Red Wheat vs. White Wheat

One of the reactions I occasionally get when people first try my bread is, "Is this really whole wheat?" And I generally answer with a resounding, "Yes!" The difference, my friends, is in the type of wheat that I use.

Wheat, like just about any other grain or vegetable, comes in more than one variety. Although there are technically six main classes of wheat in the US, I'm going just going to talk about the two most commonly used in baking: Hard Red Wheat and Hard White Wheat.

As you can see from the picture, the red wheat has a darker color than the white. Both have the basic parts of a wheat berry: fiber, bran, and starch. The fiber husk has a more golden tint in the white wheat berries, and some people consider it an "albino" wheat because it doesn't have any genes for bran color. In red wheat, you can see a darker reddish-brown husk. In white flour, the bran and fiber are both removed and all you are left with is the soft, starchy center part. So, while white flour pretty delicious in baked goods, it's not helping you out much in terms of nutrition.

Both the red and white wheat flour you see pictures are freshly ground by yours truly. The wheat flour you buy in the store is most likely ground from hard red wheat berries, and like all red wheat flour it tends to have a stronger taste. This can be great for people who love the traditional taste of whole wheat products or a denser loaf of bread. For those who prefer a lighter flavor amnd softer loaf but still want the nutrition, the hard white wheat is a great option. How do they compare side by side when it comes to actual numbers?

(These numbers are per 100 g, which about 1/2 cup of wheat berries.)

Fiber: Red and white wheat both have the same amout of dietary fiber (12.2 g).

Protein: Hard red wheat has a tad bit more protein (12.6 g) compared to hard white wheat (11.3 g).

Carbs: The white wheat is a little higher in carbs (75.9 g) compared to the red (71.2 g).

As you can see, there's a lot of good things to be said for the hard white wheat. My family prefers it in bread over the red because of the texture and flavor. I prefer to work with it as well because I can use it to replace a portion of the white flour I use in cookies, muffins, or other baked goods without sacrificing flavor or texture.

#wholewheatflour #bakingtips