An enzyme is a protein catalyst that makes chemical changes in biological systems. Various categories are used in baked goods, beverages, dairy, beer, glucose syrups, starch and other food products.1
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In bakery systems, enzymes act as:
This enables bakers to remove undesirable additives, and make clean label baked goods.
Enzymes are naturally present in many living organisms such as animals, plants, bacteria and fungi. There, they participate in metabolic processes. Also, they can be found in food materials such as cereal flours, fruits and vegetables.1
Commercially, enzymes are produced by fermentation. Food-grade microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi are used. They are produced as by-products of molasses or other carbon-source fermentation. Enzymes can be produced for specific activities and uses by downstream purification, conditioning and standardization.1
Similar to other enzymes, ones used in bakery products can facilitate chemical reactions without undergoing any change in their molecular structure. They can be utilized continuously as long as they are not denatured. For example, heat can stop their activity. Also, there needs to be enough substrate in the flour. Examples of substrates are proteins, fats, sugars, starch or non-starch polysaccharides (cellulose, glucans, arabinoxylans).1,2
Primary uses in bakery products:3,4
Reaction catalysis/hydrolysis
Specific function Hydrolases Protease Protein – peptide bondvariety of primary amines
Bakery enzymes are micro ingredients usually added at levels of 0.005–0.01% (50–100 ppm based on flour weight). How much depends on the formulation and process needs. They require special conditions for optimum activity and performance:1,2
Enzymes used in the bakery industry are GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) food additives in the US. The FDA regulates their source or origin (food-compatible) and establishes limits to their use (if applicable) based on GMP.5
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When I first started baking twenty years ago, I had no idea about the differences between various types of flour. Whatever I bought at the grocery store – usually an all-purpose flour – is all I thought I needed. Over the years, I’ve learned that the flour you choose has a big impact on your bread. I addressed flour in general in my guide to wheat flour. That guide gives you an overview of flour, in particular the different flours sold in the United States, and provides insight on which ones to choose from your grocery store. Today’s post is a companion guide that goes into detail about the ins and outs of baking (especially sourdough baking) with whole wheat flour.
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Whole wheat flour gets its name from the way the grain is processed. In whole wheat flour, the entire (or “whole”) wheat berry is milled and then used in the flour. This is beneficial because you get all the nutrients of the whole grains that come from the bran, germ and endosperm of the wheat berry. Whole wheat flour often has more flavor than bread flour or all-purpose flour because of the flavor that comes from the bran and germ, both of which are sifted out of all-purpose and bread flour.
So why doesn’t everyone use whole wheat flour? It is a lot more difficult to get light, fluffy and airy bread using a whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour includes the bran and germ, which act like little “shards” cutting the gluten strands while the dough is mixing and resting. This leads to a bread that is more dense and less elastic. In contrast, while bread flour is milled from the same hard wheat berry, the bran and germ are sifted out, leaving mainly the endosperm and a resulting flour that has the potential to become very elastic and smooth.
Wheat berries are grown in different regions of the United States and across the world. In the United States we categorize wheat as hard or soft. Hard wheat is higher in protein content and used mainly in breads. Soft wheat is lower in protein content and used in quick breads (muffins, cookies, pancakes, etc.).
Hard white wheat is primarily grown in the Pacific Northwest, but also in a few other Northern states. It accounts for 10-15% of wheat grown in the U.S. It has a mild flavor, a high protein contenvt and is used for whole wheat breads, some noodles, crackers, cereals, etc… The protein content is anywhere from 10-14%. I like this hard white wheat that I buy in bulk.
Soft red wheat is some of the wheat I buy from my local mill in Kentucky, though they’ve stopped selling wheat berries. It accounts for 15-20% of the wheat grown in the U.S. and is grown in more humid states along the Mississippi River and other Eastern states. It has a lower protein content at 8.5-10%, which means it can have trouble holding the structure of a loaf of bread but is perfect for flat breads, cakes, cookies, crackers, pancakes, quick breads and pastries.
Soft white wheat makes up 10% of US wheat production and is grown primarily in the Pacific Northwest (but also a few other places in the US). It is used in pastries, biscuits, crackers, snack foods, Asian noodles and bakery products. The protein content is 8.5-10%. I really love this soft white wheat to use in many of my sourdough discard recipes.
When you walk into your local grocery store, you don’t often have very many choices of whole wheat flour. It’s usually already milled and is sitting on the shelf ready for you to bake with. Most whole wheat flour purchased off a grocery store shelf is going to be a hard wheat. It is best used for bread baking and will have a higher protein content. Branching out from the grocery store usually gives you more flour options. You can find mills online to purchase flour or wheat berries. Try out some different brands and flavors of wheat to find which you like the best. Just keep in mind:
It seems that everyone is talking about freshly milled flour these days, and for good reason! It has a lot of nutrients and tastes delicious. So here’s a comparison:
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Freshly Milled Flour: Milling your own flour will have the most beneficial nutrients and best flavor of any flour you use. It is at the peak of its nutrition and has a large number of nutrients that you don’t find in commercially milled flour – which often strips out about 30% of the wheat kernel to make white flour. The bran and germ add flavor to the flour, which is often missing from grocery store flour. Freshly milled flour is best used immediately after milling it. This preserves the nutrition in your bread and results in a loaf with a creamier texture that has more flavor and nutrition. Freshly milled flour is also lighter and more fluffy right after being milled, so keep in mind if you are measuring with volume (cups), you may need extra flour – recipes that use weight measurements are helpful.
Sometimes freshly milled flour is referred to as “alive” because it has all its nutrients, enzymes and fiber.
Grocery Store Whole Wheat: Whole wheat flour you can buy at the grocery store is aged flour. It has usually been milled with the entire wheat wheat berry and then is left to sit and age. As air mixes with the flour, the chemical properties of the flour changes, making the gluten bonds stronger. This process usually takes a couple of weeks and by the time you purchase it at the grocery store, the nutritional value may have gone down because of the oxidation process. That doesn’t mean there aren’t nutritional benefits to the whole wheat flour, they are just different than you would get from milling your own.
Freshly milled flour seems like the way to go! But are there any downsides? I wouldn’t really call them downsides, but more things to consider before jumping into freshly milled flour:
For most nutrition, freshly milled flour should be used immediately after milling. But, if you have any extra, store in an airtight container in the freezer to preserve as much nutrition as possible.
The best-case scenario is to find a recipe that has been formatted and made for whole wheat baking, but that doesn’t always happen – and we all may have favorite recipes that we want to add some whole wheat to or make 100% whole wheat. Here are some tips:
Pastry Flour: If a recipe calls for pastry flour, you can substitute a soft whole wheat flour at a 1:1 ratio, usually around 7-9% protein content. Make sure that the recipe you are making calls for a pastry flour or even all-purpose flour if it’s a quick bread, cookies, scones or anything that is not leavened with yeast.
All-Purpose Flour: If a recipe calls for all-purpose flour, you can mix together a higher protein and a lower protein whole wheat flour. For bread recipes that call for all-purpose flour, make sure you use more of the higher protein flour than lower protein flour for increased protein content and gluten development. I like to mix 60-70% hard wheat and 30-40% soft wheat. For recipes that don’t depend on gluten formation, the flours can be mixed together 50-50.
Bread Flour: If the recipe calls for bread flour, substitute a hard whole wheat flour or a combination of two hard whole wheat flours. You can also use most grocery-store aged whole wheat flours in place of bread flour. Whole wheat flour absorbs more water than a regular bread flour, so make sure to let the dough rest to fully absorb the liquid, and you may need to add little less flour or a little more water to your dough when mixing.
The more whole wheat flour you substitute for a white flour, the more you will notice a difference in your baked goods. Flour milled from hard white or soft white wheat is going to taste the most similar to an all-purpose or commercially milled white flour. Hard red or soft red flour has a stronger flavor, which will be more noticeable in your baked goods.
Whole wheat flour absorbs more water than white flour, so if your dough is going to sit for a long period of time before baking, you may need to add a few more teaspoons of water or liquid per cup of flour to the dough.
Typically when you go to make a loaf of traditional sourdough artisan bread, the recipe may call for a small amount of whole wheat flour. If you want to increase the amount of whole wheat flour, you’ll want to try these tips:
Sourdough works a little bit differently than a commercially yeasted dough. The most important thing to keep in mind when working with sourdough and whole wheat is:
The fermentation process is going to go significantly faster using whole wheat flour than a processed bread flour. The wild, natural microorganisms on the wheat berries interact with a sourdough starter quickly, resulting in faster fermentation times.
Sourdough Ferments More Quickly: Be extra careful as you mix your dough and watch it go through the stages of bulk fermentation and cold fermentation. Sourdough made with 100% whole wheat and especially freshly milled grains is going to ferment MUCH faster. A recipe that takes 5 hours to bulk ferment with bread flour may be ready to shape in 4 when using whole wheat. This dough also doesn’t have quite the same leeway on timing during cold fermentation that a loaf of traditional sourdough would. It will take a little trial and error to get your timing and temperatures down, but you do need to modify some of your methods. Either decrease the amount of levain in the dough, decrease the temperature at which you’re keeping your dough, or shorten the fermentation time.
Keep Expectations Realistic: Sourdough made with 100% whole wheat flour is going to be more dense than sourdough made with 100% bread flour. It just is. There’s a reason why commercial mills sift out so much of the nutrient-dense pieces of the wheat berry. Understand that your whole wheat sourdough loaf is not going to be as airy and light, but it will be flavorful and have amazing nutritional benefits.
Sift Freshly Milled Whole Wheat: If you want a softer crumb to your whole wheat sourdough, you can take your freshly milled whole wheat flour and sift it. Use a fine mesh strainer or other sifter and sift out the larger pieces of the bran and germ. Don’t throw them away, but hydrate them, let them sit and then add them back into your dough during some stretch and folds for the most nutrition and flavor, or use the bran and germ in other recipes.
This article was written to address whole wheat flour specifically. There are so many different varieties of wheat (ie: einkorn, spelt, kamut, emmer, etc…) that I am interested in working with. Most of these varieties can be substituted in a recipe for whole wheat. Just keep in mind the protein content of the wheat berries may vary. For bread it’s best to use anything in the 12.5-14% protein content range. You may need to adjust your water up or down depending on how well the wheat absorbs the water in the recipe.
Can I mill wheat berries in a food processor or blender?That depends. You may be able to if you have a high quality blender or food processor. Doing this can also wear out your blender faster, so be careful if you do. You can also get a milling attachment for a KitchenAid mixer or purchase a special grain mill. I love the countertop versions because they are so easy to use, but other styles can be cheaper.
Can you mill regular white flour?If you want flour that is as close to bread flour from a local mill, choose a hard white wheat flour. Run it through your mill a few times (some mills have different settings for finely ground wheat). You can sift your grain after milling it to get rid of some of the bran and germ to make it closer to a white flour you would get from the grocery store. This will still not be exactly what you would get from the grocery store or a local mill which has mills with more power to crush the grain, but it will be close.
Should I add vital wheat gluten to whole wheat recipes?You may see vital wheat gluten called for in many whole wheat bread recipes. I typically like adding it in to whole wheat breads because it gives the bread a fluffier texture.
Sometimes we think that whole wheat flour has to be all or nothing proposition. It’s often presented that way on social media or in articles online. I don’t agree! Most recipes have a soft crumb and even better flavor if you substitute up to 50% whole wheat flour for white flour in the recipe. Just try my Sourdough Spelt Bread and see for yourself!
If you start there, that is a huge increase in nutrition to your bread. Combine that with the existing fermentation benefits of sourdough bread, and you are eating a very healthy and delicious loaf of bread. Start small. Substitute in whole grains where it makes sense. Just take it step by step, a little at a time. What questions do you have? What whole wheat flour do you purchase?
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but I hope to add to it through your comments! Where do you buy your wheat berries? These are some places I’ve purchased from or have seen good reviews to buy wheat berries and whole grains from:
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