I've been baking for a number of years, and am still learning. I have a rather simple question (which may have a complex answer). The question is: How much yeast should I use?

Yeast is, of course, a living thing, and will reproduce so long as food is available, and conditions are suitable (no organism can live in an environment of its own waste products.) This being so, it would seem that the major variable in leavening dough is time. A small amount of yeast, over a longer time should result in the same effect as a larger amount of initial yeast would produce in a shorter time. Why then do different recipes call for different amounts of yeast?
Tom

There is a recipe in Hamelman's book which calls for high gluten flour. I don't use this type of flour often. Can you substitute this with bread flour?

Hi everybody.

If i don't want to use honey in my bread. Is there any formula i can use to get to the same sweetness?

Ron

Can anyone help me in calculating the butter fat percentage in commercial butter offered in supermarkets.  I am looking for an unsalted butter with a high percentage of butterfat - a dry butter.  I checked the facts on the backs of several different supermarket butters and came up with a total fat content of 11gm and a total weight of 14gm in a tablespoon of butter.  If my math (always questionable) is correct that's only 78% fat.  I also thought that in the US butter was required to have 80% BF.  Any help with this would be appreciated. 

Where can I buy bulk bread flour online? I don't have much money, but I want to make lots of bread because I'm experimenting with new recipes. I bake bread almost every day, so I need lots of flour. I also need all-purpose flour, but less urgently.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Maria C: mariasgoldenoven.blogspot.com

My wife mail ordered some high gluten flour from King Arthur Flour for our anniversary a few weeks ago, and I used it to make bagels. This is the first time I've used high gluten flour and the flavour was truly wonderful. My puzzle is this: was it really the high gluten content or just the fresh flour that I tasted?  How exactly does high gluten flour contribute to the taste of the bagel? I'm not questioning the effect of the gluten on the texture of the bagel, (they were noticeably firmer) just its contribution to the taste.

Calculating hydration is at its simplest dividing the mass of the flour by the mass of the water. But this simple definition falls apart when complex formulas with many different liquids are analyzed for their hydrations.

My question is this: How does one account for oil's affect on hydration?

Hydration can be observed in the amount of gluten that develops after flour and water have been combined and worked. Gluten forms because water unsoluble proteins within the flour bind together within the dough in an attempt to avoid the water molecules as much as possible (I think). If this is true, oil should also affect hydration because it should have the ability to attract the gluten forming proteins due to the gluten forming protein's attempt to avoid water. 

I've not found any instruction calculating hydrations when ingredients other then water add to the hydration of the dough. What I have been doing however, is adding the mass of oil to the mass of water in order to determine the hydration. With more complicated hydrating ingredients, like eggs, I have absolutely no idea how to calculate hydration.

This is the question I'd like to pose to the community: How do you calculate hydration when ingredients other then water are contributing to the hydration of a dough?

Hello Everyone,

First, let me say as a newbie to this site, I enjoy reading every post everyday. I do have a question  regarding flour. I am currently using KA AP flour for my baguettes and getting fine result, hopefully will post pictures soon, I have come across Bay State Wingold Special at a local wholesaler and was wondering if any of you have had any experience with it. I understand it in Unbleached and Unbromated. Any advice would be welcomed.

Thanks.

Hello, I am wondering if anyone knows of mills that sell their organic products retail in reasonable sizes.  I am looking for a variety of organic flours and whole and cracked grains, as well as meals.  My son has a life-threatening allergy to nuts, and most flours I've found so far are either processed or packaged witn nuts, or both.  I cannot buy from bulk bins as the risk of cross-contamination with nuts (through poorly cleaned bins and customers using wrong scoops) is too high.  Therefore, I have been looking to buy directly from mills, so I am sure that the products are nut-safe.  A lot of them will only sell in 25 pound bags and more, which is OK for some products, but many products I need to buy in smaller quantities (1- 5 lbs).

I have been buying from http://dakota-prairie.com, which is a mill that sells wonderful organic flours retail, but they do not have any whole/cracked grains.  I found Anson Mills, Great River Organic Milling and Bluebird Grain Farms today, but again, they do not have most of the things I am looking for.  If you know of any mills that sells organic products retail by phone or on-line, please please let me know.

I live in Massachusetts, where, unfortunately, grains are generally not grown and/or milled.  All the organic brands available here (Arrowhead Mills, Bob's Red Mill, King Arthur except for 5-lb bags) are not nut-safe.

Best wishes and thank you in advance for your advice,

Yulika

Has anyone have any ideas on how to incorporate Agave Syrup in a recipe instead of sugar?  Is there any books out there on using Agave Syrup?

Thanks for any info.

Melody