What are the different types of wheat?

DIFFERENT TYPES OF WHEAT

First, wheat is primarily classified according to its growing season.

• Winter Wheat – planted in the fall, harvested in the spring, comprises approximately 75% of wheat grown in the U.S.

• Spring Wheat – planted in the spring, harvested in late summer or early fall.

Beyond the growing season, wheat is further categorized according to its hardness (hard/soft), color (red/white) and shape of its kernel. In the end, we’re left with the following six types of wheat:

• Hard Red Winter

• Hard Red Spring

• Soft Red Winter

• Durum

• Hard White

• Soft White

THE DIFFERENT PURPOSES OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF WHEAT

The protein content of the wheat is what primarily determines what the wheat will be used for and the greater the protein, the greater the elasticity of the dough will be.

• Hard red winter and hard red spring contain the highest percentages of protein are most often used in goods requiring size, like breads and rolls.

• Hard white and soft white contain the lowest percentages of protein and best suited for baked goods like cakes, cookies, crackers, pastries and muffins.

The color of the wheat plays a part too and as you may have already guessed, red wheat is darker than white wheat. Red wheat also has a stronger, more bitter flavor than white. This isn’t a big deal for many of us home bakers, but it is a big deal when you’re a big manufacturer trying to create a product that’s visually appealing to your consumer.

• Soft red winter is often used in blatantly obvious brown crackers and flat breads. These are often marketed as “whole grain” crackers and such.

• Soft white is used in goods when manufactures want the item to look and taste “white,” but be able to claim as healthy with wheat. One example of this are muffins “made with white wheat.”

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