Wheat Flour vs White?

NS81
NS81 Posts: 192 Member
in Recipes
Are there any recipes that you've really noticed a difference in, if you use whole wheat flour instead of white? Will it change the outcome when baking certain things? Do you need to use more or less in some recipes, than you would of white flour?

Replies

  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Are there any recipes that you've really noticed a difference in, if you use whole wheat flour instead of white? Will it change the outcome when baking certain things? Do you need to use more or less in some recipes, than you would of white flour?

    Cookies, pancakes, waffles, pizza dough, pasta dough, and it was not a favorable change when trying out whole wheat
  • AmykinsCatfood
    AmykinsCatfood Posts: 599 Member
    I've had a few disasters with using whole wheat all purpose flour instead of just plain white. A cake I tried to make turned out like a brick instead of the fluffy light cake I usually get, and the only difference was the fact that I subbed whole wheat for white. My second disaster was with blueberry cream cheese muffins... again, very very dense even though I lessened the amount of flour called for and upped the liquids by a bit. Only great success I've had with using whole wheat flour has been in chocolate chip cookies and in banana bread. ETA: And even then they were only ho-hum compared to the white flour versions. Something about whole wheat flour makes things gummy.
  • NS81
    NS81 Posts: 192 Member
    Are there any recipes that you've really noticed a difference in, if you use whole wheat flour instead of white? Will it change the outcome when baking certain things? Do you need to use more or less in some recipes, than you would of white flour?

    Cookies, pancakes, waffles, pizza dough, pasta dough, and it was not a favorable change when trying out whole wheat

    Thank you for the input! :smile:
  • LianaG1115
    LianaG1115 Posts: 453 Member
    Are there any recipes that you've really noticed a difference in, if you use whole wheat flour instead of white? Will it change the outcome when baking certain things? Do you need to use more or less in some recipes, than you would of white flour?

    Cookies, pancakes, waffles, pizza dough, pasta dough, and it was not a favorable change when trying out whole wheat

    Yep!! and so I don't eat them if I can avoid it.
  • NS81
    NS81 Posts: 192 Member
    I've had a few disasters with using whole wheat all purpose flour instead of just plain white. A cake I tried to make turned out like a brick instead of the fluffy light cake I usually get, and the only difference was the fact that I subbed whole wheat for white. My second disaster was with blueberry cream cheese muffins... again, very very dense even though I lessened the amount of flour called for and upped the liquids by a bit. Only great success I've had with using whole wheat flour has been in chocolate chip cookies and in banana bread. ETA: And even then they were only ho-hum compared to the white flour versions. Something about whole wheat flour makes things gummy.

    Thank you! :smile:
  • hkabashi82
    hkabashi82 Posts: 42 Member
    I've used the recipes on this site before for whole wheat flour. You can't do a 1-to-1 switch - the whole wheat is much to dense and the texture and flavor is just different.
  • hkabashi82
    hkabashi82 Posts: 42 Member
    I PM'd you the link since it removed it from the original post! (Still getting used to this site lol)

    Enjoy!
  • NS81
    NS81 Posts: 192 Member
    I PM'd you the link since it removed it from the original post! (Still getting used to this site lol)

    Enjoy!

    Thank you! :smile:
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
    Are there any recipes that you've really noticed a difference in, if you use whole wheat flour instead of white? Will it change the outcome when baking certain things? Do you need to use more or less in some recipes, than you would of white flour?

    Using whole wheat flour, you need more liquid. I normally add sour cream to give it a softer texture. Once you get accustomed to whole wheat flour. there is no returning white flour. I do all of my baking with wwf (King Arthur to me is the best - more expensive), they have a wonderful website with tested recipes.
  • NS81
    NS81 Posts: 192 Member
    Are there any recipes that you've really noticed a difference in, if you use whole wheat flour instead of white? Will it change the outcome when baking certain things? Do you need to use more or less in some recipes, than you would of white flour?

    Using whole wheat flour, you need more liquid. I normally add sour cream to give it a softer texture. Once you get accustomed to whole wheat flour. there is no returning white flour. I do all of my baking with wwf (King Arthur to me is the best - more expensive), they have a wonderful website with tested recipes.

    Thank you, I'll check out the site too!
  • beleeLafter
    beleeLafter Posts: 47
    I use King Arthur 100% Organic White Whole Wheat Flour when making any breakfast or baked goods from scratch and haven't had any problems with it. You can substitute it for all or some of the all-purpose flour called for in your recipe depending on your tastes. I've experimented with almond flour, oat flour, and coconut flour in lots of recipes too! Sometimes you just have to take some time to research and experiment in order to find out what suits you best. There are so many great food blogs out there of tried and true variations of all types of yummy business. Give it a go!
  • NS81
    NS81 Posts: 192 Member
    I use King Arthur 100% Organic White Whole Wheat Flour when making any breakfast or baked goods from scratch and haven't had any problems with it. You can substitute it for all or some of the all-purpose flour called for in your recipe depending on your tastes. I've experimented with almond flour, oat flour, and coconut flour in lots of recipes too! Sometimes you just have to take some time to research and experiment in order to find out what suits you best. There are so many great food blogs out there of tried and true variations of all types of yummy business. Give it a go!

    Thank you! :smile:
  • swalberg0625
    swalberg0625 Posts: 98 Member
    When modifying a recipe in baking I use white whole wheat pastry flour or spelt flour to give it a lighter texture than whole wheat.
  • htebazil
    htebazil Posts: 9 Member
    I use half whole wheat flour and half doppio zero ("00") flour for my pizza dough and it always turns out great. I like that it adds a bit of fiber but I don't think I would make the recipe with all whole wheat flour because I don't think it would have the lightness I'm looking for. You might want to do a little experimenting with your recipes to see when and how much of a substitution you can make without losing the essence of the finished product.
  • NS81
    NS81 Posts: 192 Member
    Thank you everyone! I appreciate the input!
  • 1debbie123
    1debbie123 Posts: 19 Member
    http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/ this is a clean eating website that has been very helpful for me and she uses different flours especially whole wheat pastry flour.
  • amwbox
    amwbox Posts: 576 Member
    The trouble is that whole wheat tends to have higher proportions of fat and fiber vs white flour, which is more protein dense. The more protein, the more gluten, and thus the better rise and texture you get from the finished product.

    Wheat bread is almost always cut with regular flour in order to give the dough some strength.

    Something else: try adding a bit more hydration when using whole wheat flour, and allow longer times for the moisture to soak into the flour, as there is a lot more bran and such in there inhibiting hydration.

    (Been baking artisan bread as a hobby for about 10 years)
  • NS81
    NS81 Posts: 192 Member
    Awesome! Thank you both for the tips!
  • cheesevixen_staci
    cheesevixen_staci Posts: 153 Member
    Huge pasta fail with wheat pastas. It's just not the same taste wise. White is a lot easier to cook with, and it's more tender.
  • EddieHaskell97
    EddieHaskell97 Posts: 2,227 Member
    316lq8x.gif


    Anyway... Everything stacindrower wrote is true. Wheat pastas are difficult to work with, even if they are better for you.
  • soniyamas
    soniyamas Posts: 160 Member
    Are there any recipes that you've really noticed a difference in, if you use whole wheat flour instead of white? Will it change the outcome when baking certain things? Do you need to use more or less in some recipes, than you would of white flour?

    Using whole wheat flour, you need more liquid. I normally add sour cream to give it a softer texture. Once you get accustomed to whole wheat flour. there is no returning white flour. I do all of my baking with wwf (King Arthur to me is the best - more expensive), they have a wonderful website with tested recipes.

    Yes, King Arthur is the best, specially King Arthur White Whole wheat Unbleached Flour :smile:
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Are there any recipes that you've really noticed a difference in, if you use whole wheat flour instead of white? Will it change the outcome when baking certain things? Do you need to use more or less in some recipes, than you would of white flour?

    Yes. Whole wheat flour has a 'heavier' taste to it. All wholemeal flours that I have tried have a heavier taste. I actually prefer the heavier taste, though I usually like a mix of whole meals rather than just whole wheat. For pancakes I prefer those with a good deal of corn flour. For bread, I like added oat flour and rolled oats and maybe some seed meal.

    I don't like whole wheat pasta very much. And I think it's just too messy to make my own pasta. I use either Fiber Gourmet, Barilla Plus or just regular white pasta.
  • chani8
    chani8 Posts: 946 Member
    I recently found organic 'sifted' whole wheat flour. I sifted it again before using (I do this to check for bugs). And baked wonderful fluffy bread. :)
  • NS81
    NS81 Posts: 192 Member
    Thanks again everyone!
  • cyncm
    cyncm Posts: 36 Member
    I have found that it depends on your expectations about what the product is supposed to taste like. Lighter products won't taste the same with WW. But I made a fairly dense cocoa based chocolate cake with whole wheat flour recently and while I found the texture to be different, everyone raved about how good it was. It was a recipe that used vinegar and baking powder.

    I suspect that the issue is sometimes about people tasting something unfamiliar.
  • amwbox
    amwbox Posts: 576 Member
    nt
  • NS81
    NS81 Posts: 192 Member
    I have found that it depends on your expectations about what the product is supposed to taste like. Lighter products won't taste the same with WW. But I made a fairly dense cocoa based chocolate cake with whole wheat flour recently and while I found the texture to be different, everyone raved about how good it was. It was a recipe that used vinegar and baking powder.

    I suspect that the issue is sometimes about people tasting something unfamiliar.

    Thanks for the input :smile: I've recently started using about 1/2 WW to see how much of a difference that makes, then I'll slowly convert a bit more... so far, no one has really noticed (or they're being super polite - either way lol)

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