White flour vs. wheat flour

[Night Elf]

Is the wheat flour really better than white flour, or is it refined and therefore unhealthy? I'm trying to learn to cut out white foods which right now is really a big part of my diet. I like baking bread in my bread machine and making waffles. I shop at a normal grocery store so I can't really get ahold of any type of exotic flour. I could order from Amazon though. How does one get off white flour? That's step one of my plan. I did post not too long ago about buying brown breads at the grocery store bakery. The closest I could find to a whole grain was oatmeal bread, which was delicious but I'm not convinced entirely healthy. So, what flour should I try so I can bake bread and make waffles?

 

Please talk slowly and plainly for this clueless chicklet. :tongue_smilie:

[Ellie]

Is the wheat flour really better than white flour, or is it refined and therefore unhealthy? I'm trying to learn to cut out white foods which right now is really a big part of my diet. I like baking bread in my bread machine and making waffles. I shop at a normal grocery store so I can't really get ahold of any type of exotic flour. I could order from Amazon though. How does one get off white flour? That's step one of my plan. I did post not too long ago about buying brown breads at the grocery store bakery. The closest I could find to a whole grain was oatmeal bread, which was delicious but I'm not convinced entirely healthy. So, what flour should I try so I can bake bread and make waffles?

 

Please talk slowly and plainly for this clueless chicklet. :tongue_smilie:

 

So, what you're really asking is the difference between bleached white flour (which is also wheat), and 100 percent whole wheat flour. :-)

 

Bleached white flour has had most of its nutrients removed. Rats fed on bleached white flour...die.

 

Whole wheat flour is very nutritious, but baked goods made with it are going to be much heavier, have more substance.

 

The oatmeal bread might or might not have been healthy; if it was made from bleached white flour instead of whole wheat, then no, the oatmeal didn't add that much. Some bakeries will say their bread is "wheat," and people think it's *whole wheat* because it is brown, but actually, the brown comes from caramel coloring. You have to read the label to be sure it says "whole wheat."

 

I quit bleached white flour cold turkey. I'm just like that, lol.

 

Most grocery stores have whole wheat flour. It isn't as fresh as whole wheat flour you grind yourself, but it will still be better than bleached white flour. Your waffles will be heavier. Your family will just have to get used to it. :-)

[TravelingChris]

I use unbleached white flour and occasionally whole wheat flour. It really depends on what you are doing it for. White bread and whole wheat bread are basically the same on the glycemic scale so if you are trying to prevent diabetes, it doesn't make a difference,. Eating less bread and eating what bread you do with fat actually lowers the glycemic level.

[justasque]

<waves to Ellie >

I'm going to basically repeat everything Ellie said.

 

>>>>Is the wheat flour really better than white flour, or is it refined and therefore unhealthy?

 

It's the white flour (and rice, and so on) that are more refined. The whole wheat, brown rice, etc. are the healthier choice.

 

First, terms. Both white flour (all purpose, bread flour, bleached, unbleached, etc.) and whole wheat flour are made from wheat. The difference is that "whole wheat" has more of the wheat bits in it, and the others have some bits taken out. Lots of things nowadays are marketed as "wheat bread" or "wheat pasta" or "wholegrain" or "multigrain". The majority of them are not what you're looking for. You need to read the ingredients label. "Wheat flour" is white flour. It has to say "whole wheat flour" in order to actually be whole wheat flour. Things that are labeled "wholegrain" or "multigrain" are a blend of grains. In many cases, "wheat flour" - that is to say, white flour, is still the main ingredient. Read the label!

 

In addition, to make it more palatable, whole wheat bread often contains a ton of sugar, sometimes in the form of honey or high fructose corn syrup. To find commercial bread that is 100% whole wheat *and* does not contain HFCS is really a challenge.

 

Making stuff from scratch, like you're doing, is the best way to know exactly what you're eating. You can buy the flour labeled "whole wheat flour" and use that in your cooking. If you're making bread, be sure to use a recipe and machine cycle that is intended for whole wheat, at least while you're starting out. You can also usually substitute up to 1/2 of the flour in a regular recipe with whole wheat flour without courting disaster.

 

Store your whole wheat products (flour, pasta, brown rice) in the fridge so they last longer. Whole grains like these can go rancid, so you'll want to buy them in smaller quantities and use them promptly.

 

ETA: For me, white bread does not fill me up as well as whole wheat, and messes with my blood sugar levels. Same with rice, etc. I am more successful with weight loss when I eat only whole grains and avoid the "whites".

[justasque]

I use unbleached white flour and occasionally whole wheat flour. It really depends on what you are doing it for. White bread and whole wheat bread are basically the same on the glycemic scale so if you are trying to prevent diabetes, it doesn't make a difference,. Eating less bread and eating what bread you do with fat actually lowers the glycemic level.

 

I think it's hard to generalize about this, because so many commercial whole wheat breads have a lot of sugar (honey, HFCS), which increases their glycemic index. Bread has a wide range of GI values, depending on how it is made. In addition, fiber makes a difference. If GI is a concern, it can't hurt to err on the side of whole grains, all other things being equal. Of course, if GI is a concern, carbs in general should be minimized.

[wapiti]

Of course, if GI is a concern, carbs in general should be minimized.

 

This is what I was wondering. If "healthier" happens to include a goal of losing weight or addressing glucose/insulin issues, I'm not sure how significant of a difference switching from white to whole wheat will really make if the amounts of flour in your diet are generally kept the same.

[stripe]

Is the wheat flour really better than white flour, or is it refined and therefore unhealthy?

Whole wheat flour is ground up wheat. It may have some small portion of bran or germ removed, depending on the manufacturer, but otherwise it is only "refined" in that it is ground. I don't consider it less healthy than, say, boiled wheat berries.

 

Try to find "white wheat flour," such as that from King Arthur flour, or Wheat Montana (they sell it at many Walmart supercenters). This is a lot less bitter than flour made from red berries. I like it vastly better.

 

King Arthur Flour's whole grain baking book is nice. It is not 100% whole wheat in most recipes, but if you want to add more whole grains to your diet and still make "normal" baked goods, pick it. You can get a lot of their recipes on their website at http://www.kingarthu...at/whole-grain-

[Kalmia]

Here is my whole wheat pancake/waffle recipe

 

To make three huge pancakes (7 inch diam) or six small pancakes (3.5 inch diameter)

 

1 1/4 cup King Arthur Organic 100% whole wheat flour (comes in a small bag. available in most grocery stores. IMO this is the best, easy to get whole wheat flour)

2 teaspoons Rumford Aluminum Free Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (regular salt will do)

1 cup whole milk (You can experiment with this to get the batter constancy you want. I like a thick batter to make TALL pancakes. You can also use 1% milk or whatever.)

3 organic eggs (we increase the protein this way, it can work just fine with two eggs but you'd probably have to increase the milk)

2 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil.

 

Do not mix until right before putting in the pan or waffle maker. Cut with a tiny bit more milk if it "puffs up" too much to pour. You can substitute non organic ingredients if the organic ones are not in your budget. Be aware that some brands of extra virgin olive oil are cut with other oils, so I am sticking with organic brands. I do not put ANY sugar into the batter. There is plenty of sugar in the real maple syrup I use on top.

[OrganicAnn]

Some people switch gradually to Whole Wheat. They make bread that is 75% White and 25% WW, then 50/50 then 25% White and 75% WW. Adding Vital Wheat Gluten to the bread will make it fluffier which is sometimes needed in WW bread.

 

I just shop at Krogers and they do have a variety of flours, but it is in their Organic section and not in the flour/baking section. So make sure you look around or ask.

 

I love homemade white bread, but WW is better for you.

[Night Elf]

Okay, I'll look for whole wheat flour. The wheat flour I bought one time only said 'wheat flour', it didn't say whole wheat. To be honest, it didn't taste that much different than the white flour. I'm always amazed at how easy some of you make this sound, but for me it's like doing brain surgery. I am not losing weight or trying to prevent diabetes. I just read that it's best to not be so dependent on a white food diet. I have some kind of potatoes or rice every day. I eat bread every day, lots more when I make it myself. I eat sugar. I still managed to lose 40 lbs. with Weight Watchers and have maintained that for 7 months and am quite happy with my weight.

[MrsJewelsRae]

I use whole wheat for most of our grain foods- bread, muffins, pizza dough, pancakes, waffles, etc. I only use white flour for treats such as birthday cake or cinnamon buns and some cookies. I also only buy whole wheat pasta. I used to bake a lot with other flours such as kamut, spelt and oat flours but since my youngest was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy I cannot buy them from the only place in town that carries them (Bulk Barn) as they could have cross contamination issues. I really miss my ancient grain baking, but I've yet to locate a allergen free source that is affordable. I prefer the taste of whole wheat, my family also enjoys it, honestly I don't like white bread and pastas, and they make me feel ill.

[stripe]

Okay, I'll look for whole wheat flour. The wheat flour I bought one time only said 'wheat flour', it didn't say whole wheat. To be honest, it didn't taste that much different than the white flour.

 

I'm not sure what you bought, but white flour is wheat so it seems kind of confusing. As opposed to, say, rye, or spelt or corn, or some other grain. Worse yet, "white wheat" is paler-colored wheat, and the whole wheat flour made from it is lighter in color than the typical dark brown whole wheat flour. But it's still whole wheat! So the bags say "white whole wheat." It's like the blond cousin of the red-headed wheat kernel, if I may use a really bad analogy.

 

King Arthur's looks like this

http://www.kingarthu...heat-flour-5-lb

 

Gold Medal's looks like this

http://www.bettycroc...ole-wheat-flour

 

Wheat Montana's looks like this and is called Prairie Gold

http://www.wheatmontana.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=39

It is apparently sold at most Walmart Supercenters, if nowhere else

 

But all of them will still say "wheat" because that's the grain of origin.

 

Also if you go to an Indian store, they used to sell wheat flour for flatbreads in bags that suggested it was whole wheat, but it is actually white flour (refined) with additional bran added in, so not actually whole wheat flour. I think the labeling has improved now. Golden Temple (which is made by the Smucker's company), for example, sells two sorts, and they are clearly explained on the package now, and other brands often trumpet loudly, "100% whole wheat!"