The Brown Flour Controversy

Home bakers sometimes have a quandary to deal with when they bake.Do they use the more refined white flour or the whole wheat healthier stuff. Both have their merits but also their detractions too. is one better than the other? There in lies the debate. Most home bakers and even the commercial ones swear by white flour.It is easier to work with along with producing a more tender cAke or bread.White flour also give you a finer crumb cookie and pie crust.Another plus is that you don't have a chewiness to the finished product and what others think of as an intrusive nutty flavor. White flour though does have a bad reputation.It's not as nutritious as whole wheat, causing more problems with diet and weight problems. Many bakers do swear by whole wheat flour. It is better for you because it still has it's minerals And vitamins. while white flour basically has empty calories, whole wheat and other brown flours is chock full of fiber , selenium an iron. It is hard to work with as you'll read in tomorrow's New York Times Sunday magazine section (spoiler alert). Mark Bittman writes about baking baguettes with the flour. It will be hard because brown flour reacts differently with yeast. whole wheat breads and rolls do not have that light, airy crackly crust. the bread itself tends to be thick and dense with a solid chewiness.It can be a difficult medium to work with and it does require a certain amount of patience. There are always are going to be two camps when it comes to using white or brown flour. in the end it really is up to the baker. Use the one that's most comfortable, the one that will guarantee success in baking.