Understanding Flour
Hi All,
After reading the Tartine recipe http://www.mercurynews.com/recipes/ci_16958426 I couldn't work out if my understanding of flours was right.
This recipe calls for
100 grams white all-purpose flour
100 grams whole wheat flour
650 grams whole grain wheat flour
350 grams sifted white wheat flour
Are these really all different types of flour? Where I am in Denmark, I have access to what I consider 'generic organic white flour' (about 10% protien), and access to 'bakers flour' (non-organic, about 12% protien) and 'fuldkorn' which looks mostly like entire wheat kernels shorn in half. There's also regular cheap bleached flour and the other specialty flours - OO, Spelt/Graham, rye.
If someone has the time, can you write a line or two about what each of the flours in the Tartine recipe look like, or are characterized by, so I can give it a try? Using Wiki to learn about flour types sends you in a circle as the flours seem to endlessly reference each other.
Thanks very much,
Stuart
I'd be willing to make an educated guess.
The white all-purpose flour sold in the U.S. is milled from the endosperm of the kernels and does not contain any of the germ or the bran. Some are aged to achieve a natural near-white color (labeled as unbleached). Others use bleaching agents to achieve a greater degree of whiteness. Protein levels are variable, ranging from a low of around 9.5% to a high of around 12.5%, depending on the miller and the grain source. Most are in the neighborhood of 10%.
Whole wheat flour, as the name suggests, is flour ground from the entire wheat kernel: bran, germ, and endosperm. Much of what is labeled as whole wheat in the U.S. is de-germed, too, since the oils in the germ tend to go rancid, compromising the shelf-life of the product. The "whole grain wheat flour" mentioned in the formula should be exactly the same as the "whole wheat flour". Not sure why there is a difference in the terminology of the forumla, but it is the same stuff.
The white wheat flour is usually a whole wheat flour, too. The difference is that the "white" strains of wheat have a lighter color than their more traditional "red" brethern, due primarily to a lower tannin content in the bran. Consequently, white wheat tends have less of the bitter or "grassy" flavor notes which some people find objectionable in whole wheat flours. I can't say with confidence that this is what Mr. Robertson intends, but that is usually what other bakers mean when they use this terminology.
I hope that helps.
Paul