Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
whole wheat flour

whole wheat flour

2 2.5
Powder made from whole wheat used for baking bread
  • noun
  • /hoʊl wiːt flaʊər/
  • US
: harina integral
  • She always chooses whole wheat flour for making bread to ensure it has more nutrients.
  • a cup of whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
  • a tablespoon of whole wheat flour

I, I switched from white flour to whole wheat flour.

Examples

  • We usually make homemade pizza with whole wheat flour, but this tasted just as good.

    Blog text (7)

  • Could you tell me the nutritional benefit of almond meal over whole wheat flour?

    Blog text (8)

  • Can I do this with all whole wheat flour?

    Blog text (15)

  • And of course some whole wheat flour, which counts.

  • Add brown or white rice that has already been cooked and some whole wheat flour.

    Blog text (8)

  • I don't see why not; you may need a bit more water, as whole wheat flour might need more.

    Blog text (15)

  • I keep my whole wheat flour in its original bag and store it in a Ziplock bag.

    Blog text (4)

  • Improve your bread recipes by using only half the amount of flour that the recipe recommends and changing the other half to whole wheat flour.

    Blog text (26)

  • The muffins had a trace of that whole wheat flour bitterness.

    Blog text (31)

  • It also used whole wheat flour; if using white flour, you might be able to cut the kneading time.

    Blog text (28)

Synonyms

graham flour
vswhole wheat flour
  • US
1 5.3

A type of flour made from whole wheat that keeps the bran

is the broader category encompassing many whole grain varieties
whole meal flour
vswhole wheat flour
  • UK
3.5

Powder made by grinding whole wheat grain including the bran

is the common nonregional name for that same whole grain flour

How Nutritious

whole wheat flour
  • US
2 2.5
white bread
14 1.0
plain flour
  • UK
1 1.0

Surface Forms

whole wheat flour singular
whole wheat flours plural

Morphology

whole + wheat + flour

The phrase is fully compositional: 'whole' (entire), 'wheat' (the grain), and 'flour' (ground grain) combine straightforwardly to mean flour made from the entire wheat kernel (including bran and germ). This noun + modifier construction is cross-linguistically common and follows regular English composition, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Whole wheat flour comes from how the flour is made: the word whole means the entire wheat seed is ground, so the flour keeps the outer parts that give a darker colour, a nuttier taste, and extra 'nutrition'. That's why whole wheat flour means flour made from the whole grain rather than only the white inside.