Wheat flour: Local grains to local delicacies
Most of us are familiar with flour, one of the most common baking ingredients across the world since the beginning of recorded history. Flour makes bread, pasta, noodles, and all kinds of delicious pastries. What many people don’t know is that flour comes in different forms, not just across different grains, but even from different kinds of wheat.
Wheat is grown in a variety of ways: planted during the fall to lay dormant over the winter or planted in the spring, and in high and low protein varieties (called hard and soft wheat respectively). The kind of wheat grown depends a lot on the climate and soil of a given region. Here in Ontario, we primarily grow Canada Eastern Soft Red Winter Wheat, which produces flour used for making baked goods, including pastries, cookies, and cereals.
What kinds of wheat flour are there?
There are many varieties of wheat flour:
- Bread flour is used for making bread varieties found at most grocery stores. It comes from higher protein (higher gluten) varieties of wheat.
- Pastry flour is used to create baked goods such as cookies, cakes, and muffins. Canada Eastern Soft Red Winter Wheat that is grown in Ontario is primarily used to produce this kind of flour.
- All-purpose flour blends different kinds of wheat flour to produce a mixed product which can be used for all sorts of home baking. Check out some of our baking recipes with wheat.
- Whole grain wheat flour is used to describe flour which is made using all components of the wheat grain, including the bran, endosperm, and germ. Whole wheat has a variety of health benefits, such as boosting digestive health and reducing the risk of many diseases.
Seeing the differences between different kinds of wheat flour allows us to appreciate the unique qualities of Ontario wheat. Most wheat grown in Ontario stays in the province, being milled to make cereal, crackers, cookies, and cakes.
If you’re eager to explore the many uses of wheat in our diets, check out our recipes to try a new wheat based recipe today!
