TYPES OF WHEAT

Wheat is categorised according to its hardness(hard/soft), colour (red/white) and shape of its kernel.

• Hard Red Winter
• Hard Red Spring
• Soft Red Winter
• Durum
• Hard White Wheat
• Soft White Wheat

THE DIFFERENT PURPOSES OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF WHEAT

The protein content of the wheat is what primarily determines what the wheat will be used for and the greater the protein, the greater the elasticity of the dough will be.

• Hard red winter and hard red spring contain the highest percentages of protein are most often used in goods requiring size, like breads and rolls.
• Hard white and soft white contain the lowest percentages of protein and best suited for baked goods like cakes, cookies, crackers, pastries and muffins.

The colour of the wheat plays a part too and as you may have already guessed, red wheat is darker than white wheat. Red wheat also has a stronger, more bitter flavour than white.

• Soft red winter is often used in blatantly obvious brown crackers and flat breads. These are often marketed as “whole grain” crackers and such.
• Soft white is used in goods when manufactures want the item to look and taste “white,” but be able to claim as healthy with wheat. One example of this are muffins “made with white wheat.”
• Durum is a variety of wheat that has a higher protein and gluten content than other kinds of wheat and that is most often found in pasta.