First things first, the winner of the Chocomize giveaway is Mel, who said:
I’ve gotta de-lurk for this one for sure!
I think the one that you got with the orange slices and gummi bears sounds super interesting and yummy!
Mel, send me your information and we’ll get you your gift certificate!
Today’s post was going to look at the flours you should use for quick breads versus yeast breads.
But after doing a little research, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are many other differences between the two types of bread that should be considered.
Before I dive into that, though, a little reminder about gluten from the first installment of this series:
Gluten is made of two proteins, gliadin and glutenin, both of which are found in wheat flour. When water interacts with the proteins, gluten is formed. The gluten gives the dough, and therefore the final product, elasticity and structure.
Okay, back to the quick v. yeast breads!
Quick breads don’t need time to rise, and are leavened chemically, rather than by yeast. Baking soda and baking powder are the chemical leaveners that you are probably most familiar with.
To get the tender, soft texture associated with quick breads, formation of gluten is minimized in quick breads by addition of tenderizers such as fat and sugar. These tenderizers break up the gluten network so that the bread stays nice and soft.
Yeast breads, on the other hand, are leavened by yeast (shocking, right? 
) and do need time to rise. The gluten network needs to be strong in yeast breads so that the bread doesn’t collapse, so less fat and sugar is used in yeast breads than quick loafs.
So really, the difference between quick and yeast breads is less about flour, and more about leaveners and gluten!
That being said, here are my suggestions for what flours you should use/avoid for each type of bread, based on their protein levels.
Quick Breads USE:
- All-purpose
- Self-rising (be careful about the amount of baking soda/baking powder you use, though. There is already some in there!)
- Pastry flour
Quick Breads AVOID:
- Bread flour/ high-protein flour
Yeast Breads USE:
- All-purpose (though you’ll need to add something like vital wheat gluten)
- Bread flour/ high-protein flour
Yeast Breads AVOID:
- Pastry flour
- Self-rising flour
Want to know more about wheat flour? Check out the first three parts of this series!
- Baking with Wheat Flour: It’s All About the Protein
- Baking Experiment: All-Purpose versus Pastry Flour
- Whole Wheat versus White Flour
Woo hoo!!
This post couldn’t have come at a better time, since I’m making yeast bread this afternoon and accidentally bought self-rising flour and was wondering if I could use it. Thanks!!
i love all your science stuff. you make me SMARTER
Never knew any of this!!! So cool!
thanks for the info
and congrats mel- great giveaway!!