is whole wheat flour interchangable with regular flour?

Question

i told my hubby to get some flour on the way home from work today...and he accidentally picked up the whole wheat kind. i don't mind it in certain recipes, so i plan on keeping it. however, i was going to make some gingersnaps(i already have the sugar/egg/mollasses/etc. mixture made) and wasn't sure if i could just use the whole wheat flour in it, since i don't feel like running to the store right now. will it effect the flavor much?

ok, i made the cookies with the wheat flour(as i was very curious what would happen!) and added an extra egg since the mixture was a bit dry. i baked them as normal and they turned out pretty good. they don't taste like regular gingersnaps--i didn't think they would--but more like snackwells gingerbread cookies if you have ever had them. i added some homemade vanilla icing and that seemed to make them better. definitely a good cookie for those who like healthly whole wheat flavor.
thanks for the insight everyone! :-)

Answer 1

Whole wheat flour has nowhere near the gluten content of white flour. It also contains natural fats and sugars that can adversely affect the quality of baked goods. Some things you can fudge a bit but ginger snaps with whole wheat flour is nothing that I would want to do on purpose. Consequently, if you decide to do it anyway you should follow up and tell us how it turned out.

Answer 2

You can use whole wheat flour, however, you will get a much denser gingersnap and you will taste the difference. If you have any regular flour use it half and half, if you do not, you will want to add a little more liquid or for a little extra richness try an extra egg. I like ww flour, but it is an aquired taste. You may find you will like it also and it is better than the empty caloried alternative.

Answer 3

It will definitely change the texture of the food you cook. It will be heavier and coarser than when you use regular flour. In pancakes and bread I use 25% whole wheat and 75% all purpose flour. There is also white whole wheat flour and it is closer to regular white flour but has the health benefits of whole wheat. It cooks up to be more like the results you get from all-purpose white flour.

Answer 4

for brown gingerbread cookies you can use it . For anything that requires loft you cannot.. A loaf of bread made with bread flour will rise higher and consequently be less dense than a loaf made with whole wheat flour. The reason is that the bran particles-aka cellulose - cut into the gluten that you have developed through kneading and prevent them from forming the webs that trap gases-CO2.

Answer 5

The flavor, no, but it might affect the consistency in some recipes.

What the heck---give it a try! Gingersnaps are pretty forgiving.

Answer 6

No it's not, you'll end up with awful cookies, too dense and dry. If you still have some white flour use half and half, that's what's done for most wheat breads.

Answer 7

It will affect flavor, and also the cookie won't be as crispy.

But it will be healthier, so you may want to just give it a try.

Answer 8

No it is not. It will greatly affect flavour.