How Do Wheat Flours Differ, and Which Should You Use?

Gluten itself is not already present in wheat flour; the flour contains two proteins called glutenin and gliadin. When they come into contact with water and are kneaded, they bind together to form the gluten network. This network is an elastic cage that holds the gas inside dough: a strong network lifts the dough, while a weak one lets the gas escape and the dough spread flat. Protein content also determines how much water flour absorbs, because high-protein flour takes up more water at the same weight; when changing flour, adjust the recipe’s liquid as well.

Packages sold in Türkiye often show a number such as Type 550, Type 650, or Type 850 instead of the protein content. This number indicates ash content: the amount of minerals left after the flour is burned, which indicates how much bran and germ remain in it. As the number rises, the flour becomes darker. Ash content is not the same as protein. In a store, the place to look is the nutrition facts panel on the back of the package, not the front; it directly lists the protein per 100 grams. If that is not available, “hard wheat” or “baklava flour” on the label is a secondary clue.

Bread flour is milled from hard wheat and contains roughly 11.5–13.5% protein. Only a strong network can hold the carbon dioxide produced while bread dough rises for hours, and the same strength helps a loaf keep its shape in the oven. Yeast bread, pizza dough, and simit (a sesame-crusted bread ring) call for this flour. Baklava phyllo and hand-stretched borek pastry also use high-protein flour because the dough must be rolled paper-thin without tearing. But that same strength makes it spring back under the rolling pin, so yufka dough must rest.

For cakes, sponge cakes, cookies, and tart dough, the goal is the opposite: the less the gluten network develops, the softer and more crumbly the texture. Pastry and cake flours are therefore milled from soft wheat and contain roughly 8–10% protein. Mixing time matters, too; a cake beaten for too long after adding the flour becomes rubbery. If you do not have pastry flour, remove 2 tablespoons from every 200 ml measure of all-purpose flour and replace them with the same amount of cornstarch.

Whole-wheat flour contains the bran and germ. Although its protein appears high on the nutrition facts panel, bran particles physically cut through the developing network, so the loaf comes out flatter and more liquid is needed. Because of the oil it contains, whole-wheat flour can turn rancid quickly and should be stored in a cool, dark place. Semolina and pasta flour come from a different wheat, durum; they are high in protein, but their gluten is short rather than elastic, making them excellent for pasta but insufficient on their own for bread. Self-rising flour is a blend rather than a flour on its own; it contains baking powder and should not be used for yeast-raised baking.