How to Work with Flours & Grains

Interchanging bleached flour and unbleached flour: Both types are all-purpose, which means they are equally good for making most baked goods. The difference is that bleached flour has been made chemically whiter in appearance than unbleached flour.

The bleaching process does compromise some of the flour's nutrients, but they are often added back to the flour.

Which flour you choose is a personal preference. Some bakers like their white cake and bread as white as they can be; others prefer their flour to be processed as little as possible.

Substituting cake flour for all-purpose flour: Sift the cake flour first. Then, use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour for every 1 cup of all-purpose flour.

Substituting self-rising flour for all-purpose flour: You can use it as a substitute for all-purpose flour in quick bread recipes, but omit the salt, baking powder, and baking soda from the recipe.

Substituting whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour: You can replace part of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. Use proportions of half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour in most baked goods. The end product will not look the same and may have less volume and a coarser texture.