Flour

Flour:
If you walk into your local Safeway or other supermarket and head over to the aisle for baking, you may come upon six, seven, maybe even eight different types of flour. With so many options, which one do you choose?
Do you purchase the flour with the prettiest design on the box or the cheapest per-pound value? Is the brand of the flour important?

The answer lies in what is your baked good destination. Most supermarkets in the United States carry at least three types of flour on stock: all-purpose flour, bread flour, and cake flour.

The all-purpose (as its name would hint) is by far the most popular and versatile of the three major varieties. If I were to choose one type of flour to store in my pantry, I would always keep all-purpose (AP) flour on hand.

At its most basic, what differentiates the flours is protein content.
Approximately seventy-five percent of the wheat grown in the United States is hard wheat (that is, wheat that is high in protein). Most flours composed of hard wheat are marketed as bread flour. The high protein is needed to form the plastic and elastic structure demanded by crusty baguettes and chew sourdough breads.

On the contrary, soft wheat is that which yields lower levels of protein. Flours composed mostly of milled soft wheat are sold as cake flour. The lower protein content reduces the amount of elastic framework formed by hardier bread flours. This reduced protein is best suited to delicate baked goods such as light, airy biscuits, pastries, and (as the name suggests) cakes.

All-purpose (AP) flour is usually a mixture of soft and hard flours, which is why it is apt and versatile in the kitchen.

Less common flour includes self-rising flour. For the most part, self-rising flour is AP flour that has been laced with chemical leavening. This additional lift is best when working with dough that requires chemical leavening (usually baking powder) so that there is already carbon dioxide gas bubbles at work before the dough is completely formed.

Bleached or Unbleached:
You may also see several different variations of unbleached flours. They are identical to the flour of its original counterpart; except unbleached flour is void of the additional flour bleaching agents added to flour in order to make it appear whiter. Initially, when flour is processed at the mill it is slightly yellow in color. Most of the time flour is treated with calcium peroxide (CaO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), chlorine (Cl2), or chlorine dioxide (ClO2­). Albeit this chemical nomenclature appears complex and dangerous, do not be frightened. These chemicals are added in small proportions and only used to whiten the flour.

So why not purchased unbleached flour to avoid the chemicals in its entirety? It would probably be safer to consume products made by them. I see no reason the flour needs to appear white.

Ehh, it may not be the best approach to purchase unbleached flour solely for the absence of chemicals. Consider the final aesthetics of the baked good. Using the unbleached yellow-tinted flour can make yellow-tinted “white” bread. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have strict regulations that govern the addition and application of chemicals to food products intended for human consumption. These laws permit only certain bleaching agents are used in precise quantitative amounts.

In the end, the choice of flour to use in your products greatly depends on the qualities sought to yield the proper processes needed to arrive at your final destination.

The Chewy

This is the final installation in this three-blog series on cookies. I have taken the chocolate chip cookie further past the ingredients, past the procedure and technique, and into the science! Again I propose the question “How do variations in the proportions of ingredients affect a final product?”

The chewy cookie variation is my favorite. It provides the best characteristics of the Thin and the Puffy – a flat, dense consistency from the Thin, yet a moist interior from the Puffy.

For the chewy, the Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe must be modified to support more moisture. If you have become a dedicated reader to this series, you will remember the most important factor in cookie baking – the fat. Chewy cookies require something in order for it to have a slight chew. If you look at the ingredients list, none of them are chewy. Flour, salt, baking soda, brown sugar, white granulated sugar, butter, and chocolate are all powdered or soft solids. Vanilla extract and eggs are liquids. So where does the chew come from and why do the other cookies (which follow similar ingredient lists) not have such a defined chewy texture?

The answer lies in the flour. The starch in the flour is contains of two proteins, gliadin and glutenin. When water is added to the flour and agitation is applied, the two proteins cross-link to form this water-insoluble network of proteins called gluten. This gluten is responsible for the chew in baguettes, sourdoughs, bagels, and other breads.

Water is still needed to activate the production of gluten. So instead of using softened butter, it will be melted to take advantage of the water phase in butter. Therefore, when the flour is introduced to the batter, more gluten will form leading to a chewier cookie.

While on the note on flour, the type of flour matters just as much as what kind of fat is used. There are many varieties of flour, but at its most basic, three flour varieties will be available at the local supermarket: all-purpose [AP] flour, bread flour, and cake flour. The only difference amongst these varieties is protein content. Bread flour (as the name suggests) is excellent for baking bread because it has higher protein content. High protein is directly proportional to high gluten production. Conversely, cake flour contains low protein content, and thus lower gluten potential. And all-purpose is the middle-of-the-road flour, a balance of both worlds.

Because of the high demand for gluten, using bread flour that is high in protein will increase the chewiness of the final product. Also, bread flour has the ability to absorb more liquid, so more moisture will remain in the cookie.

In contrast to the increased white-to-brown sugar ratio for the Thin, we want more moisture to be in the cookie. Brown sugar is coated in molasses – and molasses loves moisture. The more brown sugar (and less white sugar) added to the batter will increase the moisture content and will be more likely to attract moisture from the air.

Recall in the Puffy that more egg whites make a cookie ‘puff’ more. Also, egg whites dry out batters and in order for a chewy cookie to live up to its reputation, it has got to stay moist. Removing one egg white and replacing it with two tablespoons of milk would be an appropriate modification to keep the cookie moist. Other than that, follow the procedures to make a standard chocolate chip cookie.

Follow some simple guidelines and you can modify any recipe for any food to your liking. That is what the science of cooking should encourage – taking a foundation of a well known recipe and adding the personal decorations to make that product your own.

I hope in this series of blog posts, I have opened your eyes to the science of the chocolate chip cookie and that anyone can make their own, unique cookie from slightly tweaking a few ingredients to produce Good Eats.

With that note, I bid you good eating...