Difference between white flour and whole grain flours

There is much to learn just from making bread.

White flour and whole grain flours are totally different in their characteristics. White flour has high gluten and produces finely textured bread without much flavor of its own. It's like a sheet of white paper to be drawn on. Whole grain flours are somewhat the opposite. Each type of grain has its own unique flavor and aroma. They all have bran and are short of gluten-making components. Whole grain flours produce a category of baked goods that are together different from white flour. To make good bread, a baker needs to understand the unique characteristics of each type of ingredients, and explore ways to blend them together so as to arrive at something that surpasses the goodness of each of them individually.