Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

Kim — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:21:20 +0000

It always comes back to wheat with food storage. It is the staff of life, after all! You’re probably aware of hard red wheat and hard white wheat, but have you used soft white wheat? Once I accidentally bought some from a local farmer, thinking it was hard white wheat, and when I realized my mistake it sat for months in buckets I thought would never get used. Soft white wheat has a low gluten content so it doesn’t work well for breads Hello! Isn’t that the main reason I store wheat? Answer: NO! After some research I found that soft white wheat grinds into whole wheat “pastry” flour. (Just saying it makes me feel French!) Whole wheat pastry flour is very fine and works fabulously in recipes that don’t require a high gluten content (i.e. quick breads, muffins, crepes, cookies, pie crust). Whole wheat pastry flour makes all the difference in pie crusts. Because it is so fine, the texture of the baked goods stays soft and moist so the wheat flour is almost imperceptible. Voila! Increased nutrition with no whining!

One word of warning, because the flour is so fine, it can clog your wheat grinder. Wheat grinders are made to grind soft white wheat, so just remember to check the passages and clear them throughout the time you are grinding. A pastry brush works well for brushing the fine flour out. Also, I keep my fresh flour in the refrigerator or freezer to prolong the shelf-life.

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Whole Wheat Pastry Flour