Flour comes in a huge range of types, and is a pretty basic ingredient. Unlike some other things where I try to minimise choice and just rely on one or two types, flour is something where you need several.
Things to think about. Firstly how much will you use? like any ingredient you want to have a reasonable turnover. Especially for things like wholemeal or rye you might use them less so be sensible how much you buy at once.
The second is about choice and taste. I do make fresh pasta, but I don’t use tipo 00 flour, I find I can make excellent pasta without it. I could also live without rye flour quite easily, but I like the taste. So there is a compromise – I need to use it enough to make it worth having. For most people it’s probably not an issue, but I have to buy rye flour online, about 6kg at a time.
So what’s in the cupboard and why:
Plain Flour
A basic workhorse. Plain white flour is for white sauces, tortillas, samosa, gyoza wraps, part of a mix for pasta, pastry, cakes. I only keep one bag in at a time, and when I use it it’s in 50 – 75g batches normally. But I use it a few times a week. Even if it’s just as a base to mix spices into then coat meat before sealing in a pan – it’s my go-to thickener. I don’t have arrowroot or cornflour in the house, and most of my gravies are stack based rather than bisto based.
Self Raising
I use this much less than plain, typically in cakes and muffins. In muffins I’ll often use it instead of baking powder and plain flour, because I prefer the rise I get. I don’t use it that often, so I tend to keep one bag in, it’s still a 1.5kg because just a few trays of muffins during soft fruit season and it’s all gone…
Strong White Bread Flour
Okay so there are loads of types of bread flour. I use strong, not very strong. Why – well because it’s plenty good enough. You can read lots of good articles on the difference, but to my understanding it’s about a higher gluten and protein content in very strong flour.
Strong white flour is the backbone of my baking, it’s 50% of my pasta mix, by pizza dough, naan, pitta, ciabatta, basic white. I buy it by the 16kg sack and it’s about 3 months before my next order. It’s worth noting that from October 2022 (I think) all UK flour (except wholemeal) will be fortified with 4 key things – Iron, Calcium, Thiamine and Niacin (Vit B1 and B3). Some flours also contain extra folic acid, but many (most?) do not. My understanding is that wholemeal and gluten free flours are more often fortified with folic acid than other types. For most people it’s invisible, but for some they will want the extra folic acid and for others it can cause issues. I’m no expert, but if you are going to bake your own bread find something that’s right for you and then stick to it, or at least know what your looking for if you change.
Wholemeal Bread Flour
For basic brown bread, brown baton and for brown pastry pie toppings. In a shortcrust pie topping it adds a great nutty rich flavour that goes well with red meats. I don’t use to much so I only keep one bag in at a time.
Rye Flour
Rye is a dark strong tasting flour, it has less gluten than white flours and therefore makes denser bread. The taste is fantastic and I always add some rye to a brown loaf for that reason. However, because it has less gluten the bread doesn’t rise as much or as quickly – so a longer rise is sensible. Occasionally I’ll make a 100% rye loaf, cut into wafer thin slices it is great with meats and cheese – stronger cheeses and smoked meats can be just superb with rye. Not to everyone’s taste but I’d not be without it.
Semolina Flour
Perhaps the most unusual choice for my selection. Semolina is a must have for me. It makes pasta awesome as it is milled from durum wheat kernels, unbleached – it has high gluten and protein ensuring the right texture to a fresh pasta. I use it to fortify breads as well. My sourdough starter is 60% semolina, my naans 25% – you get the picture… My pizzas just wouldn’t be the same without it.
