Sometimes i get confused about the flour and I recently realized that its a common problem.
So I decided to compile the list below for easy reference:
- All-purpose flour | Plain flour = 面粉 | 中筋面粉
- Cake flour | Soft flour | Weak flour | Low Protein Flour = 低筋面粉 | 低根粉
- Gluten flour | Strong Flour | Bread flour | Baker's flour | High protein flour = 高筋面粉 | 筋粉 | 根粉 | 高根粉
- Whole wheat flour = 全麦面粉
- Wheat flour | Wheat Starch = 澄面粉 | 澄粉 | 澄面 | 无筋面粉
- Self-raising flour = 自发面粉
- Corn flour | Corn Starch = 粟粉 | 粟米粉 | 玉米粉 | 玉米淀粉
- Potato starch | Potato flour = 生粉 | 太白粉 | 地瓜粉
- Tapioca starch | Tapioca flour = 树粟粉 | 木薯粉 | 芡粉 | 菱粉 | 泰国生粉 | 太白粉
- Sweet potato flour = 蕃薯粉 | 地瓜粉
- Rice flour = 粘米粉 | 黏米粉 | 在莱米粉 | 再来米粉
- Glutinous rice flour | Sweet rice flour = 糯米粉
And some of the common use of the different type of flour as follows:
- All-purpose flour = Most commonly used. Most versatile of flours. Mainly used for baking, thickening gravies and sauce.
- Cake flour = ideal for tender bake goods such as cakes, muffins and scones.
- Bread flour = A high protein flour designed for baking yeasted breads. The high protein content means that bread flour has more gluten in it, which makes the dough more elastic and light and results in a chewy and airy texture when baked.
- Whole wheat flour = Whole-wheat flour tends to be high in protein, but its gluten-forming ability is compromised by the bran and germ — just one of the reasons whole-wheat flour tends to produce heavier, denser baked goods.
- Wheat flour = is made after the endosperm is separated from the kernel - no bran and no germ, which is also its primary white in color. Commonly use for baking.
- Self-raising flour = Flour to which baking powder and salt have been added during milling. Best for tender biscuits, muffins, pancakes and some cakes. To be used within six months of purchase else the baking powder in it begins to lose its oomph.
- Corn flour = Commonly used as a thickener for soups, stews, sauces and other dishes
- Potato flour = Also commonly used as a thickener for smoother sauces, gravies and soups, and in gluten free cooking.
- Tapioca flour = A popular, gluten-free flour made from the starch of cassava root. It's perhaps best known for the thick, chewy texture it lends to gluten-free baked goods but also works well as an allergy-friendly thickener for sauces, soups, puddings, and stews
- Rice flour = is made from ground raw rice and is used to make rice noodles and some pancakes, such as South Indian appams. It can be used to thicken soups and stews, as well as providing an alternative to wheat flour in cakes and biscuits. However, it's gluten-free so can't be used to make yeasted loaves of bread.
- Glutinous rice flour = Mainly for Asian culinary uses such as tang yuan (boiled glutinous rice balls with fillings), fried glutinous rice ball dumplings, glutinous rice cakes with red bean paste and the all time favorite muah chee. Dough made from glutinous rice flour becomes sticky in texture when heated.
Happy Cooking & Baking!!
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