What is bread flour? I just purchased a bread machine, and it seems that all the recipes call for bread flour

bread flour is a bit heavier than normal flour. All purpose flour works just fine in a bread maker and is less expensive.What is bread flour? I just purchased a bread machine, and it seems that all the recipes call for bread flour
It's flour that has additives that help the yeast rise better. You can use all-purpose flour and it wouldn't be that much of a difference.What is bread flour? I just purchased a bread machine, and it seems that all the recipes call for bread flour
From the website





FLOUR:


Flour is the basic ingredient and backbone in baking. The most commonly used flours are milled from wheat. The types of wheat grown in America can be separated into two basic categories, hard or soft. The main difference between the two is the protein quantities in the wheat.





Hard wheat contain higher levels of two specific proteins glutenin and gliadin and is milled into strong flours. These two proteins form gluten when flour is moistened and mixed. Hard wheat flours are High-gluten, first clear, patent, bread flour, whole wheat and bran flour.





Soft wheat contains less protein and is milled into weak flours. Weak flours have less moisture and starch. These types of flours are cake flour and pastry flour. All-purpose flour is a combination of 40% cake flour and 60% bread flour.





Once flour is milled, it can be stored to age for 6-8 months. During this time, it goes through a chemical change as oxygen bleaches the flour, as well as maturing the proteins so they will be stronger and more elastic. To avoid the need to store material for this period of time, flour millers add very small amounts of ascorbic acid and chlorine which matures and bleaches the flour much more quickly without taking out any nutritional value. All flour is fortified to meet FDA standards and must contain vitamin B, D and iron.





The wheat kernel consists of three main parts:





1. The bran is the hard outer covering of the kernel. It is present in whole wheat flours as tiny brown flakes, but is removed when milling white flours.





2. The germ is the part of the kernel that will become the new wheat plant if the kernel sprouted. It has a high fat content, which can quickly become rancid.





3. The endosperm is the starchy part of the kernel that remains when the bran and the germ are removed. It is this portion of the wheat kernel that is milled into white flour.





HARD WHEAT FLOURS:


bran flour - flour which the bran flakes have been added. The bran may be coarse or fine.


bread (patent) flour - comes from the center of the wheat kernel. It has a lot of elasticity, and produces a moister product than high-gluten flour.


cracked wheat - same as whole wheat, but milled more coarsely.


first clear flour - used to mix with rye and pumpernickel to give them the gluten they lack.


graham flour - milled from whole wheat, but much finer.


high-gluten flour - the whole wheat kernel of the wheat is used and results in a drier product with a harder crust.


whole wheat flour - made by grinding the entire wheat kernel, including the bran and germ. Since it is made from the whole kernel, it has some gluten and can be used alone in bread making, however the end result of 100% whole wheat is heavier than white bread.





SOFT WHEAT FLOURS:


All-purpose flour - a combination of 40% cake flour and 60% bread flour.


cake flour - comes from the center of the endosperm and is fine-textured, silky flour which keeps cakes and pastries tender and delicate.


pastry flour - has poor gluten quality and is used in baked goods with low amounts of leavening (pies, cookies, biscuits).


rye - milled much like whole wheat, but comes from rye grain. It has a low gluten content.


pumpernickel 鈥?same as rye meal. Made as a dark, coarse meal from the entire rye grain kernel, including the bran.
Bread flour as a higher proten contain tha all purpose. It make the bread proof better.
Bread Flour





A type of flour that was developed specifically for bread making. Bread flour is unbleached, high-gluten flour that typically contains 99.9 % hard wheat flour with malted barley added to increase the yeast activity. The high gluten content is necessary in order for bread to rise effectively. Another ingredient that is often added to the flour is potassium bromate, which increases the elasticity of the gluten.


The use of bread flour results in larger bread loaves with a lighter and less crumbly texture. It should be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry location. Bread flour is most often used in the commercial baking industry and is often confused with gluten flour, which has a higher gluten content than bread flour.





You can use regular flour, but it makes a more dense loaf. After trying bread flour, I keep it on hand all the time. I like the lighter loaves.
The consistency of bread flour is coarser. It will make a difference in a bread machine if you use reg. flour because it is lighter and will rise over the top of your machine. Bread flour is beside the reg. flour in the store. You can get white or wheat.