Bread Flour

What is bread flour? Many people, new to the culinary world, often get scared by bread making. They don't know the obvious reasons or differences behind a plain flour and the more fancier ones. Even I didn't know this because at one point, as I had tried my hand at making bread myself. And needless to say, I failed miserably. It wasn't until later I found out that I had made some silly choices with the flour used to make the bread. I knew that to make bread, I can use any kind of flour. And to come to think of it, I knew absolutely nothing about what kind of flour I had used at that time. So I was back to square one, and desperately needed to research about this type of flour. In the end, what I found was that there are many different types of flour which can be used for home bread making.

Now, you may wonder, why do you need so many different types of flour? The answer is simple, actually. It's like whenever we follow any recipe, the choice of ingredients will determine the taste and quality of the end product. Similarly, if I use a particular type of flour to make bread, it is going to have a profound impact on its taste, texture, and quality. And this difference can only be made by what flour you're using. Depending on how that particular flour was produced, their capacity to alter the flavor of loaves of bread is significant. So, in my search to find the different types of bread flour, I found out that you can make bread with all-purpose, plain, self rising, and whole wheat flour. Since all of these flours are produced with various methods, their appearance, texture, taste, and the impact on the end products' quality will vary dramatically.

Difference Between Different Flours

To take a closer look at these different flours, the following explanation might help. All the different flours have been utilized as substitute for this flour.

Bread vs Cake Flour
The plain flour is rich in protein and gluten. When using bread making appliances, this flour is used because it has been treated with conditioning agents which help keep the bread strong while kneading. As for the cake flour, this wheat flour comes in handy for baking cookies and cakes. This flour gives lighter, more fluffier cakes and cookies. There is very little protein content in the flour as the food made with this flour needs to be light and not tough.

Bread vs Self Rising Flour
The explanation on the flour is mentioned above. As for the self-rising flour, it is often known as white or wholemeal flour is similar to the All-purpose flour but includes certain chemical leavening agents. The flour also includes more salt and baking powder in it. So while using the self-rising flour, the recipes won't include baking soda because the flour itself takes care of it.

Bread vs All-purpose Flour
The explanation on the flour is mentioned above. As for the All-purpose flour, it is basically a combination of hard and soft wheat flour. While baking cakes and bread, this bleached white flour is ideal. If you want more detailed information on bread vs all-purpose flour, then go through the article.

Recipes to Make with the Flour

In this following section, we will learn how to make this flour and also, how to make warm homemade bread.

Homemade Bread Flour
Ingredients

• All-purpose flour
• Wheat gluten

Directions

In a bowl, mix equal parts of All-purpose flour and wheat gluten. Depending on the quantity of flour you wish to make, the measurements will be for example, 4 cups All-purpose flour and 4 teaspoon wheat gluten. Mix properly and store in an air-tight container to be used whenever needed.

Homemade Bread
Ingredients

• 10 ¼ cups bread flour
• 5 cups water, warm
• 3 packets dry yeast
• 2 cups oats
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ tablespoons salt
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• ⅔ cup vegetable oil

Directions

In an electric mixer, add the ingredients as mentioned - ½ cup warm water, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, yeast, and ¼ cup bread flour. Stir the ingredients properly and let them sit for 5 minutes. Next add oats, water, 2/3 brown sugar, whole wheat bread, and vegetable oil in. Turn the electric mixer on low speed to make the dough. After couple of minutes, turn the speed to medium-high and at a time, add ½ cup bread flour in. In between, check if any flour is sticking to the edge of the bowl or not. If yes, then mix that in as well. Once the dough is ready, prepare a greased bowl to place it in. Coat all surface of the dough properly and cover with a damp cloth. Leave the dough aside for an hour to rise. After this time, cut the dough in 6 equal pieces and shape them into loaves. Place each loaf in 8 x 4'' pans and again keep them aside to rise for an hour. Till this time, preheat the oven at 350º F. Place the pans inside the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. When the loaves of bread are ready, remove them from the oven and set aside to cool down. Turn the pans over on a cookie rack and let the bread cool properly. Cut slices of bread and enjoy.

As you can see folks, the actual ingredients doesn't really include that many items. Just a few simple essential items and you're all set. Try your hand in making more recipes with different types of bread flour. All the best!