In stores, we often come across two different varieties of flour ‘“ bleached and unbleached. Do you know what makes the difference? Bleached flour is whiter, has finer grains and gives your food a tempting aroma and look. And unbleached flour is less white or yellowish and may not be able to produce the effects as that of bleached flour. The major difference between the two is that bleached flour contains edible bleaching agents added to it and unbleached flour is bleached naturally.
Bleached flour is the plain flour in which a flour bleaching agent is added. This agent is a food additive which makes the flour appear whiter. Some benefits of adding the bleaching agent are that it accelerates the aging process, improves the texture, stiffens soft flour, and makes your food better. The white color is achieved as the agent oxidizes the surface of the flour grains. Some bleaching agents in the bleached flour are said to be harmful for the body.
Unbleached flour is bleached naturally and as it ages the color gets dulled. But this flour contains more protein content than the bleached flour. It is best for the baking of yeast breads, Yorkshire puddings, cream puffs, Danish pastries, and popovers. Bleached flour is best for making cookies, pancakes, pie crusts, and waffles. If you select the right flour depending on the food you are preparing, there is no harm with it being bleached or unbleached.
When bleached flour is used, the loaf shows more loaf volume and is of more fine grains. But if you use unbleached flour, you may not get this effect. Most food serving outlets use bleached flour to make the food appear more tempting. But some people, who have extreme sensitive palates, are capable of getting the bitter aftertaste of the food made from bleached flour.
In some food items like cake flour, chlorinating it gives the forming capacity to the flour. If you use unbleached flour for the purpose, it will not take the tight shape and surface texture, which may reduce the appeal of the food. Bleaching soft flours with chlorine gives the flour the stiffening effect. And if the flour has high protein content, adding an oxidizing agent is the best option.
Another difference between bleached and unbleached flour is the aging period. Flour softens with age. Unbleached flour takes longer to age and get softened while bleached flour is ready sooner due to the bleaching agents which accelerate the aging process of the flour.
Summary
1. The effect you get with unbleached flour for a specific food cannot be obtained by bleached flour.
2. Bleached flour is the plain flour in which a flour bleaching agent is added.
3. Unbleached flour is bleached naturally and as it ages the color gets dulled.
4. When bleached flour is used, the loaf shows more loaf volume but if you use unbleached flour, you will not obtain similar results.