Questions on soy, rice and whole wheat flour

[cereza]

Hello,
In the effort to bring more nutrition to bake goods, does anyone know some
equivalencies for using soy, whole wheat and rice flours to basic receipes?

I would like to subsititute some of the above with the white flour that is
routinely called for but don't know the measurements.

any help?

[wallycat]

each flour you mentioned provides very different consistencies and characteristics. For example, soy flour will brown much faster than regular four. It will also retain moisture better....Whole wheat flour is usually denser and it will darken the final product presentation. I'm not too familiar with rice flour....
Except for soy flour, rice and whole wheat (unless it is 100% stone-ground 100% whole wheat) don't offer much more nutritionally.
I did an "expose" on the wheats and breads and found that even places like Bob's Red Mill sift and sort and only add back the minimum amount of bran and germ required by the government to be called "whole wheat."
Soy flour can be added 1/4 cup to 1 cup of flour...so if you are using 1 cup of "real flour" you can use 3/4 cup "real flour" and 1/4 cup soy flour. In breads, of course, you may need to add gluten if you sub. many cups....soy has very little, if any, gluten.
You're better off finding recipes where you can add bran and/or germ and therefore guarantee how much you are getting of the beneficial components you are looking for.

any other dietitians out there with an opinion??:confused:

[Gail]

Non-dietician here with absolutely no expertise on the subject.

Since Cereza is new here, I'm simply offering a source for the information sought, which would be to check Cook's Thesaurus for equivalencies. Here's the link specific to flour substitutions:
http://www.foodsubs.com/Flour.html#all-purpose

Cooks Thesaurus is a great site to bookmark. Good luck!

[tracey67]

Hi Wallycat!

...not the original poster, but I just wanted to say that I LOVE reading your posts -- you're always so knowledgable and helpful! The info you gave about soy flour (1/4 cup to 1 cup) is nice to know, but I'm really surprised about the whole wheat flour! Are you saying that whole wheat flour does not offer much more nutrionally? WOW! Can you clarify what "100% stone-ground 100% whole wheat" is? Is this what is sometimes called "graham flour"? I'm really curious because, like cereza, I've been wanting to make my baked goods more nutritious by subbing whole wheat. Should I not bother?

TIA for your wisdom! :D

Tracey

[wallycat]

tracey67 --thanks for compliment --:o :o :o

Government standards are not very stringent when it comes to info on wheat. I did a search on the government website and what their "standards" are for label info...they are very vague. After interviewing bakeries (places like Natural Ovens in Manitowoc, etc.) as well as some flour millers there are several varieties of flour that can be sold and still called 'whole wheat.' Most wheat is sifted of the bran and germ, and then only so much is required to be added back to be called whole wheat....even if that percentage is not 100%. Even things like stone-ground can be deceiving--for example they can initially stone grind, then when they sift, they can take remainder of the product and toss it into a mechanical grinder for finer particles. The theory is that the germ is no longer there and so heat generated from the machines won't affect the oils of the product...and then they can add back what they want and still call the product stone ground.

I don't wish to sound glum about wheat....there are some reputable millers and manufacturers, but it's really hard to start analyzing and looking.
The same goes for corn....cornmeal like quaker states right on the package that it is de-germed.

The ideal would be a label that states 100% whole stone ground wheat, or even 100% whole wheat--but "whole wheat" does not indicate all of it is.
Those of us who are anal (:o :o ) buy the wheat berries and grind their own...so this way they know it is whole.
I know many people say "geeze, i don't even bake bread, why grind my own flour".....just depends on how important it is.

I'm not a huge bread eater and unfortunately, DH prefers white (aaaacckkkk) bread...
reading labels and contacting companies of products you like for more accurate ingredient info is your best bet;)

[tracey67]

Thanks for the thorough explanation Wallycat! One last question, if you don't mind... what exactly should I be looking for when reading the labels (aside from "100% whole stone ground wheat," of course) to make sure that I get the most nutritious flour? Are there certain nutrients or other things that I should be paying particular attention to? ...or is "100% whole stone ground wheat" good enough?

Sorry for the many questions. :(

Tracey

[wallycat]

You can always strive for a bread with the highest fiber content, but, for example, Natural Ovens uses other grains as filler for that...such as sorghum (not that that is bad, it's just not the wheat bran...)...but roughage is good!! Also, you can see how much NATURAL fat there is...wheat germ has oils...of course, if a mfg. is adding oil to their bread, it will be difficult to determine which ingredient is providing the fat. You can also see if they list vitamin E (a component of germ, but also soybean oil)..
so....easy....not sure ....possible.....at least a chance to pick best out of a worst case scenario.
Have fun reading labels!:)

[tracey67]

Thanks again -- that was exactly what I was looking for!
tracey

[cereza]

thanks to all for the info on flour substitutions... very informative.

[Anne]

I just had to put in my plug for grinding your own wheat - as Wallycat said, that way you know what you get. Plus the flavor of fresh ground wheat bread is incredible. I add vital wheat gluten to my whole wheat flour to get a better rise. I also like using kamut and spelt as additions to both yeast and quick breads. I don't have fiber info on them but since they are 'more primitive' grains I suspect that they have at least as much fiber as wheat. Any ideas on that Wallycat?

[wallycat]

kamut and spelt fall into the same category in terms of pre-ground (probably sifted) versus whole berries....
check this site out for info....

http://www.gethealthyshop.com/grains/grains.htm#Fiber-Magic%20Whole%20Grains

hope this helps...:D
(skip the ads/sales pitches, the info on the picture of each grain shows amounts of fiber....:) )...

sorry..i'm editing...
i was reviewing their fat content info and cornmeal (polenta) shows zero...so am thinking this is not whole...cornmeal goes rancid very quickly...i freeze mine!!...will see if I can find a better site.
:confused:

[AD]

The only whole grain I normally eat is whole wheat. To me, the only nutritional benefit is the fiber. I look at the grams of fiber in whole wheat flour and whole wheat products. Surely that information on the label can't be misleading!

I will agree most whole wheat products are not any better since they are mixed with refined wheat. I've seen some new 100% whole wheat breads in the stores lately, one from Mrs. Baird's. They actually have a good fiber content. I still prefer to make my own 100% whole wheat bread from King Arthur's white whole wheat flour. Whole wheat pasta is an excellent fiber source.

As far as nutrients, the refined flours are fortified with more nutrients than most whole wheat flours have naturally. I personally feel that refined grains have more (though not necessarily better) nutrients.

Check www.foodsubs.com for eqivalent measures of all types of flours and grains and their descriptions.

[kimmurphy94]

One other tidbit about substituting flours...

Interestingly, wheat flours are the only flours which produce gluten - necessary for making bread. That is what enables bread to rise and stay risen. And, that is why breads made with other flours are usually more dense. If you plan on making bread, the majority of your flour should be wheat flour (or just expect a very dense loaf!)