Ask Miss Smartypants - March 29, 2010 |
| Print | |
| Written by Miss Smartypants |
| Monday, 29 March 2010 00:00 |
Art: Nina Charest
Dear Miss Smartypants, I was at Bulk Barn this morning picking up some flour, and I noticed that above the type of flour it said "soft." The flour in the bin below was "hard." I looked around, and, sure enough, flours can be hard or soft. What does that mean? What's the difference? Baking Can Be Tricksy Dear That It Can, Pastry flour, right? Pastry flour is "soft." Soft flours have lower protein and gluten contents because they are made from softer wheat like winter wheat. Soft flours, like cake or pastry flour, produce more tender and flaky products, which is what makes them good for things like, well, cakes and pastries. If you were making a chiffon, for example, then you would want a soft flour to help keep it light. Soft flours also tend to come "pre-sifted," which helps introduce air into the flour, again making it lighter. Hard flours, par contre, are made from harder wheat, like spring wheat, and have higher protein and gluten levels. Bread flour is hard flour because obviously you would want a loaf of rye to be denser than that chiffon. For general use, keep all purpose flour, which is a blend of hard and soft flours, on hand. And since we're all here, self-raising flour is a blend of flour, baking powder, and salt. If you don't want to pick some up the next time you see it in a recipe, mix 1 cup of flour with 1 teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Now I Want a Chiffon, Miss Smartypants Confused? Let Miss Smartypants figure it out for you: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Bookmark
Email this
Comments (0)
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
