Whole Wheat Flour Vs. White Flour

White flour gives you light delicious bread while whole wheat breads are denser and heartier. The manufacturers use white flour because it has longer shelf life. It is used to make pasta, pizza, donuts, bread, cookies, cakes, crackers, and other processed foods. It is also known as 'all-purpose flour'.

To get the white refined flour, the nutritious parts of the wheat grains are stripped out. The white flour contains less dietary fiber compared to its whole wheat counterpart since the refining process removes most of its fiber content. According some studies, the glycemic index (GI) of the flour made from whole wheat is 51 while that of white wheat is 71.

Foods with low GI are absorbed more slowly compared to those with high GI. This means that the consumption of foods made from whole wheat keeps you satiated for a longer period of time. Since the whole wheat flour is not processed heavily, many of its vitamins are retained as opposed to the white flour.

However, these days, all-purpose flour fortified with vitamins and minerals is available in the market. The whole wheat flour is therefore healthier than white flour, and should be incorporated in regular diet.

The following table presents the nutritional facts of both these flours.

100 g of whole wheat flour and white flour (all-purpose) contain-

Nutrient      Whole          White 
                    Wheat           Flour
                     Flour 

Iron              3.9 mg        4.6 mg

Calcium        34 mg        15 mg

Magne-
sium            138 mg       22 mg

Potassium   405 mg     107 mg

Phos-
phorus        346 mg      108 mg

Copper         0.4 mg      0.1 mg

Selenium    70.7 mg    33.9 mg

Nutrient      Whole         White 
                    Wheat          Flour
                     Flour 

Manganese  3.8 mg      0.7 mg

Zinc              2.9 mg      0.7 mg

Thiamin       0.4 mg       0.8 mg

Niacin          6.4 mg       5.9 mg

Ribiflovin     0.2 mg     0.05 mg

Panto-
thenic Acid  1.0 mg       0.4 mg

Nutrient      Whole         White 
                    Wheat          Flour
                     Flour 

Vitamin B6   0.3 mg       0.0 mg

Vitamin E    0.8 mg        0.1 mg

Folate         44 mcg    183 mcg

Total 
Dietary
Fiber            12.2 g       2.7 g

Total Fats      1.9 g       1.0 mg

The following information may help you while baking whole wheat breads:

• Whole wheat doughs rise much more slowly than the all-purpose doughs. If the whole wheat doughs do not appear to rise at all after an hour or more. Just go ahead and punch them down.

• As whole wheat doughs are stiffer than white flour doughs, they need to be kneaded longer. For instance, you may knead a white dough in 5-10 minutes; however, you may need to knead a whole wheat dough for about 15-20 minutes. This also helps develop the gluten, which helps transform the flour and water into bread.

• Whole wheat doughs require more water compared to all-purpose doughs.
• If the whole wheat dough is sticky, do not add more flour to it since it may make the bread dry and heavy. Instead put a few drops of oil on your palms and continue kneading. This may make the dough easy to handle.

• For a good bread, wheat dough needs to rise at least twice compared to the white dough.

You may take ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour in place of 1 cup of white flour. However, you may need to adjust the quantity of water while kneading. Also, you may need to double the quantity of yeast when baking with whole grains.

You may try replacing ⅓ of white flour with whole wheat flour, and gradually increase the percentage until your baked recipe's flavor and texture are just the way you like them. This may ensure full goodness of the bran and germ in everything you bake with it, be it cookies, pancakes, bread, pizza, or brownies, adding hearty flavor and whole grain nutrition.

Disclaimer: This story is for informative purposes only and does not in any way attempt to replace the advice offered by an expert on the subject.