what's the differece between bleached and unbleached flour?

Answer 1

From our friends at baking911.com - a great site for all kinds of baking specific info!

"Bleached Enriched All-Purpose Flour is treated with chlorine to mature the flour, condition the gluten and improve the baking quality. The chlorine evaporates and does not destroy the nutrients but does reduce the risk of spoilage or contamination.

Unbleached Enriched All-Purpose Flour (or Occident Flour) is bleached by oxygen in the air during an aging process and is off-white in color. Nutritionally, bleached and unbleached flour are the same.
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Answer 2

From the side of a Pillsbury flour bag:

"Unbleached flour is allowed to age naturally without the use of chemicals or maturing agents."

"Flour is bleached to improve baking performance. This process does not affect the nutritional value of the flour."


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If you want a more natural product, go for the unbleached.

Answer 3

No real difference in using the flour and a slight difference in taste.. Unbleached flour has more nutrients. I can tell the difference and only use unbleached, but once in a while I accidentally buy bleached. It really isn't a big deal.

Answer 4

Bleached flour is flour that was subjected to flour bleaching agents in order to whiten it (freshly milled flour is yellowish) and give it more gluten-producing potential. Oxidizing agents are usually employed, most commonly organic peroxides like acetone peroxide or benzoyl peroxide, nitrogen dioxide, or chlorine. A similar effect can be achieved by letting the flour slowly oxidize with oxygen in the air ("natural aging") for approximately 10 days, however, this process is more expensive due to the time required.

Answer 5

Bleach flour is white DUHHH...........