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Soft Winter Wheat Flour

Soft winter wheat flour contains carbohydrates, proteins, fat, mineral matter and water, as does the hard wheat flour. The starch content will run higher in soft wheat flour than in hard wheat flour. The moisture, fat and ash will run approximately the same. The gluten of soft wheat flour will be much softer and more pliable, probably due to the ratio of the gliadin to the glutenin being different. The proportion of gliadin to glutenin is higher in soft wheat flour.

Let us put 25 cubic centimeters of water and 50 grams of soft wheat flour into a porcelain cup and then mix the same into a smooth and elastic dough. Now put the dough under a tap of running water and knead the same until all of the starch has been washed out, and we will obtain an elastic substance called gluten. Pressing this gluten between the hands to remove the excessive water and then observing the same by pulling it between the fingers, noting the coloring, elasticity and the ease with which it is pulled apart, we will notice that it is not as tenacious as the gluten of hard wheat flour. This flour cannot be used alone in bread making, as it does not hold the gas as well as hard wheat, and will also have a somewhat darker color. Small quantities of high-grade soft wheat are sometimes blended with hard wheat and milled into flour by some millers. Some bakers also blend small quantities of soft wheat flour with the hard wheat flour which they use for bread making purposes. This in their opinion reduces the cost of the flour.