Flour has become a household staple for many homes because flour is a crucial ingredient in many recipes, and one popular type of flour to keep in your house is cream flour.
If you are unfamiliar with cream flour, you may be wondering what cream flour is and how you can use cream flour. I looked up the facts, and here is what I learned!
What Is Cream Flour?
Cream flour is a soft type of wheat flour, and cream flour is also commonly called all-purpose flour or plain flour. Normally, cream flour can be used in most recipes that call for plain flour or white flour because cream flour is versatile, making cream flour the most popular type of flour.
Do you want to learn what kind of wheat cream flour is made from, what cream flour tastes like, and what you can replace cream flour with? Keep reading!
What Is Cream Flour Made Of?
Generally, cream flour is made from wheat, and the wheat used to make cream flour is hard red wheat or a mixture of soft and hard wheat in a 20:80 ratio.
Due to the process the wheat goes through to make cream flour, some manufacturers may also add vitamins and minerals into cream flour to replace any nutrients that were lost.
Additionally, some cream flour may contain bleaching agents because cream flour can be bleached or unbleached.
Despite the name, cream flour does not contain any cream or dairy products since the term “cream” often refers to cream flour’s soft texture and normally pale color.
What Is Cream Flour Called?
Cream flour may be called cream flour, but some people may also call cream flour “all-purpose flour” or “plain flour” and the names are often interchangeable in most recipes.
Some manufacturers may also call their cream flour “cake flour” but this will highly depend on what type of wheat was used to make the flour.
What Does Cream Flour Taste Like?
Typically, cream flour has little to no taste when cooked or baked since cream flour is very neutral in flavor, meaning cream flour will absorb the flavors of other ingredients.
For instance, if you were to make a cake with vanilla, eggs, and cream flour, your cake will likely taste like vanilla and eggs.
What Is Cream Flour Used For?
Normally, cream flour can be used in almost any recipe that calls for flour, especially if the recipe requires plain flour or white flour.
Cream flour is likely one of the most commonly used types of flour due to cream flour’s versatility, which is why most people opt to have cream flour in their homes.
For instance, a pancake recipe may only call for “flour,” which means you can use cream flour for your pancakes.
Cream flour is also good for cooking because you can use cream flour as a thickening agent for soups, stews, etc., or as a coating for fried foods.
What Is The Difference Between Regular Flour And Cream Flour?
Technically, there is no real difference between regular flour and cream flour because regular flour often refers to plain flour or all-purpose flour.
As mentioned earlier, cream flour may also be called all-purpose flour or plain flour, meaning regular flour is the same as cream flour.
Is Cream Flour The Same As Self-Rising Flour?
Cream flour is not the same as self-rising flour because they are made of different ingredients, meaning the two flours are not interchangeable.
Self-rising flour is made of flour (which may be cream flour), baking powder, salt, etc. because self-rising flour requires rising agents.
On the other hand, cream flour is merely plain flour made from wheat.
Therefore, cream flour can be in almost any recipe that needs flour, but you will not get much “rise” or volume in your dish.
As for self-rising flour, self-rising flour is best for recipes that require a voluminous, thick, and fluffy result, such as pancakes or biscuits.
Additionally, self-rising flour and cream flour have different flavor profiles because cream flour has virtually no taste whereas self-rising flour has a slightly salty taste due to the added ingredients.
Since cream flour is often used to create self-rising flour, you can add some rising agents like baking powder and salt to your cream flour to make self-rising flour at home.
Does Cream Flour Have Gluten?
Cream flour always has gluten and cream flour usually contains 8-11% gluten, but the exact gluten content can vary based on the ingredients.
If the cream flour is made from a combination of soft and hard wheat, the hard wheat will likely be high in gluten while the soft wheat will be low in gluten.
On the other hand, cream flour that is made only from hard red wheat will be much higher in gluten.
Keep in mind that if you choose cream flour made from soft and hard wheat, cream flour can still cause reactions in people who are sensitive to gluten.
What Can I Substitute For Cream Flour?
If you want a gluten-free alternative to cream flour, you can opt for non-wheat flour, such as chickpea flour.
Other popular substitutes for cream flour are almond flour and rice flour, which can produce soft results similar to cream flour.
If you are not conscious about consuming gluten, you can use a mixture of hard flour like bread flour and soft flour like cake flour to create something similar to cream flour.
Check out our other articles to find out what crispy flour is, what cricket flour is, and what cultured wheat flour is.
Conclusion
Cream flour is the most commonly used flour around the world, and cream flour may also be called all-purpose flour, regular flour, or plain flour.
Generally, cream flour can be used in nearly any recipe that calls for white flour or plain flour, making cream flour a versatile flour to have in your kitchen.
Moreover, cream flour may serve as the base ingredient for other types of flour, such as self-rising flour.