Choosing the right flour
Flour proteins form gluten when they get wet. Bread flour has about 12 to 14 percent protein and bakes a chewy loaf. All-purpose has about 10 to 12 percent. Cake flour has about 7 to 9 percent and gives a soft crumb.
Measure flour by weight
One cup of flour can weigh about 120 g when spooned in lightly, or 150 g or more when scooped from the bag. That's up to 25 percent extra flour. Weigh it on a kitchen scale and the recipe comes out the same every time.
Test yourself
Questions from the interactive lesson, with the answer and the why.
You want a chewy, tall loaf. Which flour should you pick?
Bread flour, which has the most protein. It builds the strongest gluten, which gives chew and height.
True or false: Cake flour suits a tender, delicate crumb because it has less protein.
True. Low protein means less gluten and a softer bite.
What went wrong? You scoop the measuring cup straight into the flour bag to make a cake. It comes out dense and dry.
A packed scoop held too much flour. Weigh the flour, or spoon it in and level it, to avoid extra flour.
Fill the blank: Flour proteins join with water to form ___, which gives dough stretch and chew.
Flour proteins join with water to form gluten, which gives dough stretch and chew. Gluten gives dough stretch and structure.
Why is biscuit dough mixed only until it just comes together?
Less mixing builds less gluten, so the biscuits stay soft. Overworking the dough builds gluten, which makes biscuits tough.