Flour Power: The Key To Your Baking Freedom

If you’ve ever wondered how flour choice impacts your loaves, this article is for you. Wheat types, milling methods, and extraction rates all shape performance, flavor, and texture. Understanding flour leads to consistent results and the creative freedom that comes from knowing what’s in your hands. The ability to blend flours for a desired outcome is what separates a baker from someone who simply makes bread. Let’s dive in.

Not all flours are created equal.

In sourdough baking, the type of wheat and how it is milled are crucial factors in determining dough strength, water absorption, crumb texture, flavor, and even shelf life and nutritional value of the loaf.

One of the first things to understand is that terms like “bread flour” or “all-purpose” are marketing shorthand, not precise standards. Protein content, milling style, and wheat type varies widely between brands, which means one miller’s bread flour could be the same as another’s all-purpose! So, to truly understand a flour’s performance, you need to look beyond the label, and consider these four factors:

1. Wheat variety (genetics and growing region)
2. Milling method (roller vs stone)
3. Extraction rate (whole vs refined)
4. Protein quality, not just quantity

And that can be a challenge, depending on whether the flour you’re considering is supermarket flour or, for example, from a local miller. The good news is that we have some tips and suggestions to make that a little easier, as we take you through all four factors.

1. Major Wheat Types - with a focus on North American

• Hard Red Spring strongest gluten; ideal for high-hydration breads, generally higher protein
• Hard Red Winter slightly lower protein; balanced strength, more flavor 
• Hard White mild flavor, medium strength
• Soft Red / Soft White low gluten; best for pastry and cakes, not bread
• Durum highest hardness; extensible, ideal for pasta

Note: Climate and cultivar diversity blur these lines.

2. Milling Methods

Stone Milling

• Kernels crushed between stones → single-stream flour
• Retains germ and bran → fuller flavor, higher nutrition
• Extraction can be adjusted by sifting

Roller Milling

• Separates grain into endosperm, bran, germ
• Streams recombined for different flours 
• Enables very fine, consistent white flours

In a nutshell, stone-milled flours are less processed and more nutritious, since germ and bran remain integrated, while roller-milled flours - even “whole wheat” - are often reconstituted blends (bran, and endosperm separated then recombined).

The more refined a flour, the more shelf-stable — but with reduced flavor and nutrient density. However, it also tends to offer more gluten forming potential, and produce lighter, loftier loaves. The less refined a flour, the more likely the bran will interrupt the gluten formation, and the added density tends to weigh the loaf down in terms of rise.

3. Extraction Rate

As counter intuitive as it sounds, Extraction Rate = % of whole grain/kernel retained in flour after sifting. Therefore, 100% extraction means 'whole grain flour'. 80% extraction is flour with 20% of the bran removed

The higher the extraction rate, the more nutritious and flavorful, with a denser crumb.

In roller milling:

• Straight flour ≈ 72% extraction
• Patent flour ≈ 60% true extraction (AP/bread flours) → Bran and germ stripped out for shelf stability.

In stone milling:

• Extraction refers literally to grain retained.
• Artisan millers (eg, Janie’s Mill) list extraction %, ash %, protein, and moisture.

But... 

Whereas stone milled flour extraction rate is expressed as the percentage of kernel remaining, roller milled flour extraction rate indicates the percentage of ash (mineral) content remaining after incineration, and that is expressed as a "T" (short for Type) number, for example, T55, T65.  So T55 ≈ 0.55% ash content. The higher the "T" number the less refinement, with common supermarket flours typically being highly refined (T55 equivalent). The bottom line here is that to predict performance, you should know which system your mill or flour brand uses.

4. Protein Quality & Quantity

Protein Quality, in this context, does not necessarily mean ‘how good’, but rather, what are the protein’s qualities, and what is the distribution of the different proteins. There are two main proteins that, when mixed with water, create gluten: 

• Glutenin → governs elasticity / determines strength
• Gliadin → governs extensibility / determines stretch

Balance between the two in a dough determines handling, oven spring, and crumb texture. When talking about heritage and ancient grains, they are fundamentally going to be weaker and harder to handle than modern wheats which generally have more strength.

Higher protein ≠ always stronger dough. Quality > quantity.

Oh hey Flour, how do you dough?

So now let’s look at key Flour Characteristics and how they affect dough behaviour. These include:

• Absorption Rate - how much water a flour takes
  • Less refined and higher protein flours generally absorb more water.
• Protein Content – potential gluten strength
  • In the context of modern bread wheat, higher protein content is generally going to absorb more water, and have more gluten strength.
• Extraction Rate – % whole grain retained
  • Again, the higher the extraction rate the more water it’s going to need.
• Starch Damage – the physical fragmentation of starch granules during milling
  • This affects stickiness and fermentation; the more damage, the more water required, and the faster the dough will ferment. Moderate starch damage is important for water absorption and efficient fermentation but excessive damage leads to gummy loaves. The harder the wheat, the greater the starch damage during milling.

Dough Rheology and Practical Evaluation

Rheology is the study of the physical characteristics of viscoelastic material - viscoelastic defines something that exhibits the properties of both a solid and a liquid. So dough rheology looks at how factors like temperature, hydration, mixing dynamics AND flour choice influence a dough's firmness and extensibility.

Flour composition shapes dough’s viscoelastic behavior:

• Elasticity → bounce-back, shape retention
• Extensibility → ability to stretch and expand
• Tenacity → resistance to deformation
• Stickiness → handling, shaping, and hydration response

Flour choice is the most fundamental factor in dough rheology. Understanding this allows you to use other factors to influence dough characteristics.

For example, a very strong flour, mixed gently with a moderate amount of water will tend to produce an overly tenacious and elastic dough. However, mixing the same dough for longer, or adding more water, are two approaches to softening the resulting dough. Or you could simply choose a more moderately strong flour in the first place.

Putting theory into practice: Flour Stress Test

Even if you have detailed flour specifications, performing a Flour Stress Test is the best way to determine your flour’s true characteristics. Here’s how you can do that:

Feel the dry flour — rub it between your thumb and forefinger. Notice color, texture, fineness. If it feels sandy, like crushed glass, that is usually an indicator of a harder, stronger wheat. Softer wheats will tend to feel buttery, light, like talcum powder.You can feel the particle size between your fingers, and typically, the finer the flour the better it will perform in a dough.

Mix a 70% hydration dough and rest for 30 minutes. Then do a stretch and tear test. (Not a window pane test.) How firm is the dough? How far does it stretch without tearing? These observations are a quick way to estimate absorption and gluten quality.

Add water incrementally and observe changes. Stronger flours, particularly those with higher elasticity, exhibit greater tolerance to mixing (and fermentation) and can absorb more water. Weaker flours, such as spelt and einkorn, are more delicate and prone to over-fermentation, potentially leading to a sudden breakdown of the dough.

Flour Power, Freedom Realized

Understanding these characteristics allows bakers to use different flours as tools, blending them to achieve desired outcomes, such as combining a weaker, flavorful winter wheat with a stronger wheat, or adding extensible flours like spelt or emmer to baguette dough for stretch.

Flour determines everything from dough strength to flavor and structure. Its protein quality, milling method, and extraction rate dictate how your dough feels, ferments, and bakes. Once you understand these variables, you stop reacting to your dough and start directing it. That’s when flour becomes more than an ingredient — it becomes your superpower.

And if you’re ready to go deeper down the rabbit hole, you'll fit right in among the official Sourdough Geek. Join now to watch a recording of a recent Bread Talk on this subject.