January 20, 2020 - 5:17pm
Swiss Farmhouse Bread Question
I am getting back into baking after many years of gluten free and low carb living. Would love to try my hand at the Swiss Farmhouse Bread. I noticed that Hamelman indicated that what he calls “Bread Flour” is actually what we in the US call All Purpose.
Is there any advantage to using bread flour, if so, do any adjustments need to be made to the formula?
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Mr Hamelman works at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, VT so it's not a surprise that he would use KAF AP flour. The difference between KAF AP and other AP flours is its protein content of 11.7% which is as high as many commercially available bread flours that are found at your local supermarket.You may find through experience that bread flour will need a little bit more water than AP. I suggest using a spray bottle with fresh water if you find your dough too dry when using bread flour.
I've made bread with the KAF AP and I use Dakota Maid Bread Flour as well. Good technique on my part will make a greater impact on the quality of the loaf so it's practice, practice, practice.
I would recommend bread flour for the extra strength that is needed to lift the raisins and walnuts and the long fermentation. Search this site for the Swiss Farmhouse bread Community Bake to see how others managed this recipe.
Here are the links that MTLoaf mentioned.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/60872/community-bake-hamelmans-swiss-farmhouse-part-1-yeast-water
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/60907/community-bake-hamelmans-swiss-farmhouse-part-2-bake
If you photograph and post your bake to the Community Bake, other bakers are sure to respond with suggestions and help if needed.
Danny