Different Types of Wheat

Here is a brief explanation of the types of wheat provided by Wheat Montana. Great Harvest also buys their wheat from Montana as it has perfect growing conditions. Great Harvest's wheat for bread is a blend of Hard Red Spring and Hard White Spring.


Hard Red Winter: As it says, grown in Winter and slightly less protein content. Dark color, which also shows in a darker loaf. A more distinct flavor than the white spring wheat.


Hard Red Spring: Grown in Spring and slightly more protein than the winter. Better choice for bread when possible. Tastes same as red winter. The High Gluten flours you buy in the store are made from this, but of course the hull of the wheat berry has been sifted out.


Hard White Spring: Milder flavor, much softer texture and is super popular in whole wheat bread making because of its texture similarities to while bread. Same gluten content as the Hard Red Spring. Excellent choice for bread making as long as it is not excessively more expensive than the Hard Red Spring.

Soft White Spring: This is a pastry flour. Has a low gluten content and will translate to bad bread.

Just as a reminder gluten content is good for bread, but most of the gluten is held in the shell of the wheat berry so I recommend adding gluten to your bread recipe. It only takes 1/3-2/3 of a cup depending on how much you're making (2-5 loaves). The gluten allows the bread to hold together and trap the carbon dioxide given off from the yeast, which makes the bread rise. If you have not enough gluten your bread will have more air holes towards the top of your bread and it will be brittle after being baked making it terrible for sandwiches. Confusingly enough forgetting salt will result in a similar outcome.
(I would post pictures comparing the two kinds, but honestly the white is only a few shades lighter and I doubt it would show up.)