King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour in Master Recipe

“I just bought your book and I am so excited to use it. Can I use King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour in your master recipe or do I need to use it with some regular white flour? If I do, what would be the ratio? Thank you so much and great luck with the book.” Eleanor

This summer I was in Vermont and went to the King Arthur Flour store, otherwise known as the baking mecca. I picked up some of the white whole wheat flour that Eleanor is asking about. It is 100% whole wheat milled from a hard white wheat and they say to use it as you would unbleached all-purpose. It has the germ and bran still intact but it is lighter, both in color and in taste. I tried it as a substitute in our master recipe and thought that it was quite good, but the dough was a tad drier than our normal recipe and I didn’t care for the crust. I love the flavor of the white whole wheat and I like that it has more nutritional value, but I want that really crisp, crackling crust that we get with the unbleached all-purpose flour. Whole wheat alone just doesn’t achieve it. My recommendation is to mix them, 4 cups all-purpose and 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat and add about 2-4 tablespoons of extra water to make up for the whole wheat flour, which absorbs more liquid. Thanks for the great question and enjoy the book!