Cooking For Engineers

[ElectricSmile]

Hi...
I have a bread recipe that calls for whole wheat flour and unbleached wheat flour. I have wheat to grind, but don't know how to make unbleached flour. It seems like it should be the same thing, but apparently it's not.
THanks for your help

[Taamar]

If you grind the wheat, you have 'whole wheat flour'. If you remove the bran and then grind the wheat, you have 'unbleached white flour'. I have no idea how one removes the bran, though.

[Michael Chu]

"Unbleached" actually means "bleached but not by chemical means". In the olden days, all flour was bleached by letting it sit out in the open until the color of the flour faded. The bleaching (bleaching just means that chemicals are reacting to oxygen) of the flour isn't just for looks - it removes sulphur compounds (as well as pigments) which interfere with gluten production. Flour that has been matured either by chemical means ("bleached") or by leaving it in the open ("unbleached") produces baked goods that trap air more easily - making spongier, airier, and more elastic baked goods.

How do you make "unbleached" flour? You have to store it. But, since you've got whole grain flour - it goes rancid over time (due to the oils). Your best chance is to store it in your fridge until the color lightens, but it seems like too much trouble/time for me (especially for something that may or may not work). My suggestion is to either buy unbleached whole wheat flour (or bleached, in the end it's the same stuff - essentially no chemicals are left on the flour after bleaching since the compounds allowed in the U.S. are evaporate readily) or use your whole wheat flour for both the whole wheat and unbleached flour and see if you like the final (denser) texture. If you do, then you've found a great use for your wheat.