White Wheat?

[Wildflower]

Has anyone used the new (possibly just new in the US) white wheat flour? Because it is made using white wheat, as opposed to red wheat, the whole wheat flour looks white and soft like refined red wheat.

I bought some the other day as I thought i could sneak it into cookies and cakes in place of refined red wheat flour.

I had trouble finding recipes, but the website said it absorbs more water than refined red wheat so it should be used in recipes for whole red wheat flour.

I used my whole wheat bread recipe with it, but it sucked up the water so much I had to add an entire extra cup! It litteraly disappeared, and left half the flour was still dry and I couldn't work it in so I just added more water.

It raised well, but it is cooking now and doesn't look like it fluffed up too much more.

I will let you know how it tastes...

Anyone have recipes or know how to alter recipes for white wheat flour? I think I read that the us has been shipping most of it's white wheat to australia and not selling it here until now, so any aussies know what I am talking about?

[Wildflower]

Well, my bread is out and cooling. It is very moist and dense, like a banana bread. the sides got very crunchy. it certainly doesn't look like white bread! It is a light brown now, and tastes a lot like wheat bread, which is fine because I like the taste of whole wheat bread better than white anyway.

My dog certainly likes it!

The boyfriend didn't look too thrilled...

I don't think I can make a cake that people wouldn't know was whole wheat!

Off to search more for recipes...

[Wildflower]

So, no one knows what I am talking about?

CC? have you used this?

[moochbabe]

I think the white wheat flour is also known as Spring Wheat flour, better known as Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. If so, then this flour is very good for cookies, quick breads, and the like, but it has a lower gluten content than other wheat flours, so sometimes for yeast breads and things, the recipe may not work out right. hope this helped!

[Wildflower]

Thanks moochbabe! I don't think what I bought was the same as that though... i guess it is hard to explain what I bought! Have you seen some of the new commercial breads by Natural Ovens or Sara Lee that say they are whole wheat but look like cheap white nasty wonder bread? That is the wheat I am talking about. because the wheat is naturally sweet and white, it is not necessary to refine it to get that effect. Here is an article from a wheat site. http://www.kswheat.com/general.asp?id=51

Hard White Wheat

Hard White wheat is a new class of wheat. Hard White is used primarily for yeast breads, hard rolls and noodles.

Hard White wheat could become the most significant change in Kansas wheat class production since the introduction of Turkey Red in 1874. While Hard Red Winter wheat is the "wheat of choice" for U.S. mills and bakeries, and offers a quality product that meets milling and baking specifications, the new Hard White class of wheat will help open new markets or recapture other markets.

Hard White wheat can be used to produce a wider variety of wheat food products, such as Asian noodles, tortillas, and Middle Eastern flat breads. Hard White wheat also possesses a higher flour extraction rate. That is, more of the wheat kernel can be milled to whole wheat. Whole wheat products made from Hard White lack the distinctive taste produced by Hard Red Winter wheat.

Hard White wheat is also preferred by international wheat customers. "Nowhere do flour millers prefer U.S. Hard Red Winter wheat due to its red bran color," said long-time KSU milling professor Arlin Ward, who Kansas State University named its first Hard White wheat release after, Arlin, in 1992. Hard White wheat also has a 14 cents per bushel advantage over Hard Red Winter in certain export markets.

KSU has the nation’s No. 1 wheat breeding program. KSU varieties, planted on 66 percent of Kansas wheat acreage, produced an on-farm value of approximately $1.1 billion for 1998.

In the fall of 1998, KSU released two new Hard White wheat varieties, Betty and Heyne, to foundation seed producers. In the fall of 1999, KSU released Trego, a new Hard White wheat variety. Lakin was released in 2000.

The new Hard White wheats were developed by KSU Research and Extension. Wheat breeding is conducted at Manhattan and the Hays experiment station. Nearly 100 percent of the wheat research conducted at Hays is in Hard White wheat.

New Hard White wheat experimental lines under consideration for release possess not only outstanding bread-baking quality, but also have excellent Asian noodle-making characteristics.

[Seaside]

This sounds like a GM product. Its what Sara Lee is using in their new line of high fiber white breads to appeal to children raised on Wonder Bread. The trouble with GM foods is that in the USA the law does not require these foods to be identified as genetically modified. The only way you can be sure of not consuming GM foods is to buy foods that state specifically that they DO NOT contain GMOs. So although I cannot prove that this "white wheat" is GM, it sounds very unnatural, and I would stay away from it.

[Wildflower]

I wondered the same thing myself, but I believe the the "breeding" of wheat and corn they do is very different from Genetically Modifying. I think breeding may even be somewhat necessary (?) allthough am not sure. This must be what they teach when you get a farming degree, I always wondered what that was!

I do think Natural Ovens pledges not to use GMO and they also have Organic White Wheat and I believe organic certification won't be given to GMOs.

I will have to look more.

[moochbabe]

I think you're right Wildflower, organic isn't GM. Also, breeding just has to do with cross polination and such (I believe) and I think it is just a way of making certain plants stronger and such. However, I am not sure, and am very interested to know what you find out!

[Seaside]

I'm pretty sure that organic certification cannot yet be given to GM products, but they are constantly trying to undermine organic definitions, so its something to stay aware of. Hybridization is what "breeding" is when genetic modification does not take place, but since there are no laws requiring GM products to be identified, they can call the new varities "bred" or "hybrid" or whatever they want. There is nothing very wrong with standard hybridization; its been going on for probably a hundred years or more by now. It is important to be aware that GM foods do not have to be called GM, and using terminology like "breeding" and "hybridization" are legal covers for companies who manufacture these items. But if the flour you are using is certified organic its probably ok.