It’s a rainy day here in Sacramento, CA but we are still having a great day. Saturday is here, and that means Food For Thought is here!! Today’s thought is on flours, and knowing your flour. Check out the video that I linked in this post below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PXEHU5U7Xc

What is very interesting about flours in general is that each flour offers a different percentage of protein and depending if you dampened the flours or mix them, they will react differently. Below is a chart to better understand how much protein is in each flour and the different types of flours. 

Know your flours: 

Bread Flour: 12-15 % protein

All- Purpose Flour (AP): 10-12 % protein

Cake Flour: 6-8 % protein

Pastry Flour: 8-10 % protein

High Gluten Flour : 14-15 % protein

Whole Wheat Flour- 14 % protein

Self Rising Flour- 9-11 % protein

Semolina Flour- 13 % protein 

Full Fat Soy Flour- 40 % protein

Low Fat Soy Flour- 52 % protein

Corn Flour- 10 % protein

Rice Flour- 9- 10 % protein

• More protein means more gluten means more structure. More protein is ideal for breads, cookies, and baking with yeast.
• When baking cookies or pies, the more flour you add, the more protein you are adding. Every tablespoon of flour counts.
• Use cake flours for biscuits, cakes and pie crusts. 
• Use low protein flours for cookies, muffins and quick breads.
• Always read labels. If a label said soft wheat, that simply means low in protein.