All Purpose Flour has a higher calorie count per serving

AP : 110/ ww :100
Carbs
AP: 22 ww : 21

And the dietary fiber is higher for ww by 3%

No MAJOR differences really.

Here is a link that might be useful: Taste E Treats

I believe the question was "what is the difference between white whole wheat and brown whole wheat"...and I am wondering as well.
Linda C

They do act a bit differently. The white whole wheat is a softer flour, and requires a bit less liquid or a bit more flour. Other than that I use them interchangeably in baking, and I often sub 1 slight mounded cup of White WW for 1 cup of AP in my baking with no affect to taste or texture.
But regular WW will give you a bit of a nutty flavor even when subbed 1:1.

White wheat is similar to red wheat varieties. The plants are alike and both come in hard and soft grains and winter and spring varieties. Hard wheat (either red or white) is higher in gluten, and used for bread (or items where gluten development is important) and soft when you don't want a lot of gluten development (quick breads, cakes, pastry, etc.).

Winter wheat is planted in the fall and winters over in the ground, and spring wheat is planted in the northern states in the spring, and that is determined by how far north you are planting wheat in the U.S. and Canada. Here in Kansas we always plant winter wheat.

The white and red wheat varieties are similar in nutrition, but what is different is the color of the bran of the grain. Bran color is determined by one, two, or three major genes. The "grandfather" of all winter wheat was a variety known as Turkey Red and it had 3 major genes. The bran was very dark and acidic tasting. Modern varieties of hard red winter wheat have only one or two of these genes and are milder tasting. WHITE WHEAT, in contrast, has no major genes for bran color.

Because of the lack of bran color, the acidic taste associated with whole wheat products is reduced and replaced with a much more mild, almost sweet flavor.

Commercial "White Whole Wheat" is usually milled from a hard variety of the grain, so is higher in gluten than all-purpose and isn't an exact substitute when it comes to gluten levels, so don't over-mix if using commercial white whole what flour in foods that contain a chemical leavener (soda/baking powder) so that you don't develop too much of the gluten (which will result in tunnels in quick breads and a tough crumb). I mill both hard and soft varieties for optimal gluten control.

-Grainlady

Thanks all for the tutorials. I'm getting to feel more comfortable about using WW flour.

Grainlady: Are most commercially available red WW flours made from soft varieties? Do you use a 1:1 ratio for your mix of hard and soft WW flour?

terri: When you use red WW flour, does it affect texture?

I use King Arthur's White Whole Wheat. I doesn't seem to affect the texture either. Nor the taste. I add just a touch more than a level cup when replacing a level cup of AP.

ovenbird - "Are most commercially available red WW flours made from soft varieties?" No, they are milled from hard wheat (or a combination of hard and soft to get a certain protein count) unless it says something like "Whole Wheat PASTRY Flour", then that would be milled from soft wheat.

I've had 16% protein wheat, which is almost too much gluten and will make a tough loaf of bread, and I have had to mix it with other wheat varieties, because that much protein would take forever and a day of kneading to develop that much gluten.

I don't mix soft and hard wheat flours to make an "all-purpose" flour because I consider it a general purpose flour that really doesn't address all the gluten issues. To me, all-purpose flour is a "lets settle for something in the middle since most people don't know the difference" kind of flour.

In all-purpose flour there is enough hard wheat for gluten for fairly good yeast breads, and enough soft so you can make a fairly good cake or quick bread, but it really doesn't address all the gluten factors and options like when you have a chance to mill your own grains, nor is all-purpose flour optimal for all uses. When judging cakes at the local County Fair, I can tell who used cake flour and who used all-purpose. There's a great deal of difference.

I often know the protein level of the grains I get (from test weights at the elevator), or I can do water/flour tests as outlined in "CookWise" by Shirley O. Corriher, to figure what the gluten content is, but that's a rare occasion that I'd need to do that. I get grains from reputable sources.

Spelt is also a good choice for a replacement for all-purpose flour, especially when making anything other than yeast breads with it, and I use a lot of spelt - nearly as much spelt as wheat.

I can also tell from the feel of the flour, once it's milled, if it's hard or soft. If I were to forget which type of grain I had milled, I could usually tell by feeling it. Soft wheat makes a very fine, powdery flour, while hard wheat is a bit more coarse. There is usually more endosperm in soft wheat than there is in hard wheat, but not always. Hard winter wheat is usually small and wrinkled looking and has more bran and less endosperm. Hard Spring Wheat usually has more endosperm than Hard Winter Wheat, but also has less gluten because it has a shorter growing season.

Commercial wheat is milled from a combination of hard and soft wheat to get the correct protein content because there is so much variance in grains. Even in the same field you'll have a combination of hard and soft. Anywhere there are puddles where water lays in the wheat fields, the wheat growing in that area will be soft from too much moisture. If there is a side of the field that has some shade from trees, that might also be lower protein than the rest of the field. So most commercial flours, whole wheat and processed white/unbleached, are usually a combination of hard and soft grains.

I mill soft white wheat and oat groats (3:1 ratio) to make a very fine wholegrain "cake" flour. That's one that is a bit different....

-Grainlady

Wow, I didn't know flour was such a complex topic! I think I'll stick to KA white whole wheat for now, but will definitely keep all of the info in the previous posts in mind. What I'd really like to do is try baking some of that no knead bread. Unfortunately I haven't found a bread that doesn't make my blood sugars spike.