Bread flour is a popular ingredient used to make, well, bread. This is ideal for bread baking due to its high protein content and it will give you bread that has good structure and a chewy texture! But bread flour wasn’t just made for bread, yes it might be ideal for bread making but this flour was also created for dietary purposes.
The reason why this flour is pretty high in protein is because it’s made of wheat, and what wheat you may ask? Well, a variety! To give you an idea of what wheats are used to make bread flour, below is a rundown:
1 – Hard Red Winter Wheat
Strong and adaptable, hard red winter wheat (HRWW) is mostly farmed in the central and southern regions of the United States, including Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. This kind of wheat is harvested in the spring or early summer after being seeded in the fall and going through a winter dormant phase.
Known for having a high protein content (usually between 11% and 13%), HRWW is perfect for baking bread and other baked products that need robust gluten development. It is a dependable crop for farmers because of its resistance to harsh winter weather and drought tolerance, which greatly increases the supply of wheat both domestically and internationally. Its firm kernels are also ideal for grinding into flour, which is utilised in a variety of culinary applications.
2 – Hard Red Spring Wheat
A premium wheat type called hard red spring wheat (HRSW) is mostly grown on the Canadian prairies and in the northern states of North Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota. Harvested in late summer after being sown in the spring, HRSW is highly valued for its high protein content, which frequently surpasses 13%. This makes it a top option for baking bread and other baked products that require a strong gluten structure.
The high protein and high-quality gluten content of this wheat provides the dough exceptional flexibility and strength, which produces bread with a beautiful texture and rising. Furthermore, HRSW is a lucrative and dependable crop for farmers, playing a vital role in both the local and international wheat markets because of its tolerance to the cooler, shorter growing seasons of northern regions and its resistance to specific diseases.
3 – Hard White Wheat
A versatile and relatively new wheat type, hard white wheat (HWW) is mostly farmed in the United States, especially in places like Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska. It may be grown flexibly because it is planted in both winter and spring kinds.
Compared to red wheat, hard winter wheat (HWW) has lighter-coloured bran, which results in a gentler, sweeter flavour and lighter-coloured flour. This makes HWW particularly well-liked for whole grain and all-purpose flours. This wheat cultivar appeals to customers who want a milder flavour while maintaining the nutritional advantages of whole grains.
Because of its comparable protein level to hard red wheat, it may be used to make a variety of baked products, such as bread, tortillas, and Asian noodles. HWW’s popularity has increased due to the rising demand for whole grain products, which highlights the significance of HWW in contemporary agriculture and food production.
4 – Durum Wheat
The hard, high-protein wheat type known as durum wheat, or Triticum durum, is grown mostly in hot, arid settings, such as North Dakota in the United States, Canada, and Mediterranean nations like Italy and Turkey. It is the toughest kind of wheat, distinguished by thick, amber-coloured kernels.
Because of its robust protein structure and high gluten concentration, durum wheat is perfect for making semolina flour, which is needed to produce pasta, couscous, and some kinds of bread. Because of its special qualities, pasta has a solid texture and cooks to a perfect consistency without being mushy.
Although durum wheat requires particular growth conditions to be cultivated, its outstanding attributes and the expanding demand for pasta products worldwide guarantee its ongoing importance in the food sector and in agriculture.
Take away
These wheat varieties are all excellent for bread flour because of certain characteristics, especially their high protein content, which is critical for the development of the gluten structure that produces the desired texture and rise in the bread. Knowing what you know now, you’ll be able to understand bread flour all the more.