What is the difference between "whole wheat pastry flour" and "all-purpose flour"?!


Question: Recipe requires "whole wheat pastry flour" but I have "all-purpose flour", wondering if I can use it in the recipe.


Answers: Recipe requires "whole wheat pastry flour" but I have "all-purpose flour", wondering if I can use it in the recipe.

The difference between whole wheat pastry flour and all-purpose flour is the type of wheat and the parts of the wheat berry used. In whole wheat pastry flour, the entire wheat berry is used in the milling process, and the type of wheat is a soft wheat, which has less gluten-forming proteins. This type of flour is used for pies, muffins, cookies, cakes - any pastry that you want to be tender.

All-purpose flour is only the center part of the wheat berry, called the endosperm, which is why it is whiter in color and smoother in texture than whole wheat flour. Usually, all-purpose flour is milled from hard wheat, which has a lot of gluten-forming proteins; in the south, however, all-purpose flour can be milled from soft wheat (White Lily is one of these).

Since the gluten-forming proteins in these two types of flour are so different, they really shouldn't be interchanged - if you use all-purpose flour for the pastry flour, your pastry will probably be a little tougher and drier. For pies or cookies, this probably won't be very noticeable, but for cakes it will be very noticeable. In fact, for cakes, bleached cake flour will give you the best results.

Hope this helps...

you can use the allpurpose flour, however the results will suffer.

it's filled with more fibre...is better for you,
but if it calls for whole wheat pastry you definately have to use whole wheat*.....not sure exactly why that is, but I do know, it needs to be what it calls for. The density in it for whatever it is you're making, needs whatever it is in the whole wheat that you don't get in the all purpose.*

goodluck*

Whole wheat pastry is more healthy, although, all purpose tastes better

I think the recipe will be fine, but remember that whole wheat = healthier you! I do think your recipe will turn out fine, though, because the whole wheat flour is pastry flour. This is lighter than normal whole wheat flour, so the all purpose should sub just fine for it.
Bon Appetit!





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