HEATHER: DIFFERENCE BETW CAKE FLOUR/BREAD FLOUR
#1567 - 02/27/03 11:53 AM
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SharonMello
Reged: 01/22/03
Posts: 996
Loc: Groveland, CA
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Heather - I might be the Recipe Goddess, but you are, by far, the Recipe Queen Mother!
What's the difference between cake flour and bread flour and regular unbleached flour? Can they be used interchangeably?
Sharon
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Sharon
"Anything Chocolate"...that is all!
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Mmmm...Queen Mother eh? Conjures up visions of me in a little veiled hat holding a matching handbag!
Found great links for this at
http://www.mybackyard.com/current/164r2p1.htm and
http://www.pastryitems.com/baking_information.htm#What%20flour%20to%20use (scroll way down the page to see the different types of flour)
You can substitute for 1 cup cake flour by using one cup regular white flour minus 1 T. You might notice a slight difference in texture if you're making a very light and tender cake (like angel food).
I've never used bread flour - heard it's supposed to be great for bread machines. It's higher in gluten than regular flour (whereas cake flour is lower in gluten). Gluten is great for bread baking, gives elasticity and strength to the dough. This is just what you don't want in cakes and pastries though, as gluten can make things tough when you want them tender.
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Thank you Heather. I was wondering the same thing about the different types of flour.
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I can see you in your matching hat and handbag now! If a person is wheat and gluten sensitive, can any of the subject flours be used instead? And if they can, do you have to add any "extras" for them to work like regular flour?
BTW, Gold Metal's Better For Bread flour works great in the bread machine. It's the only one I use.
Thanks.
Sharon
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Sharon
"Anything Chocolate"...that is all!
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None of these alternative flours can be substituted equally for wheat flour. You'd get wildly unpredictable (and not good) results, because it is the gluten in wheat flour that makes it work so well for baking breads.
There are actually whole cookbooks on gluten free baking. There's a series by Betty Hagman - amazon book link
I haven't used the books at all myself.
Rice does not have gluten, so rice flour would be safe. Oatmeal does have gluten, but what's interesting is that very recent research has shown that it's a type of gluten different from that in wheat in that it does not provoke a negative reaction in people who are gluten-intolerant. Barley, rye, and buckwheat all have gluten.
Found a great web page with info about this - gluten free info
Best,
Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Hey there,
I've done some major experiments with alternative flours for a while now (it's me, the wheat free obsessive) and had some successes and some major disasters....
I've found if it's just wheat flour thats the problem then SPELT FLOUR (can get at health food stores, or mail order over the web...heaps of sites for the US)is an absolute godsend....bakes almost exactly like wheat and you don't have to add anything (truly you can't tell the difference)...had great success with heather's banana bread and a modifyed ginger and date slice (I have to try heather's peppermint fudge cake with it....not nice with Gluten free flour)
As for total gluten intolerance it's harder (more disasters than successes, although there is loads on the web about which different flours to mix for certain baking effects....then you end up like me with a cupboard with 6 different types of strange flour. Guar gum and xantham gum help loads to hold the bread and cakes together...though too much can make it unbelievable chewy (another mishap).
One word or warning, I have found that many of the prepackaged baking flours and gluten free breads tend to have skim milk powder as the second ingredient...go figure.
Happy baking.
Emma
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Thanks!
#1649 - 02/28/03 10:48 AM
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Heather
Reged: 12/09/02
Posts: 7799
Loc: Seattle, WA
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This is great info - in a whole baking arena where I have zero experience. I have heard bad things about the ingredients in the pre-packaged gluten-free baking mixes. I have an aunt who's gluten intolerant, married to an uncle who has IBS, and he can't eat the gluten-free goodies because they're so high in fat. I didn't even know skim milk was added into the mix as well. So she has to bake things from scratch or make two different versions, one for her and one for him.
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Hi,
just had to add that buckwheat has NO gluten...it is called wheat, but is not....and if you mix with another flour it makes totally fabulous pancakes, my favourite sunday breakfast!!!
Emma
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Thanks for correcting this. You know, when I researched a little for this post I was really surprised to see buckwheat listed as having gluten, because I had always read that it was unrelated to regular wheat, and I'd assumed it was gluten free. But then the source I was using said it did have gluten, so I thought okay, I'll reference that, better to be safe than sorry.
Glad to know that it really is gluten-free, because it is such good stuff. I love soba noodles, and you're right - buckwheat pancakes are fabulous!
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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