Flour: A Guide to the Numbers
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King Arthur's Flour: Flours are measured in terms of their protein and ash content. Understanding what these numbers mean will help you to determine which flour is best for your uses.
Protein
- Protein indicates the amount of gluten available in the flour. Gluten is the substance that develops when the protein, which occurs naturally in wheat flour, is combined with liquid. Because gluten is able to stretch elastically, it is desirable to have a higher gluten flour for yeast-raised products, which have doughs that are stretched extensively, including pizza, most breads, and bagels. For piecrusts, cookies, and pastry to be short and crumbly, a lower protein flour is better. Protein levels range from 7% in pastry and cake flours to as high as 15% in high-gluten bread flour.
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Ash
- Ash measures the amount of mineral content that remains in the flour after milling. A whole wheat flour which contains all of the wheat berry or kernel will have a high ash of 1.50 or so. When the wheat kernel is milled, the heart of the kernel, or endosperm, makes up the majority of a white flour. The further away the miller mills from the endosperm, the higher the ash content. Generally speaking, a lower ash content is preferable, since it means that the flour is the purest and closer to the heart of the wheat kernel. Our experience guides us to specify the appropriate ash for a given flour based upon the desired baking characteristics.
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Enrichment
- The majority of states have required enrichment since the 1940's in all bread and all-purpose flours. An enriched flour contains niacin, thiamin, iron and riboflavin, the B vitamins and minerals which have been determined to aid in the prevention of diseases such as rickets and pellagra in children.
