[Sca-cooks] flour experimentation

Terry Decker t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net
Sun Feb 11 22:05:26 PST 2007


Check the nutritional information on the bags.  Gold Medal All Purpose is 
10% protein.  High gluten bread flours are up around 14% protein.  Soft 
flours usual run 9% down to about 7%.  If you want to match traditional 
European flours, soft flours are the closest match, but you can fudge with 
the Gold Medal.

In the past, I have been able to get bulk whole wheat pastry flour from a 
local health food store, which is probably as close to period European flour 
as you are going to get.  Both Arrowhead Mills and Bob's Red Mill produce 
whole wheat pastry flour.  Quite a few groceries carry one or the other or 
both and might be willing to special order for you.

The problem with cake flour isn't that it's "enriched," it's that most cake 
flours are chlorinated to bleach them white, however neither chlorination 
nor enrichment seems to affect the baking.

Bear


From: "Carole Smith" <renaissancespirit2 at yahoo.com>


> Thanks for the links.  While King Arthur is wonderful for breads and other 
> baked items that need lots of gluten/protein, that is not what I believe 
> people in England and other parts of Europe used for general purposes in 
> our period.  It certainly isn't as low protein as the all purpose flour 
> you would purchase at Marks and Spencers in the present era.
>
>  What I am trying to find a lower protein flour that is readily available 
> outside the Southern states.  I don't particularly want to use cake flour, 
> as it's enriched. The closest I have found so far is at Costco. 
> Unfortunately it only comes in 50 lb. bags. Some of the chi chi cooking 
> stores sell pastry flour.  I should check that out.
>




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