Durum Wheat
A hard strain of wheat that is more commonly used in the dry, warm climate of southern Italy. It has higher protein compared to other wheats, so dough made with durum wheat is less flexible. This makes durum flour better for dried pastas.
Semolina: Durum flour that has been milled once. It is coarse and yellow. Semolina is what mass produced dried pastas are made out of and a good flour to use when extruding. In the kitchen, semolina’s course texture means that it is best used to dust pasta dough to prevent it from sticking to surfaces or itself after it has been shaped.
Semola Rimacinata: Durum flour that has been milled twice. It is a finer, lighter yellow flour. Milling twice make the flour softer and therefore much better for use in hand-formed pasta.
Soft Wheat
Soft wheat, as the name implies, is a soft strain of wheat. Its lower protein content makes it more flexible than the higher protein durum wheat. Soft wheat is grown and used in central-north Italy. Eggs are added to the soft wheat flours to make up for the lower protein content so that structure can be given, but the dough is still very elastic and easily rolled into thin sheets. The different soft wheat flours rely on the different grades that the flour is milled to. 00 (double zero) is the finest.
All Purpose Flour
APF is usually a mixture of hard and soft wheat flours, but it has similar protein content to 00 flour. It is coarser than 00 flour.
Other Flours
Gluten Free Flour I recommend getting gluten free flour without xanthum gum in it, as my recipe has the xanthum gum measured separately and added in. More experimenting to be done on this front.
Whole Grain Wheat Flour Whole grain is healthier, but the added fat from milling the flour when the germ causes the flour to go bad sooner, so be aware of its expiration date. Whole grain is best used when mixed with APF. If you want to use a full whole grain flour, then I recommend making sure the dough is hydrated enough and stick to shapes that are thin.
**Buckweat, Chestnut, Einkhorn, Spelt, Rye, Chickpea, **