I’m a biscuit geek. Full on biscuit-obsessed. I couldn’t even begin to count how many biscuits I’ve made in pursuit of biscuit perfection. Thus I share that wisdom with you, such that you might jump ahead a few steps.
An Introduction to Flour
Recently I mentioned to a friend that I had run out of cake flour, to which she replied, “There’s flour just for cakes?? What other kinds of flour are there? I only have one!” The answer is “a lot” — and that’s just starting with the wheat flours! “All purpose” flour is anything but.
| Type of flour| Characteristics| Best used for
| Soft red winter| Low-protein, often found in cake flour| Cakes, pastries, biscuits, crackers
| Soft white winter| Low-protein| Cakes, pastries, biscuits, crackers
| Soft white spring| Low-protein; similar to soft white winter| Cakes, pastries, biscuits, crackers
| Hard white| High-protein| Bread (and homebrewing)
| Hard red winter| High-protein; produced in drier places, like Utah| Bread
| Hard red spring| High-protein, strong gluten; planted in places where winter is too cold for winter wheat| Bread
What’s “low” or “high” when it comes to protein content? White wheat in general is around 9-12% protein, while the hard reds are 11-15%.
As far as brands of flour, White Lily “all-purpose” flour has been my go-to for biscuit making. It’s a soft red winter wheat, and the low protein and low gluten content keep biscuits from becoming too dense. White Lily is well-known among biscuit makers and can be difficult to find outside of the South, with the exception of the occasional specialty store. There was quite a stir four years ago when the White Lily mill moved from Knoxville, TN to the midwest. (The White Lily site still maintains a FAQ about the move.) White Lily fans swore it would never be the same, but until now I hadn’t tested it one-on-one against other brands.
The Experiment: Flour vs. Flour vs. Flour
I made three batches of biscuits at the same time, using White Lily as well as two other brands known for biscuit-making:
White Lily: soft red winter wheat with a protein content of 8%
Martha White: blend of soft winter wheat and hard red winter wheat with a protein content of 10.5%.
Southern Biscuit: soft red winter wheat with a protein content of 8-9.5%
I never measure when I’m making biscuits, but this time, for the sake of science, I did. For each batch I used a very simple recipe:
160 grams of flour
60 grams of shortening
65 grams of milk
There was one variable — the White Lily I have is all-purpose, so I added 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. The other two flours are self-rising blends.
