February 25, 2020 - 11:26pm
Hard Red non-whole wheat?
I'm trying to recreate my grandma's bread recipe and I believe she used hard red wheat -- is it possible for hard red wheat to be non-whole wheat? I remember her bread being fluffy and more like all-purpose flour, but I could be wrong. It's been awhile.
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To most people of a Grandmother's age (like me), a "whole wheat" loaf was frequently made with a combination of white flour for fluffiness and reduced WW taste and whole wheat flour for the health of it. It may be as little as 30% whole wheat or up to 70% but the white flour was used so it would be more acceptable in texture and taste.
Essentially all AP flour in the US has hard red wheat in it. What's missing from AP is the "red" part of the hard red wheat kernel: the bran. That's where the "red" pigment is, hence the name. AP contains just the internal starchy part of the kernels. The outer bran layer and germ are removed in milling.
Your grandmother certainly put hard red wheat in her bread dough, perhaps but not necessarily in the form of AP flour. Just about any AP on a US supermarket shelf fits the bill. But also note that AP flours are diverse mixtures depending on source. They are compounded from wheat flours of various "hardness" to achieve millers' performance objectives.
Interesting implication: When did AP come into wide commerce in the US? (Harold McGee probably says). Perhaps when your grandmother was taught to bake bread by her mother or grandmother, there was no AP, just hard red or soft white. So her point in your recollected quote was "I use hard red for bread" as opposed to the soft white she'd use for pastries. Vintage terminology. Cool. You have a living link to our forgotten past.
Tom
I'd say, look for a recipe that was on a back of bag of Pillsbury whole wheat flour 50-60 years ago. Or something equally widely cirulated.