教學：各種麵粉的分別 Types of Flour for Baking

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Different flours consist of different levels of protein and fiber, which affect the final baked product.

Where does flour come from?   
"The baking flour comes from the wheat berry of the wheat plant.  A wheat berry is divided into three parts:  bran, endosperm, and germ." 

• The bran is the hard outer shell that covers the wheat berry. An excellent source of fiber, the bran also contains most of the minerals. Because the bran has sharp edges, which interfere with gluten development, it is removed during milling--and then often added back in later.
• The germ is the part of the grain that would become the plant. Wheat germ is very high in protein and B vitamins. It is removed in the milling process because its high fat content causes the flour to become rancid more quickly. Wheat germ should be stored in the refrigerator.
• The endosperm is the food that the seed would consume on its way to becoming a plant. The flour that we use for baking, unless it is whole wheat, has had the germ and the bran removed. The remaining endosperm is composed mostly of starch and protein.

~麵粉比較 Comparison~
中筋麵粉:  蛋白質含量為 9.5 ~ 12.0%，多用途。 而且中筋粉多用在在中式點心製作上：如包子、饅頭，餃子皮等。大部分中式點心都是以中筋粉來製作的。

All-Purpose Flour/ Plain Flour:  9.5 -12% protein in all-purpose flour.  As its name states, this flour has many uses and is the one most frequently used in baking. It's a middle-of-the-road flour in terms of protein content, and produces tender cakes.

未經漂白中筋麵粉：  精製的麵粉 但是沒有添加任何增白劑。而普通漂白麵粉 是使用化學物質漂白。未漂白的中筋麵粉中獲得廣泛應用，是幾乎所有的烘焙一個不錯的選擇

Unbleached All-Purpose Flour:   Refined flour that has not had any whitening agents added to it. Bleached flour is flour that has been whitened – i.e. bleached – using chemicals like peroxide. Bleaching flour does not have much of an impact on the flavour of the flour 

全麥麵粉：是由全粒小麥經過磨粉、篩分(分級適當顆粒大小)等步驟，保有與原來整粒小麥相同比例之胚乳、麩皮及胚芽等成分製成的產品，全麥麵粉營養豐富，是天然健康的營養食品。 全麥麵粉在掌心搓開，可以看到有粉碎的麩皮在裡面，口感較一般麵粉粗糙，麥香味更濃郁

Whole-Wheat Flour:   Milled from the complete wheat kernel (both the bran and the germ) this flour retains many nutrients and is higher in fiber than many other flours. It gives baked products a nuttier flavor and denser texture than all-purpose flour, which is why it's often mixed with all-purpose flour.

低筋粉： 蛋白質含量在8.5%以下，因此筋性亦弱，多用來做蛋糕的鬆軟糕點。如果找不到低筋麵粉，可選那些顏色較為白的普通麵粉, 因為漂白過的麵粉或混入20%玉米粉的麵粉筋性會相對較低

Cake Flour:   Below 8.5% of Protein.  Cake flour has the least protein and yields very light baked goods, making it ideal for delicate products such as sponge cakes and some cookie 

高筋麵粉： 蛋白質含量約12.5 ~ 13.5%，蛋白質含量高，因此筋度強，多用來做麵包等

Bread Flour:    Bread flour has the most protein and is used to make denser items, including breads and pizza dough, where you want a chewier texture. Bread flour is high in gluten protein, with 12.5-13.5% protein

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Reference 1: http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/techniques/types-of-flour

Reference 2:  http://allrecipes.com/howto/all-about-flour/