November 20, 2011 - 2:16pm
Is bread flour pure had red winter wheat?
Hi,
the subject says it all: is bread flour pure had red winter wheat flour or is it blended with weaker flours? Italian millers generally consider HRWW too tenacious to be used in purity and mix it with some weaker (but still strong) european wheat variety, especially to bring down the P/L near 0.5-0.6. Is it the same in US?
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Hi Nico,
I believe the only people who could provide an honest answer to this question would be the miller who supplies the flour in the first place.
Unless you can gather this information firsthand, you really don't know what you are buying.
Flour from wheat is a food commodity traded on the world market. Do I need to say more? For example: where does durum flour used in Italy come from?......Australia, of course [well, sometimes, anyway]!
You know this anyway, although I think you are asking the question with other more complex thoughts in mind!
Very best wishes to you
Andy
I was hoping that someone-in-the-know... sorry, someone-in-the-mill would come and explain :)
Durum comes from Australia, yes, and also from north Africa. After all the climate is perfect for durum: hot and dry, just like in Puglia and Sicily. It's a known fact that the largest part of italian durum wheat gets exported to North America for the pasta industry, at a premium price of course.
Best wishes,
Nico
No guidelines, no rules and regulation.
King Arthur brand bread flour is made of (only?) all hard red spring wheat. Gold Medal Better for Bread flour is made with hard winter wheat.
Agreed, that if the miller has published specifications, like King Arthur do, then the information is "out there".
In Europe, generally, we do not have that luxury with industrially-milled flour. And, access to the types of flour Nico mentions comes only on payment of considerable tariff.
Even more fundamental; the terms "hard spring" and "hard winter" are just not used to classify wheat produced over here....sadly!
Best wishes
Andy
We seem to have the same issue with the classification of wheats here in Australia. When I have contacted mills I either get no response at all or a very basic response saying the wheat/flour is suitable to breadmaking. Nothing compared to the information available to bakers in the States with the likes of King Arthur.