# Types of flour **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 29, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166 "2017-06-29T22:49:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/1 "2017-06-29T22:49:37Z")
Is there a difference when using bleached or unbleached flour for cooking and baking? ---
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/2 "2017-06-30T00:23:42Z")
No Bleached flour is lighter in color than unbleached. So, if whiteness is a factor in the recipe, bleached flour would make a minor difference. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/3 "2017-06-30T00:46:36Z")
There are so many different types of flour, it would be impossible to answer your question. [FLOUR](http://slippedisc.com/2017/06/watch-dog-steals-applause-at-chamber-concert/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark) I can make the assumption you are talking about wheat flour… [What is the difference in Bleached and Unbleached Flour??](http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-bleached-and-unbleached-flour-223858) To know how these differences will effect whatever your making, we would first need to know what your making!?! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/4 "2017-06-30T11:36:36Z")
Food and cooking questions are better suited to Cafe Society. Off we go! ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/5 "2017-06-30T15:23:28Z")
Bleached flour is, well, bleached. It’s a kinda icky chemical process. If that disturbs you, you might not want to use it, since the only effect otherwise is to make the color lighter and the flour a tiny bit lighter in ‘weight’. This is basically only relevant if you’re making something that really relies on the lightness of the flour - cake, basically. That doesn’t even really begin to cover the different types of flour, but it does answer your question. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/6 "2017-06-30T15:46:10Z")
As Airk said, it can make a little bit of difference. Bleached flour is a little lighter in cakes, etc. Here’s a professional pastry chef: [Why You'll Never Find Unbleached Cake Flour in My Pantry](http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/05/why-no-unbleached-cake-flour.html) But it’s not a huge difference. You can certainly use either bleached or unbleached in any recipe and it will come out fine. Unless you’re a professional pastry chef, you probably couldn’t even tell the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/7 "2017-06-30T15:57:52Z")
Note that there are other differences in flour types besides whether or not it’s bleached. My dad once bought my mom a hundred-pound bag of flour as a Christmas present, but since he considered it beneath him to know anything about “women’s work” like cooking, he got her cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. It took her ages to use that up. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/8 "2017-06-30T16:53:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Note that there are other differences in flour types besides whether or not it’s bleached. My dad once bought my mom a hundred-pound bag of flour as a Christmas present, but since he considered it beneath him to know anything about “women’s work” like cooking, he got her cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. It took her ages to use that up. Right. Restricting ourselves to [wheat flour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_flour), there’s a lot of variation. [ul] [li]General-purpose flour – middlin’ protein (i.e., gluten) content (9-12%), making for a moderately tender (not particularly chewy) texture, but with enough elasticity to hold yeast or soda rising. May be bleached or unbleached.[/li][li]Bread flour – more protein content (10-13%), ground from hard wheat varieties. Bread, yeast bread particularly, is expected to have more tooth and crust than other baked goods, so bread flour fills this need by being high-gluten. May also be bleached or unbleached.[/li][li]Cake flour – lower protein content than GP flour, and ground from soft wheat. Yields more tender texture after baking, as expected of cake. Usually bleached.[/li][/ul]There’s also whole-grain (all parts of the wheat kernel ground, including bran and germ, versus white (endosperm – starchy part of the kernel only). Which can be unbleached, making it actually pale yellow instead of white, despite the name. My beloved is a hell of a baker, and I’ve had to learn these things by getting them wrong while shopping on her behalf. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/9 "2017-07-01T00:22:22Z")
There’s a slight flavor difference between unbleached and bleached flour. If you’re doing something with a lot of flavor, like cake, cookies, bread, etc. then there is no discernible difference. If you are making something with a very mild flavor, like pancakes or biscuits, there is a difference in flavor. Well, at least I can tell the difference. This is also the reason I buy aluminum free baking powder. we make a lot of biscuits and pancakes around here so I buy the cleanest tasting ingredients so we get a better end product. If you eat a lot of processed foods or do not have a sensitive tongue you may not be able to taste the difference no matter what you’re making. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/10 "2017-07-01T00:56:12Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Right. Restricting ourselves to [wheat flour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_flour), there’s a lot of variation. > [ul] > [li]General-purpose flour – middlin’ protein (i.e., gluten) content (9-12%), making for a moderately tender (not particularly chewy) texture, but with enough elasticity to hold yeast or soda rising. May be bleached or unbleached.[/li][li]Bread flour – more protein content (10-13%), ground from hard wheat varieties. Bread, yeast bread particularly, is expected to have more tooth and crust than other baked goods, so bread flour fills this need by being high-gluten. May also be bleached or unbleached.[/li][li]Cake flour – lower protein content than GP flour, and ground from soft wheat. Yields more tender texture after baking, as expected of cake. Usually bleached.[/li][/ul]There’s also whole-grain (all parts of the wheat kernel ground, including bran and germ, versus white (endosperm – starchy part of the kernel only). Which can be unbleached, making it actually pale yellow instead of white, despite the name. > > My beloved is a hell of a baker, and I’ve had to learn these things by getting them wrong while shopping on her behalf. Also really high-gluten flours, like 14% or 15%. We use that to make water bagels. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/11 "2017-07-01T15:42:35Z")
Thank you all! I appreciate the information. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/12 "2017-07-01T17:52:58Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Also really high-gluten flours, like 14% or 15%. We use that to make water bagels. I just add vital wheat gluten to AP, if I need a higher gluten content. Easier to keep one bag of flour and one of gluten, rather than umpteen bags of special flours. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2017, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/types-of-flour/790166/13 "2017-07-02T00:53:48Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > I just add vital wheat gluten to AP, if I need a higher gluten content. Easier to keep one bag of flour and one of gluten, rather than umpteen bags of special flours. Thanks, I was unaware of that and looked it up, it looks way easier.