What is whole wheat flour and the different types

If you are new to the world of whole grains and whole wheat flour then you might be wondering what it even is and why you should eat it. In short, whole wheat flour is flour that is ground or milled from a whole wheat kernel, or berry if we're using proper terminology. A whole wheat berry contains three parts, the bran, the germ, and the endosperm.

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Commercial all purpose flour or white flour is made by milling only the endosperm, after the wheat berry goes through the process of being stripped of the bran and germ. Commercial whole wheat flour is usually made in the same way, but has some of the bran added back to it, oftentimes with no germ added back, because it will not store as long. The germ is oily so it will go rancid quite quickly. That is why a lot of whole wheat flours that you can buy seem really dry.

How is whole wheat flour different 

This refers to the amount of protein found in the wheat. Hard wheat has more protein and gluten than soft wheat. Hard wheat is typically used for breads, yeast doughs, and cracked wheat. Soft wheat is used in pastries like cakes and pie crusts. You can use soft wheat for baked goods leavened with baking powder or baking soda. It is not advised to use soft wheat in yeast doughs, because it does not contain enough gluten to hold them together.

HARD OR SOFT

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This refers to the color of the outer layer of the wheat berry called the bran. Red wheat has a darker colored bran and also has a more pronounced flavor. White wheat has a lighter colored bran and a more mild flavor.

RED OR WHITE

This refers to when the wheat is planted. Winter wheat is planted in the winter and harvested in the summer. Spring wheat is planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. Spring wheat usually has a higher protein content than winter wheat.

WINTER OR SPRING

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