So, what in the heck is a wheat berry? This is a great question because wheat is
where all of our (non-gluten free) flour comes from. There is a lot of confusion out there on this topic, especially with the gluten free movement, so let's clear up all the questions and understand what flour is.

You may not know this, but wheat is a grass. If you've ever gone outside
and noticed grass that's gone to seed on the top, wheat does the exact
same thing. In fact when wheat is growing it's gorgeous green & super lush &
thick. I wish you could have a wheat grass lawn because it looks that good! But just like wild grass you've seen or your own lawn that's grown too tall, wheat grows
nice and tall and then it goes to seed. After it does this, the farmer waits for it to ripen just right before driving the combine tractor through the field which harvests the grain, which are SEEDS. 

We call wheat seeds "berries." There are different varieties of wheat, just like there are different varieties of grass you can plant for your lawn. So a farmer can take the wheat berries, which are seeds, and plant them to grow more wheat, or the farmer can sell them. If you buy wheat berries, you can cook them up and eat
them like hot cereal (they taste amazing) or you can run them through a grain mill which will pulverize the whole seed and create whole grain flour.  You can also run them through a grain miill, pulverize them, create whole grain flour and then take that flour through a sifting process to pull some of the pieces out and create a white flour. This white flour can then become all purpose flour or it could be a high protein bread flour or it could be cake or pastry flour.

When we're talking about the white flours, it all depends on protein. A miller will test the protein content in the actual wheat from the farm (or farms since they're likely buying from several). They will grind these wheats into flour and combine them to get the protein percentage that is desirable for the particular flour. Bread flour has the highest amount of protein, cake or pastry flour has the lowest, and all purpose is a happy medium. 

Just like grass, wheat comes in different varieties and there are two that we use the most here at Bread Brothers and that you can also have in your own kitchen. One is hard red spring wheat and the other is hard white spring wheat. If you love the flavor of wheat, you go with red because it has a wonderful nutty flavor & makes a fantastic loaf of bread. We also like it in chocolate goodies, like brownies and it's delicious in things like carrot cake, quick breads and muffins...really anything where the overall flavor will be improved by the addition of some nutty wheat.

We use white wheat in products where we want a lighter color and less nutty flavor. It's fantastic for cookies, pancakes and cinnamon rolls. It also makes a fantastic loaf of butter honey wheat bread. If you want to eat whole grain wheat but struggle with the flavor because you're used to eating white bread, then white wheat is the one for you!

There are three basic parts of a wheat berry (or seed). The outside layer is called the bran layer. It has lots of fiber, vitamins and minerals in it. It doesn't grind all the way down when it's milled, so if you are using a whole grain wheat flour, you will see flecks of bran throughout the flour. To create any of the white flours, the bran will be removed (along with all of its fiber and minerals). 

Inside the bottom of the berry (or seed) is the germ. If the seed is germinated, this is what will cause the seed to sprout and it's where you find the polyunsaturated fats and vitamin E. In white flour, this is also removed because the oil eventually turns rancid & shortens the shelf life of the flour.

In between the bran and the germ is the largest part of the seed and that's the endosperm. This is what's left when all of the bran & germ are sifted out and is what makes any of the white flours (all purpose, bread flour or cake and pastry flour) and is packed with carbs & protein. 

So in the end both white flour and whole grain wheat flour all come from wheat berries. What you need to know is what works best in the product you want to make. The white flours make great sourdough, pastries, and your classic white sandwich bread. If the flour was produced from a properly farmed, high quality wheat, then these products can still have good protein and be considered a clean carb. Sometimes this is what you can't because the bran in a whole grain flour effects the way the dough forms making it really tough to create the texture you're used to in something like a pie crust or croissant. That being said, when your goal is to get the best nutrition, you want to use as much whole grain flour as you possibly can, giving you all of the nutrients available in the bran, the germ and the endosperm. Get creative and use whole grain wheat in bread, quick bread, muffins, cake & pancakes. You can make biscuits and pie crusts, too, just know you'll be working with the bran and will need to adjust your recipe and your technique.