According to oppentextbc, Flour is considered as the basic foundation of some bakeries & pastries. They are known as the skeleton of bakeries as its function is to support other utilized ingredients during the baking process.
Succinctly, flour is a powdered product produced through the milling process of grains, especially wheat. Why does it have to be grains? Well, the seed of grains contain 3 different parts, the Bran which protects the inner seed until its growth is completed, the Wheat Germ that is considered as the initial part of the wheat growth process begins, and the Endosperm that stores the nutritions we need in the form of glutens.
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Flours are classified into various types that contain different amounts of protein content.
Types of flour
- All purpose flour
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All purpose flour is pulverized through the mixture of both soft and hard wheat varieties. It contains moderate protein content that is about 10 – 12%. As it is named, All purpose flour can be utilized to bake cookies, muffins, bread and any other pastries.
- Cake flour
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Cake flour is considered the lowest protein content flour that has around 5 – 8 %. Therefore, as it has less protein, it has less gluten resulting in a softer texture of baked goods. Likewise, it absorbs more liquid and sugar in comparison to all purpose flour which guarantees the baker a super moist cake. So if you are going to bake any types of cake, go for cake flour!
- Pastry flour
This type of flour has a 8 – 10 % of protein content. For that reason, it strikes a perfect balance in between flakiness and tenderness. In fact, the more protein the flour obtains, the texture or our baked goods will be more in a way that leads to chewy and denser.
- Bread flour
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Holding a high protein content of 12 – 14%, its strong gluten content shows an effect of bread rising properly, creating better volume and chewier crumb in comparison to all purpose flour.
- White whole wheat flour
Unlike other flour, white whole wheat flour tasted slightly sweeter due to its low tannin content. White whole wheat flour is made from hard white wheat and holds an amount of 13 – 14% of protein content. It is extremely rich in nutritional value in comparison to whole wheat flour. For its high protein content, it is suitable for baking cookies, breads and muffins.
- Almond flour
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Just as it is named, it is made from grounded almonds. The making of almond flour consists of blanching almonds in an extreme high temperature of boiling hot water to remove its skins then grind them into fine flour. As it is made from almond itself, it is gluten-free and low in carbs, containing high healthy fats and fiber.
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