Flours and Leaveners

Flours

Flour gives structure to baked goods. There are many different types of flours and it can become confusing. This guide will only cover the different types used in our recipes. The crucial difference is the protein content.

You basically have two types of white flour that are determined by the physical hardness of the wheat it is made from. Hard wheat flours such as Bread Flour add structure and strength. Soft wheat flours like Cake Flour have a low gluten content and are used mainly for cakes and pastries. Flours high in protein, such as unbleached flour, develop more gluten, which provides elasticity and strength.

Bread Flour

This is an unbleached hard-wheat flour that gives more structure to baked goods.

Cake Flour

This flour is made from soft wheat and contains very little protein. Cookies made from Cake Flour will have a delicate texture.

All Purpose Flour

This is the flour you will be using most of the time. It is made from a blend of hard and soft wheat. There are two kinds: Bleached and Unbleached. Bleached flour has been chemically bleached for the purpose of blending well with higher percentages of fat and sugar. Bleached flour produces a more tender and buttery cookie.
Unbleached all purpose flour gives a creamier color to baked goods and makes a crispier cookie.

Whole Wheat Flour

Whole Wheat Flour is milled from the entire wheat kernel and so it contains more fiber and has a slightly higher nutritional value. But Whole Wheat flour doesn't have as much strength as white flour, so it can't be substituted for white flour in equal amounts.

So what in the world is a Leavener?

A leavening agent is a chemical substance used in dough's and batters that causes a foaming action intended to lighten and soften the finished product. The leavening agent reacts with moisture, heat, acidity, or other triggers to produce carbon dioxide gas that becomes trapped as bubbles within the dough. Baking powder and Baking Soda are both leaveners.

Baking Powder

Baking Powder is a chemical leavening agent and is one of the most important cookie ingredients. Double acting powder, which is mostly all you can buy these days, means that the first action begins in the mixing bowl as soon as liquid is added. The second action takes place during baking. It is because of this double action that you can completely mix the ingredients and then delay baking until later.
Baking Powder will lose its strength over time, it should be used by the expiration date. One way to test whether it is still good, is to mix one teaspoon with 1/3 cup of hot water. If it bubbles furiously, the baking powder is still good.

Baking Soda

Baking Soda is another kind of leavening agent. It combines with an acid ingredient such as buttermilk or yogurt to make carbon dioxide bubbles.

Yeast

Yeast is a living organism that leavens dough and batters through the process of fermentation. The yeast feeds on sugars and releases carbon dioxide as a by product. In other words, the dough is leavend by yeast farts. YUM!

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