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What is White Whole Wheat Flour? Delicious.

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Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

I was searching through old photos today and found these whole wheat blueberry muffins I made a while back.  Since I remember them tasting just as delicious as they look, I decided that they shouldn’t be kept hidden on my hard drive any longer.

The muffin recipe came from Elise at Simply Recipes and the only change I made was to use King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat Flour instead of all-purpose flour.  If you haven’t started baking with white whole wheat flour yet, now is the time to start!

IMG_0178 - Version 2

The name “white whole wheat flour” might seem confusing since we are used to associating the term “white flour” with something that has had most of the nutrition processed and bleached right out of it.  But white whole wheat flour is a whole grain flour that has been milled from hard white spring wheat, rather than traditional red wheat.  It offers all the same nutritional benefits of traditional whole wheat, but has a milder flavor, lighter color, and finer grind, making it perfect for quick breads.

I happen to really enjoy the flavor of traditional whole wheat flour and still use it for yeast breads, but I find myself turning to white whole wheat for things like cookies, quick breads, pancakes, pizza dough, and even pie crusts.  It’s wonderful stuff!  And if you’re new to baking with whole wheat flour, white whole wheat might make for an easier transition – especially if you’re baking for picky eaters!

I haven’t tried any brands other than King Arthur Flour, but I know Trader Joe’s (who unfortunately stopped selling King Arthur) is now stocking their own brand of white whole wheat and Hodgson Mill is also producing a white whole wheat flour.  I’m sure there are even more brands out there now.

If you’d like to try experimenting with white whole wheat flour, I think a batch of muffins is a great place to start.  You can use it in any recipe, just replace the all-purpose or traditional whole wheat flour with an equal part of white whole wheat flour.

One thing to keep in mind:  while white whole wheat flour does bake up a bit lighter than traditional whole wheat, it is still a whole grain flour and will not perform exactly like the processed all-purpose version.  Your quick breads might not rise quite as high, and the crumb might be a bit more dense than in breads baked with all-purpose flour, but I really enjoy the flavor and texture of whole grain baked goods and think you will, too.

And really, who is going to say no to a blueberry muffin that looks like this?

Buttered Blueberry Muffin

If you’d like to try these blueberry muffins, head over to Simply Recipes and print the recipe.  Just don’t forget to use white whole wheat flour!

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Comments

  1. Pam says

    I bought white whole wheat flour and then didn't know what to do with it! So glad I found this post.. I will make muffins and see what happens. Hope they turn out looking as yummy as yours look!
    Reply

  2. Barbara says

    Actually bought some King Arthur whole wheat flour yesterday to try a fig muffin recipe I saw. I must assume it's the same one of your other commentors mentioned. Haven't made them yet, but I have all the ingredients. Can't wait. I used to make whole wheat bread, but haven't made it in years.
    Reply

  3. Ms. Meza says

    I am so glad I saw this post....I like to eat whole wheat vs white flour whenever I can and to sub out for things I make for my family but in certain recipes it just doesn't work as well. But I will definitely try this alternative. thanks!
    Reply

  5. bakers says

    White Whole Wheat flour is made from hard white spring wheat instead of the traditional red wheat. Use it like you would whole wheat flour in recipes. You can also add white whole wheat flour to recipes that call for all purpose flour. We suggest you substitutute gradually - use 1/4 the amount of all purpose flour called for in the recipe, and check your taste/texture results. If the results are good, keep incorporating more and more white whole wheat. Some bakers are able to do a total substitution for all purpose flour! Irene @ King Arthur Flour
    Reply

  7. Sara says

    Nicole ~ Thank you so much for posting about this flour again! Last time you sang its praises, I tried in vain to find it in the tiny grocery stores around my area. Sadly, not a single place carried the flour. I read your blog entry this weekend, and decided to look one more time. Lo and behold - one of the big chain stores around here just redid their baking section! I was so excited to find this flour! I can't wait to use it in my recipes :)
    Reply

  10. Debby says

    I'm so glad that you explained how this flour works. I have a bag of it, but have hesitated in deciding how to use it. Muffins are a great start! I chuckled at how you mentioned these had been on your hard drive for months. I'm dusting off recipes I've photographed, but haven't gotten around to posting. These do look amazing.
    Reply

  11. julo says

    Oh, thanks for the info! I had read that it's just as nutritious as regular whole wheat flour, but it was hard to believe just looking at the two side by side. Hehe. I made some gingerbread cookies using white whole wheat flour and they turned out fantastic! I'm definitely going to start using it more. I believe I bought the Trader Joe's brand. I don't have anything to compare it to, but it worked well for me so far. :)
    Reply

  12. DK says

    I use whole wheat flour often in my baking - most of the time the APF is replaced by this fiber rich grain. I sometimes add bran and germ too making it completely nutritious since I find some companies grind the whole wheat a little too fine. I totally agree with you - Wheat flour - Delicious!
    Reply

  13. Christine says

    I, too, love the white whole wheat flour. I've been using it in place of all-purpose for everything the past three years, especially breads. The only downside is that, in pastries, I occasionally wish I'd used a bit less. They can be pretty dense. As a solution, I now go light on the muffin and scone mixes, just on the scant side of full cups while measuring, and I think family favorites still turn out perfectly and even more full-flavored.
    Reply

  14. Barbara says

    That's a great looking blueberry muffin, for certain! I loved your blog title because I actually Googled it yesterday. I have a recipe I want to try and it calls for white whole wheat flour. I hadn't a clue what that was. Both your explanations were excellent. I have whole wheat, but not white whole wheat. I'll have to make a trip to Whole Foods as this is a muffin recipe.
    Reply

  15. TasteofBeirut says

    I came to the same conclusion too after buying this flour a while back; those muffins look so tantalizing with that nice gob of butter! Finally someone is not afraid to eat butter!
    Reply

  16. Åsa says

    What a lovely blog you have here! Beautiful pictures and really tasty recipies. I'm on a mission to find answers about "pine mouth". One of my searches on google hit your blog :-) I hope it is ok with you if I'll make a link to your post about pine mouth? Unfortunately I write in Swedish though, so you might not understand what I write about (mostley vegetarian food thouhg). My readers fortunately know English. I'll definitely come back here and try some of your goodies! But for now, with this awful taste in my mouth, I wont do any great or special things in my kithcen.
    Reply

  17. leena! says

    Hey Nicole! Great post, really informative. I accidentally bought a bag of king arthur white whole wheat flour, and have been experimenting with it in all my baking recipes. The most successful was a batch of pistachio cookies (I did half whole wheat, half all-purpose), which I felt was really complimented by the nutty white whole wheat flour.
    Reply

  18. Di says

    I love sneaking www flour into things when my kids aren't looking. =) I almost always use at least a little in place of some AP or bread flour in whatever I'm baking. Your muffins look wonderful!
    Reply

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