Want to know a trick for tastier and tastier cookies? It's all about the flour.
All purpose flour it may seem like a blank canvas, but it can be an impact player. You just have to do one thing to it first: Toast it!
When roasted, it takes on a much deeper malt aroma and flavor, lifting the flour to heights you never thought possible. There’s almost a campfire-kissed quality to it – enough to make you wonder “What IS this?!” when you try it on a baked product.
Food photography and styling by Liz Neily
“Posting all-purpose flour brings delicious caramel notes to an ingredient that's normally bland and neutral,” says kitchen manager of recipe development and testing Sarah Jampel. “It unlocks a larger array of flavors—think of the difference between a raw nut and a toasted nut, or the flavor of raw versus toasted rice.”
Sarah used this trick on her new one Break with toasted flour. The recipe is deliberately minimalist so that the aroma of toasted flour shines against the background of butter and sugar, complemented by some toasted pecans. “I made one batch of cookies with unbaked flour and a second with toasted flour and we enjoyed both side by side. He confirmed that toasted flour really did make a difference in terms of taste and texture. Biscuits made with whole wheat flour not only had more complexity, but they were also more crumbly and digested more quickly when eaten – more of a 'melt in your mouth' texture. That's because baking flour isn't just about taste. Baking flour denatures some of its proteins, so when it is mixed into a dough, it forms less gluten. As a result, the cookies get a sandy, super soft texture.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne
This impact on protein means that toasted flour cannot be automatically substituted in any recipe, as it behaves differently from unbaked flour and can drastically affect the texture of the baked product. But if you want to try toast in more baking, head to Claire Saffitz's Triple Baked Rye Cookieswhich include toasted rye flour and all-purpose toasted flour. Rye flour, which already boasts a nutty, malty aroma, is particularly enhanced by a stay in the oven. Like Sarah's Toast Shortbread, the toast adds an extra layer of caramel flavor and butter (which takes rye flour from hoa to Wow) and also inhibits gluten formation by affecting the starch and gluten molecules in wheat flour, further promoting softness.
Image from Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz
There is also our Tourte Au Siegle recipe from King Arthur The Great Book of Bread, a classic French bread that uses toasted rye flour in the dough. “Much like eating a piece of bread that's not toasted versus one that is, (toasting) adds to the crunch,” says recipe developer Martin Philip. “It increases the maltiness, it brings out the sweetness, it reinforces these characteristics of the flour.” If you're looking to level up your skills and want to see this technique in action, this recipe is one of the breads featured in our On Demand Class, Big Book of Bread Companion.
After all, baking flour is an easy way to add color and dimension to an often overlooked ingredient. As Sarah says: “If white flour is always dressed in neutral colors, the moment it's cooked is the moment it finally comes out of the colorful wardrobe.”
Cover photo (Break with toasted flour) by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne.
