The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

European flour?

chrisinweare's picture
chrisinweare

European flour?

My wife finds that bread doesn't agree with her. She watches what she eats and has bread only occasionally. You can imagine this isn't great for me as someone who likes to bake... :)

We recently traveled to Belgium and had some delicious breads, pastries, etc. We ate whatever we wanted and my wife didn't experience any ill effects.

So, is the flour different in Europe? If so, are there reliable sources for flour?

I've mostly given up baking bread but would love to get back to it if we can both enjoy it.

Thanks,

Chris

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

then again hard to pinpoint without testing the butter, eggs, and other ingredients or lack of ingredients, preparation methods, etc.   

I would suggest taking a very basic recipe you know well and see if you can get longer waiting times between mixing and baking the dough's flour.   Try mixing with cold water, chilling the dough right away and reduce yeast to delay the rising for at least half a day and then continue, see if that has positive results.  

Don't stop with the food, take note when you ate the baked goods, what time of the day were they digested?  This can also make a difference.   

chrisinweare's picture
chrisinweare

We've tried a pretty wide range of baked goods, all baked differently and all eaten at different times of the day.

She really has to watch it here at home. When traveling, we ate everything – baguettes, croissant, waffles, cake, cookies, sandwich bread – and she didn't have any problems at all. 

I've mixed things up and tried eliminating things when baking at home. I think changing flour would be a pretty simple test, which is why I was asking for a source.

Thanks!

suave's picture
suave

What flour do you use now?

chrisinweare's picture
chrisinweare

I use King Arthur all purpose and bread flour and the organic variations of both.

I've also milled my own from different wheat berries.

merlie's picture
merlie

I would like to learn more as my daughter has the same problem and would love to eat my bread !

Merlie

hanseata's picture
hanseata

European flours have less gluten, their normal flour for cake and pastry has only 8-9% protein, so the US equivalent would be pastry flour, not all-purpose flour (up to 12% protein).

Also, Europeans were much more successful in keeping GMO-crops and high levels of pesticides off their fields, consumers are more environmentally conscious than Americans. Those facts might contribute to your wife's experiencing no discomfort after eating Belgian breads and pastries.

Karin

Reynard's picture
Reynard

Saw on the news the other night that issues about food legislation is the major sticking point in the plans for establishing a EU-US free trade zone. A lot of US food would be illegal to sell here on this side of the pond because of GM ingredients, pesticide use, hormones etc.

Just had a gander at what's in my cupboard. Standard plain flour which I use for cakes, biscuits etc is 10.3 % protein (Tesco value), strong bread flour is 13.6 % (Waitrose Leckford Estate) and very strong bread flour is 14.9% (Waitrose very strong & Canadian). I guess most of the difference is down to the fact that the wheat grown here is rather soft due to different varieties being grown and a cooler and significantly damper climate.

drogon's picture
drogon

I almost always use Shipton Mill No.4 flour - it's 12% protein. According to the website:

Produced from a blend of Canadian and English organic wheats. The Canadian prairies soil enables them to grow organic crops which are rich in...

...protein. The high protein content gives the flour excellent baking qualities and provides a level of consistency which Master Bakers prize. This flour is an excellent base for mixing with wholemeal flours, or using seeds, olives, herbs, Parmesan, sundried tomatoes, etc. Brilliant for all savoury and enriched breads.

I suspect the vast majority of 'artisan' bakers in the UK use it. I make my pasty pastry from it too.

-Gordon

pmccool's picture
pmccool

Just as with heirloom tomatoes or apples, there are heirloom wheat varieties.  If you can find a source for them, it might be that they are less problematic for your wife than the more modern strains that are in most commercially produced flours at the supermarket.

Paul

Reynard's picture
Reynard

Do you have any eastern european produce stores near you? They may well have flour that's been imported. I use a local Polish shop to procure the otherwise hard-to-get-in-the-UK light rye flour. You'll want maka przenna jasna do chleba - that's white (wheat) flour for bread.

Colin_Sutton's picture
Colin_Sutton

Hi Christinweare. Hope you enjoyed your European trip. If you do source European flours back home, you may need to be aware that U.S. recipes, particular for high hydration sourdoughs, can produce results that are a little wetter than intended. This is something I've only recently discovered, so I can't give you an idea how much yest, as I'm experimenting with holding back on some of the water when I bake here in the UK. Happy baking! Colin.