Breadmaking 105 - All About FLour!

Hello! Here's my next tutorial on bread - well, more specifically, about flour! Please see ovenmittsblog.com for the whole post. I appreciate any feedback you have to give!

We all know it – flour is kind of a big deal.

In nearly every type of baked good, there is some sort of flour involved somewhere in the process. Whether it’s the main ingredient (like in bread), or if it’s just a part of the whole (say, pie), flour is essential.

When I first got into this whole baking/cooking/spendingallmymoneyoningredients deal, I really only knew of one type of flour – the bleached & enriched All Purpose that comes in five lb bags at the grocery store. When a recipe called for flour, that’s what it got.

But then I got into bread. And holy moly. Who knew flour was such a big deal?? And not just they type of flour used, but even the brands matter! And I can tell you, you won’t find a more dedicated following than those who use King Arthur Flour. Their flours are (in my opinion) of the highest quality out there. You can read about them here.

I know there are a TON of flour types out there, so I’m just covering the big ones. Here we go!

With any type of flour you buy, the absolute best is to buy the Unbleached and Un-enriched stuff. The goal is to get the least amount of processing possible. Your baked goods will taste better, shape better, and be better for you. That being said, I buy the 25 lb bags of bleached and enriched flour from Costco for my everyday breads. I’m not happy about it, but with how much I bake, ingredients get expensive. I do buy KAF Bread and Whole Wheat flours because I find that the quality of those is really crucial, as I will discuss shortly.

All-Purpose Flour (AKA AP flour, or white flour)

All-Purpose flour is just what it sounds – a flour that will work for most circumstances. It is milled from wheat berries and sifted to remove the bran. AP flour has a protein content of about 10-12%.

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Please see the original post here to read the rest!

Thanks a bunch,

Raquel @ Ovenmitts Blog