancient cultivation, followed by methodically grinding the domesticated grain first into porridge, and then into flour for bread as early as 6,700 BCE, led to the development of civilizations throughout the world, providing a reliable food source and supporting population growth. 

Fast forward to today, domesticated wheat is now the most widely grown and consumed grain on the planet, accounting for at least one-third of the world’s cereal harvest. Here in the U.S., farmers grow about 50 million acres of wheat across 42 states, providing food for hundreds of millions of people here at home and abroad. 

Most of the wheat varieties grown in the U.S are categorized by the time of year they’re planted (winter and spring), by their color (red or white), and most importantly, by their degree of hardness (hard vs. soft). When ground into flour for baking, their respective protein content, gluten strength, flavor profile, and resulting baking properties set them apart, influencing the baking applications they’re best suited for.

The Anatomy of a Wheat Berry

A wheat berry is made up of three main parts: the bran, the endosperm, and the germ. These three parts are all present in whole grain wheat flour, while refined white flour is made mainly from the endosperm. 

Here’s a quick descriptive breakdown of the three parts of a wheat berry:

Bran: This is the fibrous, protective outer layer of the wheat berry, making up about 14.5% of the kernel’s weight. It’s a rich source of dietary fiber, B vitamins, and minerals. Bran is removed during the milling of refined white flour, but is retained in whole wheat flour in the form of light flecks. 

Endosperm: Peeling away the bran reveals the endosperm, which is the largest part of the wheat berry, making up about 83% of the kernel’s weight. Composed primarily of starch and protein, it serves as the food source for the germ, or embryo, hidden within. It’s also the main component of refined white flour.

Germ: This is the nutritious embryo of the wheat berry that can sprout, or germinate, and grow into a new plant. While it makes up only about 2.5% of the kernel’s weight, it contains the highest density of essential fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins. Due to its concentration of healthy fats (around 10%), the germ is often removed from the milling of refined white flour, thereby extending its shelf life considerably; but is included in whole wheat flour, making it more flavorful and nutritious.

Hard Wheat vs. Soft Wheat – What’s the Difference?

Hard Wheats, such as hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat or durum, the hardest of them all, are high in protein, with their protein content typically ranging between 11 – 15%. With a few exceptions, the higher amount of protein a wheat has, the more gluten the flour can form when mixed with water or a liquid including water, thereby strengthening it. A flour milled from hard red or hard white wheat has more of a granular texture and is best suited for developing strong, yeasted doughs, like bread, that require a robust gluten network for optimum structure and rise and an open, chewy crumb.

Soft Wheats, such as soft red winter wheat or soft white wheat, differ from the hard wheats in that they have significantly less protein, between 5 – 10%; and a larger percentage of carbohydrates. The flour milled from soft wheat, therefore, has less gluten-forming abilities, making it ideal for baked goods where tenderness and a more delicate texture is desired versus strength and elasticity or rising capacity. Its low-gluten strength works well in delicate pastries and cakes and in chemically-leavened (i.e. baking powder and baking soda) baked goods like muffins, biscuits, and cookies, all of which tend to have a tight and tender crumb. 

Red Wheat vs. White Wheat – What’s the Difference?

A wheat berry’s color, “red” or “white,” refers to the color of the bran, the outer layer of the kernel. Red wheat has a reddish-brown color due to the presence of tannins, which contribute to a more robust flavor. White wheat, on the other hand, lacks tannins, giving it a light color and milder flavor. While color doesn’t impact bake-ability, it can affect the taste and texture of baked goods. Red wheat typically has a nuttier, whole wheat flavor, while white wheat is milder. It’s also important to note that the distinction between red and white wheat is far more relevant in whole wheat flour, which retains the bran, than in refined white flour, where the bran is removed during the milling process. 

Spring Wheat vs. Winter Wheat – What’s the Difference?

The season that accompanies the wheat’s name–winter or spring–refers to when the crop is planted, which affects its compositional makeup. In the US, agricultural areas differ dramatically in topography, soils, and climate, so the kind of wheat that’s planted and grown varies widely by region. (See Map of Wheat Varieties grown throughout the US.) 

Winter wheats are planted in the fall, typically from late September through mid October. The wheat plants then go into dormancy over the winter months, start to grow again in the spring, and are harvested starting in late May through the summer. Winter wheats typically have a lower protein content (10 – 12%) than the ones planted in the spring.

Spring wheats are planted in the spring, typically in colder climates, sometime in April and May, and are harvested starting in August. Spring wheats boast a higher protein content (12-14%), and are thus often ground to make bread flour or blended with winter wheat to produce an all-purpose flour.

Commonly Used Ancient Wheats – Einkorn & Spelt

Ancient Wheats, including Einkorn, the oldest and “mother” of all domesticated wheat, and Spelt, are grains that have been cultivated for thousands of years and have retained their original characteristics. As popular alternatives to modern hard and soft wheats, Einkorn and Spelt are prized for their natural resilience when cultivated and for their distinctive flavor, hearty yet delicate texture, and nutritional value when ground into flour. 

Einkorn: Planted in early spring or fall, depending on the local climate, Einkorn is classified as an extra-soft and nutritious wheat, which makes it easier to grind and produce a fine whole grain flour with a high protein content, yet more delicate gluten structure. Its mild, nutty, and subtly sweet flavor, often described as a richer, more toasty version of conventional whole wheat, makes Einkorn, when ground into flour, a great choice for adding a unique, earthier flavor to baked goods. 

Spelt is considered a nutritious hard wheat that’s packed with dietary fiber and protein, but its gluten structure is distinct from that of modern hard wheat. It’s more fragile and water soluble, making it less elastic and more easily digested, particularly by those with sensitivities to gluten. Typically planted in the fall, Spelt has a signature nutty, sweet flavor and, when ground into flour, is a great addition to standard all-purpose wheat flour in everything from pastries to breads.

Wheat Classification Chart

Common Types of Wheat Flour for Baking

As a fundamental baking ingredient, wheat flour comes in various types to suit different recipes. Each type has unique properties that affect the texture, flavor, and structure of baked goods. Understanding their distinct variables, when it comes to their respective protein content, how finely they are ground and sifted, and from what variety of wheat they’re milled from, will help you to choose the right flour for your specific recipe. 

One general rule of thumb we recommend every home baker to follow for most recipes is avoiding wheat flour that’s been chemically treated with bleach and/or potassium bromate. These additives are used by industrial commercial flour producers to artificially whiten flour and manually speed up oxidization, which is a process of aging that occurs naturally if the flour is left alone two to four weeks after milling. Potassium bromate is also added to milled flour to enhance gluten development and improve the elasticity and rising of dough, yet has come under scrutiny, as laboratory testing indicates that it’s carcinogenic in animals and probably in humans. To avoid these additives, look for wheat flour that’s labeled “Unbleached” and “Unbromated”.

Here’s a quick descriptive breakdown of the most common types of wheat flour we recommend for home bakers and the baking applications they’re best suited for:

Whole Wheat Flour: 11 – 15% Protein

Typically milled from hard red wheat, Whole Wheat Flour contains the entire wheat kernel (bran, germ, and endosperm), and has a relatively high protein content ranging from 11-15%.  Since it contains 100% of the wheat kernel, the flour is rich in fiber, protein, and nutrients; and has a robust wheat flavor. It works well in heartier recipes, elevating quick breads, muffins, scones, cookies, and yeasted breads with its rich flavor and nutritional benefits. 

A note on White Whole Wheat Flour: Milled from hard white wheat with a protein count around 13%, White Whole Wheat flour contains all three of the edible parts of the whole kernel, but is mellower in flavor and lighter in color than its hard red wheat counterpart.

One consideration to keep in mind when baking with Whole Wheat Flour is that the presence of non-gluten forming bran and germ can affect the flour’s overall ability to form sufficient gluten structure. Bran, for one, can get in the way, both physically and chemically, during the mixing and kneading process, making it more difficult and time consuming to develop a viable gluten structure. Because of this, whole wheat flour is often used in conjunction with other more refined wheat flours, where the bran and germ have been removed during the milling process, such as Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour, to compensate (more on these two refined flours below) 

It’s also important to note that the natural oils from the germ, while nutritious and flavorful, increases the flour’s propensity for spoilage and going rancid. Thus, Whole Wheat Flour is much less shelf-stable than its more refined counterparts.

Bread Flour: 12 – 14% Protein

Milled from hard red spring wheat, hard red winter wheat, or a blending of the two, Bread Flour is a high protein, refined flour, meaning that it has been milled to remove the bran and germ of the wheat kernel, leaving only the protein- and starch-rich endosperm. Its high protein content, ranging from 12 – 14%, and strong gluten potential, makes Bread Flour a great choice for artisan-style, naturally leavened (i.e. sourdough) bread, bagels, pizza dough, and other yeasted baked goods requiring a strong gluten structure for optimum rise and a chewy texture.

All-Purpose Flour: 9 – 12% Protein

All-purpose flour, also known as AP flour, is a finely textured, mild-flavored, white flour made mostly of endosperm from a blend of hard wheat as well as soft wheat varieties, depending on the mill. In milling wheat for AP flour, most of the bran and germ, along with their natural oils, are separated from the endosperm and removed, making the flour more shelf stable and less prone to spoilage and going rancid than whole wheat flour. 

As its name implies, All-Purpose Flour is the most versatile wheat flour. With its moderate protein content of 9 to 12%, it’s strong enough to make excellent artisan breads, yet soft enough to create a wide variety of sweet recipes including cookies, muffins, quick breads, pancakes, and pie crusts. That said, each brand has its own characteristics and may perform a bit differently in these applications.

Pastry Flour: 8 – 9% Protein

Pastry Flour is made from the endosperm of soft wheat varieties ground to a finer, more silky-smooth consistency than All-Purpose Flour. Its low protein content, ranging from 8 to 9%, and low gluten-forming potential, makes Pastry Flour ideal for baked goods calling for a more airy, delicate, flaky or crumbly texture, such as biscuits, scones, tarts, quick breads, and pie crusts. Wonderful as it is for pastries, avoid using Pastry Flour for anything that needs gluten structure, like bread doughs, or use it as just a relatively small portion of the flour for such recipes.

Cake Flour: 7 – 8% Protein

Like Pastry Flour, Cake Flour is made from the endosperm of soft wheat varieties, but is milled to an even finer and more silky-smooth texture. With the lowest protein content, ranging from 7 to 8%, Cake Flour is your go-to for recipes that discourage gluten formation and over mixing in order to achieve a soft, fine, and tender crumb, like delicate cakes and melt-in-your mouth cookies.

Lee Vedder

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After a long, established career as a Ph.D. art history scholar and art museum curator, Lee, a Michigan native, came to the Bakehouse in 2017 eager to pursue her passion for artisanal baking and to apply her love of history, research, writing, and editing in a new exciting arena. Her first turn at the Bakehouse was as a day pastry baker. She then moved on to retail sales in the Bakeshop, followed by joining the Marketing Team and becoming the Bakehouse’s designated culinary historian. In addition to her retail sales and marketing work, she’s a member of the Bakehouse’s Grain Commission, co-author and editor of the Bakehouse's series of cookbooklets, and a regular contributor to the BAKE! Blog and Zingerman’s Newsletter, where she explores the culinary, cultural, and social history and evolution of the Bakehouse’s artisan baked goods.

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