What is the difference between king arthur flour

Roller milling produces four edible streams. The first two streams yield high-quality "patent" flour that consists of the innermost part of the endosperm and is free of germ or bran.

The patent flour from different varieties of wheat can then be sold separately or blended with other flour to produce the bags of bread, all-purpose, pastry, self-rising, and cake flours available on supermarket shelves, which can last up to eight months stored at room temperature, up to one year if refrigerated, and up to two years if frozen.

The last two streams create lower quality flour—which the industry calls "clear"—comprised of the outer part of the endosperm. Clear flour is commonly added to whole grain and rye breads to which it adds strength and where its drab color can be hidden and used in the production of vital wheat gluten.

Freshly milled flour has a yellowish tint and "makes a weak gluten, a slack dough, and a dense loaf," according to Harold McGee, author of On Food and Cooking. At the turn of the 20th century, commercial flour mills sought to increase production by using maturing and bleaching agents to shorten that aging process; commercial mills, like Gold Medal, Pillsbury, and White Lily, chemically treat some flours to achieve the effects of flour-aging in just two days.

Potassium bromate, a maturing agent, was first used to oxidize the glutenin proteins and improve the elasticity of dough. In many countries, potassium bromate is now banned as a food additive due to concerns over its safety for human consumption. To replicate the whitening process, mills turn to benzoyl peroxide or chlorine gas. Benzoyl peroxide which is more commonly known as a treatment for acne is used in bread, all-purpose, cake, and pastry flours since it has no effect on their pH or their starch and protein behaviors; its effect is purely aesthetic just like its effect on acne!

Chlorine gas is used exclusively in cake flour. In addition to whitening, the process of chlorination improves the baking properties of soft wheat flour by weakening gluten and lowering pH—which helps to produce a sweeter flavor, finer crumb, and a more aerated final product.

You might also notice two other ingredients—enzymes and malted barley flour—when scanning the ingredient list on a bag of flour. The addition of enzymes proteins that can speed up chemical reactions or cause reactions to occur that might not happen otherwise improve yeast fermentation , browning , and extend the shelf life of baked goods and breads.

Malted barley flour—sprouted kernels of barley ground into flour—may also be added; it contains amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starches into sugars, which accelerates yeast fermentation.

American farmers grow wheat varieties that are grouped into six major classes. For this reason, hard wheat is best suited for doughs that require a strong gluten network and produce an open, chewy crumb, while soft wheat is typically used for more delicate pastries and cakes. Its low gluten strength works well in chemically-leavened goods like muffins, biscuits, and cookies, all of which have a tight and tender crumb. You can feel the difference between these flours with your fingers: flour made from hard wheat has a granular feel, while flour made from soft wheat has a powdery texture.

Red wheat contains tannins that lend it a slightly bitter, more robust flavor and a reddish color. White wheat, on the other hand, has no tannins white wine, by contrast, just has lower levels than red , giving it a milder flavor and a light color.

Of course, the distinction between red and white wheat is far more relevant in whole grain flours, which contain the bran, than it is in refined flours, in which the bran has removed during processing. Winter wheat is planted in the fall and harvested the following spring or summer; spring wheat is planted in the spring and harvested in late summer.

It's crucial to take protein level into consideration when considering the perfect flour for a recipe. These protein percentages are an indicator of the gluten-potential of any given flour. Gluten, formed when wheat flour is mixed with water, accounts for the structure and texture in baked goods and breads. In general, the higher the protein content, the more gluten the dough can potentially develop.

Although it contains plenty of protein, the presence of sharp, fibrous bran particles affects the final volume of the dough by tearing strands of gluten. They do. Real baking stuff! The specific protein contents below are specific to King Arthur Flour which really is the only flour I use in my kitchen. If your protein levels fluctuate, your end product will fluctuate, and customers tend to want the same awesome biscuit every single time. King Arthur Flour has some of the tightest milling specs in the industry which means their bags of flour are consistently great every single time, plus all of their flours are unbleached, too!

Where does flour come from? A wheat berry is divided into three parts: bran, endosperm, and germ. Whole wheat flours contain the entire wheat berry while white flour variations contain only the endosperm of the wheat berry. The bran is the hard outer shell of the wheat berry. Bran is like the shell of an egg. Once that shell is broken it adds small sharp shards of bran to milled flour.

These small bran shards are also known as fiber! The germ is very inside of the wheat berry. Think of it as similar to the yolk of an egg because both the wheat germ and egg yolks contain fat. Because whole wheat flour contains the whole wheat berry bran, endosperm, and germ , it can sometimes go rancid or sour.

It can spoil! Rancid flour tastes bitter which can be prevented by storing whole wheat flour in the freezer! The endosperm is the inside body of the wheat berry and makes up most of the mass of the wheat berry. Only the endosperm is used in the milling of white flours. Flour has protein.

There are two proteins present in the endosperm of the wheat berry: gliadin and glutenin. Once liquid is added to flour, the proteins are transformed into gluten.

When the carbon dioxide is trapped within the gluten strand mesh it creates a sturdy, reliable dough.

All-Purpose Flour: The name really says it all with all-purpose flour. This flour is great for just about everything! It's in practically every baking recipe.

It's got a permanent spot on our grocery list. And, if we didn't realize before just how much we rely on it, the buying rush and ensuing shortage last spring due to the pandemic made it pretty clear that everyone wants to have it on hand. Yes, I'm taking about flour. Today we consider availability, consistency, and specialty for a list of flour brands we rely on and buy again and again! Formerly known as King Arthur Flour, King Arthur Baking Company updated their new name and logo last summer to better represent the company's commitment to all kinds of baking.

You'll see some of the photos in this post still show the old "King Arthur Flour" name and logo, but rest assured, the product is the same! While other flour brands mill to a protein range, King Arthur mills their flour to a strictly-controlled and consistent protein count of This means you can expect the flour to perform the same way every time you use it.

It's also unbleached, unbromated, and contains no artificial preservatives. I've been buying King Arthur flour for years. I love that it's an American company that's been around for over two hundred years! The flour is very high-quality and always produces consistent basking results, thanks to its precise protein content, which is listed right on the bag.

It's reliable, and I like how the protein content is clearly listed on the bag. All Bob's Red Mill products, including their all-purpose flour, are made at their manufacturing facility in Milwaukie, Oregon.

The flour is also unbleached and unbromated, and like many white flours, including King Arthur, it contains a bit of malted barley flour , which basically adds a little sugar to the flour to produce a stronger gluten reaction like bromate, but without the chemicals. Yep, the guy who has some of the coolest bread books out there.

So yep, you could use any good flour and make an exceptional bread. My results are always better with KA flour so thats what I stick with. King Arthur's unbleached bread flour is The protein in flour produces gluten when it gets wet; that makes your dough elastic and provides structure. The higher the protein the better structure you can expect. Cake flour, for example, will run about six to eight percent protein. That would not make a very good bread. KA's That said, I don't use KA flour.

I get it on sale at about half the cost of KA flour so it saves me a significant amount of money which, in these difficult times, helps me stretch my budget.

Be wary of flour made from soft winter wheat. When you're comparing protein percentages all you need to do is Google the brand name of the flour e. Wegmans flour along with the word "nuitrition" and you'll usually come up with the nuitritional information that's printed on the label.

You'll have to do a bit of math to calculate the percentage of protein per gram a "cup" is not a cup the world round - some might be 4.

If I look on the label of KA bread flour, I see serving size is 30 grams and protein is 4. If I divide 4 by 30 I get. What am I missing? A lot of rounding on their part? For instance, 3. Where did you get the Thanks, Varda. Yes, rounding is the issue. That 4 grams of protein could actually be 3. Suffice it to say that only the manufacturers, or those with the wherewithall to analyze the flour, know the precise percentage of protein.

With lean breads, I notice a difference in taste. Baguettes, including sourdough baguettes, made with white all purpose flour, taste better with KAF. But that's about the only time I use KAF. With enriched breads, I don't notice any taste difference.

However, I don't use any store brand all purpose flour for bread because of the low protein content. And for whole wheat, I like stone-ground hard spring wheat, no particular brand.

But that does eliminate store brands and even Gold Medal. I discovered the difference in quality in brands of flour when I switched to a lower quality cheaper flour to feed my sourdough.

It didn't look or feel the same. It was thin and weak, even though I used the same amount of flour. If you bake enough to make it worth it, consider finding an outlet that sells 50 pound bags. Sir Lancelot is their highest protein bread flour Thank you everyone very much for your informative advice. This is a wonderful forum with so many knowledgable people.

But you guys are not only knowledgeble, but also convinsing. I used to buy all the flours but KA becouse of price. I found that sugar is cheaper in a store brand but tastes the same. I thought the the flour is the same. I understand that KA does not grow or mill - they just market. Will it be fare to say that I should not look for brand but for content of the flour first?

I understant that for bread the more protein the better. Are there other thing I need to look in the flour? What can be said about WalMart flour? They sell it for 99C for 5LB, the same as Wegmans on sale. What about ShopRite brand? I believe Gold Medal is the source for WalMart flour.