why use unbleached, all-purpose white flour?

English translation: A mix of different flours

16:01 May 19, 2015
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Cooking / Culinary
English term or phrase: why use unbleached, all-purpose white flour?
Hello everyone,

My question doesn't refer to the meaning of separate words or phrases but to the thought/logic of the cook.

From the TV show titled Naturally Delicious.

So let's get started on our Tofu Quiche with Broccoli and Leeks. Now, I'm going to make the crust, and I'm going to do it right here in my food processor. I use whole wheat pastry flour and unbleached, all-purpose white flour. ***Now, you know, I usually like to stay away from unbleached white flour, but I have to admit that in a crust like this I'm looking for it to be as light as possible.*** This flour is going to do the trick. So let's put the flours in the food processor. ***Here's my whole wheat pastry flour, which of course, is much lighter than just a regular whole wheat flour.*** And here's the all-purpose flour, and then a little bit of sea salt that I've measured out, and baking powder. And then I'm going to go ahead and pulse this in the food processor so that these can mix up nice and evenly before we put in the liquid ingredients.

1. She says, "Now, you know, I usually like to stay away from unbleached white flour, but I have to admit that in a crust like this I'm looking for it to be as light as possible. This flour is going to do the trick."

2. A little bit later she says, "Here's my whole wheat pastry flour, which of course, is much lighter than just a regular whole wheat flour."

This seems strange and unlogical to me. She says she usually doesn't use unbleached white flour and she wants the crust to be as light as possible and that the unbleached white flour will do the trick, i.e. help to achieve this (lightness of the crust). And then she says that from the two kinds of flour she's going to use the ligher one is the whole wheat pastry flour, not the unbleached white flour.

Can anyone please explaint to me the thought of the cook?

Thank you.
Mikhail Korolev
Local time: 19:22
Selected answer:A mix of different flours
Explanation:
She's using a mixture of whole wheat pastry flour and unbleached all-purpose white flour. It's her ideal mix.

Whole wheat PASTRY flour is lighter than whole wheat ALL-PURPOSE flour. And white all-purpose flour is lighter again. Of course, she would never use BLEACHED white flour!

http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-cake-flou-7456...
Selected response from:

Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 16:22
Grading comment
Many thanks to everyone.

Thank you, Sheila.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +5A mix of different flours
Sheila Wilson
4to have a light crust
Yvonne Gallagher
3 +1she's using a mixture
Terry Richards
3 +1the cook is distinguishing between white flour and whole wheat flour
Mark Nathan


  

Answers


14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
A mix of different flours


Explanation:
She's using a mixture of whole wheat pastry flour and unbleached all-purpose white flour. It's her ideal mix.

Whole wheat PASTRY flour is lighter than whole wheat ALL-PURPOSE flour. And white all-purpose flour is lighter again. Of course, she would never use BLEACHED white flour!

http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-cake-flou-7456...

Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 16:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Many thanks to everyone.

Thank you, Sheila.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Terry Richards: I must learn to type faster :)
3 mins
  -> Thanks Terry. It's probably just because the Canary Islands are closer to Argentina (the home of ProZ.com) :)

agree  Yvonne Gallagher: yes, in this case a mix for this light crust
5 mins
  -> Thanks Gallagy. We've sent the Asker a solid message between us.

agree  Helena Chavarria
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Helena

agree  Alok Tiwari
3 hrs
  -> Thanks, Alok

agree  B D Finch
16 hrs
  -> Thanks, B D
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
to have a light crust


Explanation:
she isn't saying that whole wheat flour is lighter but that "whole wheat PASTRY flour" (what she normally uses) is lighter than (normal) "regular whole wheat flour".



Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 16:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
she's using a mixture


Explanation:
She is using both flours. She is using the whole-grain pastry flour for its "goodness" but on its own it is too heavy (even though it's lighter than the regular whole-grain flour). So, she adds some white all-purpose flour to make it lighter.

That's how I read it, but it's not the clearest bit of writing I've ever seen :)


Terry Richards
France
Local time: 17:22
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Helena Chavarria
2 hrs
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22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
the cook is distinguishing between white flour and whole wheat flour


Explanation:
Yes, it is confusing.

As a rule, this cook uses natural ingredients, and so she would not usually use white flour (which is more refined than whole wheat flour).

The fact that is bleached or unbleached is not all that significant, the main thing is that is is WHITE and therefore lighter than any sort of whole wheat flour (which is varying shades of brown depending on how refined it is).

She has therefore chosen to use some white flour in this recipe because she wants a light crust.

The other flour "whole wheat pastry flour" is a sort of intermediary flour that is lighter than "regular whole wheat flour" but still not as light as white flour.



Mark Nathan
France
Local time: 17:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Shera Lyn Parpia: you got it!
3 hrs
  -> thanks
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