The Fresh Loaf

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Flour batch variation / hydration dropped by almost 10%

kendalm's picture
kendalm

Flour batch variation / hydration dropped by almost 10%

I just recently received a shipment of T65 Moulin D'Auguste which is my go to flour for baguettes. I'll usually breeze thought 30lbs in a couple of months and then restock. with each shipment there's usually a slight difference in the way the flour performs. This shipment however has thrown me for a bit of a loop. First thing I noticed was the usual 72% hydration was incredibly sticky - felt like 80+% and was near impossible to score. A few bakes later and I've found that 65-66% feels about 'normal'. It's a bit freaky since with other batches I've pushed to 75% and still been able to manage he dough, however with this new flour I am sure 75% would be ciabatta. Just thought it might be interesting to point put the degree of variation from this imported brand.  never once have I seen anything near the same degree of fluxuation with a domestic mainstream brand before. Definitely keeps you on your toes. Anyone else dealt with this sort of challenge - ie, one brand / type with this much variation ?

Comments

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Italian.  Maybe this new weak batch is from China.

kendalm's picture
kendalm

That's what I was thinking after the first run. It seems to even feel finer in your hands - definitely tastes French.  I wanted to post because I have never had such a radical difference and just wondering if anyone has experienced this. I can understand a couple percent difference but when I say 10 I mean 9-10% maybe even more (I may drop it more on the next batch)