Sourdough Simpleton Lexicon: Flour

[@UrbanSikeborg]

A master baker once advised beginners to use standard (unbleached, I assume) flour, since the properties of organic or stone-milled flour could vary much: more or less of the various layers of the grain, different ratios of the proteins glutenin and gliadin, and so on. Those flours would require a more experienced hand to get a consistently good result. I learned first-hand that he was right - it took me a year to get a grip of the organic stone-milled flours I started with ...

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Thanks for the comment. I can believe that various specialty milled flour could vary in properties, and require more exacting technique. For a beginner, such as myself, I have found that staying with a particular brand and style of product allows me to concentrate on my technique, rather than adjust to the raw materials. I appreciate your input, please do subscribe to the KZbin channel, and enjoy the other videos that I have posted.

[@UrbanSikeborg]

@@SourdoughSimpleton : Yes, that seems a good strategy - I also stick to flours from the same mill. Bread flour is tricky. Mine has a relatively low protein content (11%) so it's weaker than what many KZbinrs use (up to 14%). It requires a more gentle handling and tends to overferment more quickly - but it tastes so good. I couldn't understand in the beginning why my breads didn't turn out as those in KZbin videos, even though I followed everything to the letter. But now I have skipped "the letter" and have become a slave to the flour rather than a slave to the recipe. It's only now, after a year, that I get the results I want.

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

@@UrbanSikeborg Not sure where you are located, but for sourdough I use King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose flour, which has an 11.7% protein content. King Arthur's Bread Flour is only a bit higher, 12.7%, and I do use that for other yeast bread that I bake, but have stayed with the AP for sourdough. Handles very well and tastes great. Thanks again for the comments.

[@UrbanSikeborg]

@@SourdoughSimpleton : I'm Swedish, live near Stockholm. The standard, "all-purpose" flour here has only 8% protein and is used for cakes, cookies and cooking. Your all-purpose flour must be easier to work with. For professional bakers, there are several flours with an increasing protein content available - more protein means more gluten and a stronger gluten net, which makes forming easier, and the breads come out high and airy. But in ordinary supermarkets there's only one extra strong flour with 14%, with extra gluten added separately, but it isn't organic and feels a bit artificial. - If you're interested in the views and thoughts of a professional baker and at the same time get to learn new dimensions in bread making, I can recommend the Proof Bread channel, with Jon and his wife Amanda. A German young man, Hendrik, has some good and insightful tips in his channel, the Bread Code, especially in his later videos, without the rushed tempo and annoying music that's so typical for many other KZbin channels. Join one of his live sessions - I think that would interesting. (Edit: I can also recommend The Artisan Crust channel.)

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

@@UrbanSikeborg Interesting, I will check those sites out. 8% protein flour here would be pastry flour, pretty much exclusively. It just points out the regional differences which must be accounted for when sharing data about our recipes and techniques over the WORLD Wide Web!