Strength of american flours?

Hi Nico,

The short, hot and dry summers in the favoured growing areas of US and Canada, together with very cold winters, tend to produce a harder wheat than the maritime climates of the Mediterranean countries.   This results in wheat with generally higher levels of insoluble protein, ie gluten forming.

Referring to  "00" and "T45" is probably not that helpful as a comparison, since this is a reference to the ash content of the flour, and not anything to do with the "strength".   Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure I have bought "00" flour suitable for bread, and also types suitable for pastry, and for cake.

Your last assumptions are key: Plain flour found in Italy, France, UK is indeed low protein and suitable for cake.   It is not the equivalent of US All-Purpose flour, because of the explanation given in the first paragraph.   Commercially, in the UK we have a Bakers Grade flour, which would be a nearer equivalent to All-Purpose.

This is why some TFL posters based in the US largely use All Purpose flour for their long fermented bread, rather than very high gluten flours.   I'd venture to suggest they would not enjoy the same success using UK Plain flour?

Best wishes

Andy

Hi Nico,

I'm sure I've sourced Tipo "00" organic Italian flour with a quoted protein level of around 10.5%.   This was perfectly suitable for long fermented dough...especially of the pizza/ciabatta style, as well as rustic white bread typical of the Italian regions.

However, many of the Tipo "00" flours available probably have protein levels nearer the 9% mark.   Using these would indeed not be conducive to successful long fermented, or any other type, of dough making.   The same would be true of typical French wheatflour.

BW

Andy

Hi Nico,

I went to the Horizon Milling Canada site where they list all their products and provide a nutritional breakdown for each of them. This is one of the largest millers in Canada so it should be fairly representative of typical Canadian flours The all-purpose flours have a protein content of 11.9 %, the bread flours have a 13% PC except for an 'artisan' flour which is 11.8 the pastry flour is 8% and the cake flour is 7%. I've copied the link below so you can have a look. It has a recipe section as well.

http://www.horizonmilling.ca/index.html

Hi Franko,

Those numbers you quote are very instructive, although I readily accept that the % protein does not necessarily indicate the provenance of the flour from a quality point of view.

However, what you have unearthed as All-Purpose", labelled as 11.9% would almost definitely be sold in Europe as strong flour.   The commercial grade of "baker's" flour, I mentioned above would have protein content about 10.5%.

However, any plain flour sold in EU would have a protein content from 7 to 9%, on average.   Anything at 10% would be exceptional; so it is not right to equate this with North American A-P.

I'd quite like to have an opportunity to use the North American All Purpose grade to make bread; however, I suspect it would be much like the regulation strong bread flours on the shelves in the UK.

But, I do like having easy access to different flours suitable for different purposes.   I started using a Baker's Grade flour in the College when I first came in to lecture.   I dropped it because I did not like the products that came out...totally ordinary.

Best wishes

Andy