Substituting AP for Whole Wheat Flour

[Pierogi]

Over the past couple of years, I've been teaching myself to bake. And, if I say so myself, I'm rather proud of my results, especially with breads, biscuits and scones.

One thing I still (at least currently...) have a question about is the "inter-changeability" of regular AP flour for whole-wheat. Can it be done successfully, and is it a 1:1 ratio? If a recipe calls for, say 2C of AP flour and 1/2C of whole wheat, can I just up the AP to 2&1/2C and call it a day? Yes, I know the taste will be different, but how about the texture, crumb, rise, etc.?

I'd prefer not to have to stock whole wheat flour in addition to AP and bread flour. I have very limited space, and the only packages of the whole wheat I've seen are the normal 5 pound bags. They'd go rancid (or get little buggies) way before I'd ever use them.

The current issue is a biscuit recipe I've found. In this case, no big whup, I have plenty of other biscuit recipes I could use. But it lit the fire in my mind, so to speak.

Because I *do* have a couple of bread recipes where whole wheat flour is called for as a small portion of the total flour. And I've held off making them because I don't want to deal with the whole issue of buying yet another type of flour.

Any advice/wisdom from the experienced eG baking community ? TIA !!!

[Wholemeal Crank]

As a card-carrying wholemeal crank, I believe you should stop trying to compromise and just use whole wheat flour (the proper pastry or all-purpose or bread versions, naturally) for everything. But since most of the world is crazy enough to disagree with me, I'll try to answer the question you asked, instead of the question you should have been asking.

Really it all depends on what you're looking for with the whole wheat. If it's just a theoretically extra bit of healthfulness in a mostly white flour recipe, you can generally substitute 100% all purpose flour and your recipe will be fine. You'll lose the taste boost--the nuttiness of the whole grain--but poorly treated and rancid whole wheat flour that sits in the back of the cupboard doesn't boost things in a good way anyway.

And unless the recipe is VERY plain--simple breads with flour, water, yeast, salt; crackers without oils or spices; you're probably not going to miss the whole wheat that much, especially if it's making up 1/3 or less of the flour total for the recipe.

[Isabelle Prescott]

I've been baking breads, rolls, biscuits for many years. You certainly can substitute flours. Just go for it and see how the product turns out.

I have problems with rancid and buggy whole grain flours also. You can buy smaller amounts in places like Henry's. They carry all sorts in bins and you scoop out the amount you want and bag it yourself. That is how I buy my semolina, rye, whole wheat, cous-cous, etc. I recently bought some plastic containers with tight fitting lids at Smart and Final for storing these.

[DanM]

I am also a self professed whole grain crank and am in love with white whole wheat flour.I substitute AP with White whole wheat at 1:1 with no ill affects.

Good luck!

Dan

[Katie Meadow]

There's nothing creepier than having a critter fly out of your jar of flour (except having mice, of course.) Before my husband started baking bread regularly that was a problem. If you are looking for modest amounts of various types of grain, try Bob's Red Mill. The packages are manageable and the flours are high quality and seem very fresh. I especially like their cornmeal, semolina and buckwheat; I assume they sell whole wheat.

We used to buy a lot of flour in bulk, as Isabel suggests, but I have not found it to be as fresh as King Arthur or Bob's. Truthfully, unless you know it has been recently ground and that you are buying from a source with high turnover, it is more likely to go rancid or buggy. Some bulk flours just seem dusty to me.

[andiesenji]

I keep whole wheat and other whole grain flours in the freezer. It will keep practically forever.

One thing about substituting AP flour for WW - you may need a bit less water or other liquid. WW, in my experience, absorbs more moisture than plain flour. So, if your dough seems a bit soft, add just a bit less water to begin with. You can always add a bit later.

I particularly notice this with pie dough - when I use the WW pastry flour I have to add half a tablespoon more than I do with regular flour and in that recipe, that is a lot of liquid.

[Pierogi]

Thank you everyone. I had thought it would be OK, but that ol' devil insecurity reared its head, and you know the rest....Andie, I will keep an eye on the hydration, and start with a bit less water than the recipe with WW flour calls for.

I am not averse to stocking WW flour in the freezer if I can find less than a 5 pound bag. 5 pounds would just literally last me my lifetime. I'll check the King Arthur catalog as well as Bob's. I have some other of Bob's products, and they are excellent. And well, we *all* know about KA.

Thanks again, you guys are the best.

[baroness]

King Arthur has both traditional whole wheat and their wonderful WHITE whole wheat in 2 pound bags. I use the white variety in place of almost all AP flour; 5 pound bags are hardly enough for me!

[HungryC]

As previous posters have mentioned, whole wheat requires a bit more water than AP, and WW takes a bit longer to hydrate. Generally, I find you can substitute up to about 20% whole wheat into a recipe designed for white flour, with no other changes & no loss of quality in the resulting baked good. Handling & substitutions will be a bit different for pastry vs. yeasted breads. Check out King Arthur's Whole Grain Baking and Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads for a wealth of good info on making substitutions & characteristics of whole grains in general.

Keep the less-used flours in the fridge (or freezer, if you have space). No bugs, no rancidity. Keeps for months and months.