[Asjimenez510]

Hi before coronavirus I’ve been trying to learn how to bake.
Now I can’t find all purpose flour anywhere online or in stores(California)
But I did find some Wondra Flour and rice flour, which I have no idea how to use. All my Google Searches give me results that have nothing to do with my question.

my question is : “how to make Wondra / rice flour work like all purpose flour ?*
do I add in more sugar or cornstarch ?
I am trying to make cakes and pies and pizza crust etc
Thanks

 

[MitroP]

I have never heard of it, but i just read some facts about it. Wondra flour is a low-protein, finely ground wheat flour that has been pre-cooked and dried. The asset of it is that it can not clump when heated or stirred into liquids like other flours and doesn't need to be cooked.
It is used just like all-purpose flour to make pies, crepes,sauces and more. Here is a helpful recipe.
https://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/201/Wondra_Pie_Crust50036.shtml

 

[chrislehrer]

I doubt you'll get pizza dough to work, because the gluten is cooked and thus not going to activate much or at all. Same with bread of any kind.

 

[Innocuous Lemon]

low protein, no gluten, youll have a hard time

might i suggest something that is already traditionally quite low in flour, like perhaps a spanish polenta and almond flour cake? give it a google, youll find a fair few. but in most cases the core ingredients are one or more of the following

Almond flour (super-finely ground almonds)
cornmeal/polenta (same thing)
whole oranges poached to the point of softness and then pureed into a kind of batter - think banana bread, but with mashed oranges instead of the bananas

 

[Innocuous Lemon]

or a classic flourless chocolate tart. The standard principle of aeration and structure relies on (rather than fat and egg protein locked with air in a gluten structure) a genoise style sponge of eggs heated over a bain marie as sugar is whisked into it, then combined with melted chocolate (a lot, its majoritively chocolate, which helps a firm set once cooled) and baked

 

[rck]

Don’t know what area you are in but Pavilians is selling bread flour 5 LB bags.

 

[smaakmakerij]

I'm surprised about the AP flour. Nearly every grocery store at least sells Gold Medal, Pillsbury, and house versions. Online you should be able to order it from Amazon, Walmart, etc. Online there is also King Arthur Flour, a company that sells many varieties. I'm sure the are many sources used by the professionals.

I have used Wondra for years. I primarily use it to make a smooth gravy despite interruptions during the holidays. I also use it for my speculaas (windmill cookie) plank. I would not use it for regular baking for a variety of reasons.
First up is the fact that the grinding process give it a texture reminiscent of granulation which is why it doesn't clump like regular flour. That's why I use it in the plank; it keeps the dough from sticking and doesn't accumulate in the mold causing the cookies to lose their shape.
Second, that superfine texture will also cause problems with dough consistency because of the higher density and surface area per measurement to which liquids will be added.
Third, because of that high density per measurement you would need a lot of it to get the measurements, which would, again, mix badly with liquids and cause problems with dough consistency.
Fourth, the cost of the extra milling process, and the high density needing different packaging than standard flours adds up to a high cost per can for a smaller (due to high density) volume.

Regarding the rice flour, it has no gluten with which to make a framework to support the dough in ridsing and baking.

Adding cornstarch to Wondra won't work well because the cornstarch also lacks gluten, but it will again change the consistency of the dough and change the proportions involved in the chemical reactions in baking.

Sugar serves different purposes than flour and cannot be interchanged, especially with such a finely ground, dense flour.

 

[phatch]

The was originally posted during the shortage phase of the pandemic.

 

[smaakmakerij]

Ah! Sorry.