January 29, 2014 - 6:09am
High Gluten Flour in NYC
HI All,
I'm planning on baking bagels using the BBA formula in a few weeks and I'm trying to plan ahead. I live in NYC and work in Rockland County and so far I haven't been able to find any real high gluten flour in my local supermarkets. I stress the word real because I was almost fooled by a few flour brands that call their flours high gluten but are really closer in gluten content to bread flour. I've read on TFL that the easiest way to obtain HG flour is online (like KA's catalog) but I was wondering if anyone can suggest a local source in NYC (or Brooklyn or Rockland County)? And while I'm at it, can anyone suggest a similar source for non-diastatic malt?
Thanks!
Sruly
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I cannot speak to the malt, but you can pretty readily find KA Bread flour in NYC. The protein content of the flour is 12.7%.
Best,
Scott
Thanks for the info Scott! Bread flour is actually pretty readily available around here, especially KA and Gold Medal. I'm actually looking for something with an even higher gluten content (at least 14%) such as KA Sir Lancelot, which I've only seen in a huge sack during a bread baking class.
Have you considered purchasing some Vital Wheat Gluten, and then adding it to some KAF bread flour?
Alternatively ... your bagels may be fine with just KAF bread flour ...
Cheers-
Dave
Thanks for the suggestion Dave! I hadn't considered that option and didn't even know that was doable (learning new things every day!) How would I go about making this substitution? Is there a certain amount of VWG that would be recommended to add? And how would I adjust the hydration to make up for this addition?
For adding to flour, the box states to add a certain amount per cup of flour. I think the amount is 1/2 a teaspoon of VWG per cup of flour, but I am not certain. Each cup of flour is going to be something like 150g to 200g (you might want to measure this yourself with a cup, a scale, and some flour) so you can add it on a per mass (instead of per volume) basis.
I'm not sure about hydration. I would suggest you search the TFL forums for "VWG" and/or "vital wheat gluten" and see what comes up.
Alternatively you could simply add the VWG and make the recipe per the instructions and find out what happens (and adjust the next batch based on your results).
I hope some of the experts here will chime in.
Cheers-
Dave
I've not seen anything above the protein percentage of KA Bread Flour for general retail in the city, but as above posters have recommended, I have seen wheat gluten sold (Arrowhead Mills and Bob's Red Mill, generally). I don't usually buy my flours in Manhattan, but I find that most stores in Brooklyn and Queens calling themselves health food or organic retailers usually have a good selection of either one or the other of these brands. More and more often other retailers like Key Foods and Pioneer are expanding their inventory of this stuff, too.
are in Westchester and NYC I suggest picking your favorite bagel shop and asking if they'd let you purchase some flour from them. Another option is a pizza place of your liking. Many bagel and pizza shops work with High Protein Flour and I'm sure would be willing to sell you some. I recall Rockland Bakery making some good bread and they may also be able to help. I suggest calling around first to save yourself time. Some will be willing while others not. They will probably give you the flour at a good price too.
Josh