Food Insights
Home baking: not every flour is equal

These days, as we all try our hardest to cut out unnecessary additives in our food, home baking is inevitably rising in popularity. Whether baked from scratch and hand crafted the hard way or simply mixed and baked in a bread maker, the results are near always worth waiting for. Ciabattas, crusty seed studded rolls, batch and cottage loaves, pizza bases, cobs and baguettes, trusty wholemeal, exciting herb, sundried tomato & onion varieties, honey & raisin, sunflower and sesame, cheese and pepper …. There isn’t a type on earth that we can’t produce ourselves with a good recipe and the right ingredients.

Our results though will, of course, depend entirely on the quality and type of flour we use and here is a useful guide to those you should be able to find in your local health food store or supermarket.

Wholemeal & wholewheat – these flours incorporate the complete grain including the germ and the bran. The bran actually retards the
gluten from working as it should and will absorb more liquid which can result in a heavy, unforgiving brick of a loaf. Many bakers tend to blend 50 per cent strong white plain flour with 50 per cent wholemeal flour for a better, lighter texture. Some like it as dense as it comes. As with ordinary white flours it is now possible to buy plain and self raising wholemeal variants and you may also come across strong wholemeal flour which is recommended for bread making.

White plain & self raising flour – do not use these standard, lower grade flours for bread making. They are made from a blend of hard and soft wheat and while they work a treat for biscuit and pastry mixes they lack the strength needed to make an elastic bread dough. Self raising flour is, of course, a convenience product – any plain flour can be “converted” to self raising with the addition of a teaspoon of baking powder to every 200g of plain flour. These days the government ensures that even the cheapest of “own brand” flours are unbleached and have iron, niacin, thiamin and, occasionally also calcium, added to them. This helps to compensate for the loss of nutrients during the milling process.

Brown and wheatmeal flour – usually of a finer texture than wholemeal and lighter in colour as a result of the bran being removed during milling. Beware the cheaper options as some may be white flour parading as brown virtue of added colourants and have no incremental nutritional benefits over cheap white flour. Ditto with shop bought “brown” loaves – not necessarily any better for you than standard white !

Granary – this is the flour we are most likely to associate with a nutritious, nutty home baked loaf. Sometimes called country grain, or malted wheat grain, malthouse or malted granary it is a blend of white, wholemeal and rye flours with added malted grains. Tops on texture with a good chewy bite, it is filling and wholesome.

Spelt – breads made with Spelt flour tend to rise very quickly. Spelt has been known since biblical times and delivers more protein, fibre and fat than more modern varieties. It is also more easily digested by those with gluten intolerance and in addition to being used for bread making it can be used to make pasta. Not commonly stocked, you may need to ask your health food store to order it in for you but it wis worth waiting for.

Rye – this flour has an altogether different texture to most other flours and takes on a grey-ish brown-ish hue. It contains some gluten but not of the same type as normal wheat flour and is therefore often preferred by those with gluten intolerance. It is ordinarily mixed with 50 per cent wheat flour by commercial bakers in this country to create a more aerated bread than the typical dark, solid German type rye breads that are sold. If you prefer the latter then with the right recipe you can make your own – it keeps very well indeed.

Gluten free options – views on the quality of gluten free breads made commercially vary enormously but few of the gluten free blends can make bread of a similar taste, texture and “mouth feel” as the traditional wheat varieties. Experimentation is the answer here if you want to be able to reduce your outlay and bake your own. Try buying the following speciality flours (unbranded) from your health food store and using them in combinations or on their own until you find the recipes that best suit your taste.

Cornmeal – works best as a substitute for wheat flour in quick soda bread recipes and for morning goods like scones. Commercially available gluten free baking powders are available – otherwise experiment with bicarbonate of soda and use buttermilk as part of the mix to get the rise you require. Lovely colour and texture – a far cry from the bland, dry, chemically formed gluten free breads that some people are used to having to eat.

Gram or chick pea flour – a protein rich staple in Asian cultures where it used to make tasty, chewy flat breads including chapattis. This flour can be used to make a very good base for a gluten free pizza …. Or be dressed up with herbs and spices so it becomes much more like a ciabatta in flavour if not entirely in texture.

Rice flour – a principal ingredient in some of the commercially marketed gluten free breads including many that are available on prescription but experimentation is recommended to achieve the best results. Rice flour can be made to work along with gram flour to produce a slightly less dense flat bread or used with a raising agent to produce light aerated rolls.

Potato flour – ideal for a more solid form of soda bread or blended with rice flour to add weight and density. Add assorted linseeds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds for a more rounded finish. Or form flat pancakes that you can drizzle with flavoured oil and grill.

Branded Gluten free flours - there are now several commercially branded gluten free flours and bread mixes sold in health stores and in the “free from” sections in larger supermarkets. Some are also available on prescription. Prices tend to be a lot higher than for ordinary wheat based flours and mixes but will still produce home made breads that are a lot less expensive that the pre-packaged ones.
At least if you make it yourself you can add or leave out what you like perhaps making one savoury loaf, several plain rolls and one fruit loaf per baking session.


Connect invites you to share your favourite bread recipes – whether gluten free or traditional - with other readers. Write to: reader recipes, Connect, 151 High Street, ILFRACOMBE, N Devon EX34 9EZ or email editor@connect-magazine.co.uk