When it comes to baking bread, the proof is in the flour
Flour, yeast, salt, and water. Through science, skill, and a bit of molecular magic, these four ingredients combine to make a delectable loaf of bread.
Flour is the backbone of any baked goods, adding structure to the final product. And when it comes to flour, there’s a dizzying array of grains—from whole wheat to kamut—that can be ground into flour.
But it’s not just guesswork. When baking bread, the success of the final product depends on the quality and type of flour used. Different flours have varying amounts of protein, the primary one being gluten. “A bread flour needs a high percentage of protein to create structure with a lot of air inside, resulting in those big pockets [like the ones] inside our sourdough,” explains Julian Loué, owner of Rise Bakery in the Village of West Greenville. “On the opposite side of the spectrum, in a cake you don’t want gluten to build up because you don’t want it to be chewy. So cake flour is a very low-protein flour.”
At Rise, the base flour for their sourdough country bread is King Arthur unbleached, unbromated white flour. Loué also uses whole wheat and whole rye organically grown, stone-milled flours from Carolina Ground in Asheville. “Stone-milling is the only way to preserve all the nutritional value of the grain, and preserve the fiber, as the bran is ground in the mix,” he says.
You need not stick to wheat and rye flours when making bread. Ancient grains including einkorn, kamut, spelt, buckwheat, and amaranth are also options. “Every grain has its own unique characteristics—the protein content, the quality of the protein, the texture of the dough, how much water it absorbs, its aroma, its color,” notes Loué.
For beginners making bread at home, Loué recommends starting with a simple, well-tested recipe and a high-quality bread flour, like King Arthur. “It’s very consistent and for a beginning baker that’s important because that flour is going to perform exactly the same every time you use it.”
Interested in other baking staples? Check out our story on sugar.
A Flour Primer
While it’s by no means exhaustive, here’s a list of some common flours and how to use them.
All-Purpose Flour – A versatile wheat flour, A-P falls in the mid-range of protein percentages, making it good for using in cookies, pies, muffins, and biscuits.
Bread Flour – The high protein content of this wheat flour is ideal for crafting artisanal yeast breads.
Cake Flour –Finely milled cake flour boasts the lowest protein percentage of all the wheat flours. Less gluten means tender cakes.
Rye Flour – With a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, rye yields a denser loaf with a distinctive nutty taste.
Kamut Flour – A trademarked name for khorasan wheat, kamut is an ancient grain chockful of protein, fiber, and vitamins. Its nutty, buttery taste enhances products from whole-grain breads to cookies.
Spelt Flour – Another ancient grain, spelt behaves more like all-purpose flour in baked goods, while adding its own distinctive tang.
Almond Flour – Finely ground blanched almonds produce a gluten-free flour typically used in cakes and cookies.
Rye Shortbread Recipe
Reprinted with permission from Southern Ground by Jennifer Lapidus, copyright (c) 2021. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
Boulted Bread, Raleigh, North Carolina
Yield: about 30 cookies
These rye shortbreads are made with 100 percent sifted rye, delivering a lovely sandy tooth and full flavor. They pair well with red wine.
Ingredients:
- 401g (1 ¾ cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 150g (¾ cup) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 500g (5 1/8 cups) medium or light rye flour
- 1 tsp. fine sea salt
- 60g (½ cup) cacao nibs
Instructions:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the egg and vanilla. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix until fully incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and salt and mix until just incorporated. Pulse in the cacao nibs until evenly dispersed.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough to ½-inch thick and cut it into 1×3-inch rectangles. Place them on the prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 14 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack. Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
