Whole-Wheat Flour

Whole-Wheat Flour Basics

Whole grains may reduce the risk of heart disease and support healthy digestion and body weight.

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• Whole-wheat flour sold in bulk bins may cost less than packaged flour.
• The “best if used by” date on a package tells how long the manufacturer expects the flour to stay fresh. Proper storage can extend your flour’s shelf life.
• Fresh flour has very little smell. Spoiled flour will smell sour or bitter. Cooking with spoiled flour will not make you ill, but the taste is not pleasant.

Flour is a raw food. To avoid sickness from bacteria, do not eat or taste raw flour, dough or batters before cooking.

Store Well Waste Less

• Heat, light, air and moisture speed the spoilage of whole-wheat flour.
  • Place in an airtight container to keep out moisture and insects.
  • Mark container with the date you bought the flour.
  • Store in a cool, dry and dark place.
• When stored well, whole-wheat flour will stay fresh for:
  • 1 to 3 months at room temperature.
  • up to 6 months in the refrigerator.
  • up to 1 year in the freezer.

Measuring Whole-Wheat Flour

• Stir to loosen the flour.
• Spoon lightly into a dry measuring cup.
• Level with a straight-edged knife or spatula.

Types of Whole-Wheat Flour

Whole-Wheat Flour— made from wheat with a red bran layer. It adds a hearty texture and nutty flavor to baked goods.

White Whole-Wheat Flour— made from wheat with a white bran layer. The wheat flavor is milder and the color is lighter than ordinary whole-wheat flour.

Whole-Wheat Bread Flour— made from wheat with a higher protein content, which is best for yeast breads.

Whole-Wheat Pastry Flour— made from wheat with a lower protein content. The texture of baked products will be lighter than if made with ordinary whole-wheat flour.

Whole-wheat flour is a whole grain because it contains all three parts of the wheat kernel - the bran, germ and endosperm. All-purpose white flour contains only the endosperm, which has less fiber and other nutrients.

Cooking with Whole-Wheat Flour

Recipes

Banana Pancakes

Whole-Wheat Yogurt Rolls

Kids Can!

When kids help make healthy food, they are more likely to try it. Show kids how to:

• measure flour and other dry ingredients.
• mash bananas.
• dip and pour pancake batter.

Enjoy More Whole Grains

• Look for whole-wheat flour as one of the first ingredients on products such as breakfast cereals, pasta and breads.
• Substitute whole-wheat flour for up to half the all-purpose flour in a recipe. Try it for cookies, pancakes, pizza crust, muffins and breads.