If you do a lot of baking, then somewhere along the way you have discovered that there are many different types of flour in the world, and that they are all different, and that they will do different things in your baked goods. So, I for one, think that it is time to sort out the grains, and find out what exactly the difference between these flours is, and why we use different ones for different foods.

To understand flour we must understand its parent, wheat. Wheat, for our cooking needs (as I’m sure there will be some botanist who corrects me the second this is published, telling me there are in fact dozens of varieties of wheat) are hard wheat and soft wheat. Hard wheat has a higher amount of protein, which makes in chewer (thanks to a compound called gluten). Soft wheat’s have less protein, and therefore less gluten. Now lets look at the flours that are made with those wheat’s.

All purpose flour: This is the blend of hard and soft wheat flours, which has a relatively medium level of gluten. Good to have around the house for a myriad of applications.

Bread Flour: This is a hard wheat and high protein flour. Good for breads, and can be substituted if you have an application you want to be really chewy.

Pastry Flour: low-medium gluten flour. Great for brownies, cookies and pie crusts. In a pinch you might be able to use this in place of all purpose (and vice versa) you just won’t have as great a texture.

Cake Flour: This is the lowest gluten flour of any on the market. Great for cakes, as the name implies. You can enjoy the fluffiest cakes of you life if you use this.

As for the rest: Durum is for pastas, organic means that it has met dept. of agriculture standards, self rising and instant are all for you to play with at your whim.