Whole Wheat Flour vs. White Flour

No doubt about it, whole wheat flour is the way to go.  If you need any convincing just read this well-written article by Annie Tumlin.

White Flour vs Whole Wheat Flour: White vs Wheat, Bleached vs Unbleached Differences

All my pancakes, muffins, biscuits and cakes are made using 100% whole wheat pastry flour.  Don’t mistake that with the stuff you buy at the grocery store – stoneground whole wheat flour.  Whole wheat pastry flour is lighter than the regular whole wheat flour and is good for quickbreads.  It would not be for yeasted breads since it is low in gluten.  High gluten flour is used for making sandwich breads.

I would also recommend buying your wheat at a health food store where the flour has not been sitting on the shelves for weeks going rancid.  Azure Standard is a natural food co-op where you can buy in bulk.  What’s also really nice about them is that many items can be purchased in small quantities.  It would be a great source to buy your already ground wheat or to obtain wheat berries that you will need to grind yourself for flour.

You can substitute white flour with whole wheat pastry flour in any coffee cakes, biscuits, pancakes and muffins.  If you find the taste to be too different for your family, start by using 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white flour and gradually get to the point where its all whole wheat.

Remember these two things:

1. you want to use whole wheat pastry flour 
2. purchase the freshest flour you can find. 

These two tips are key.

Do you cook with whole wheat or does it scare you?  Please comment.  I’d love to hear from you.