October 19, 2010 - 1:26pm
New sourfough starters and the difference flour makes...
Hello,
I recently tried to make a sourdough starter out of AP flour and it didnt come out too well... I think it got moldy. However there is a mill not far from here that mills fresh local grains, and last weekend -just- happened to be festival time when they would be open for the whole day. I bought rye flour and regular flour I got to watch be milled -- $6 a piece for 3 1/2 pounds of each, but I figure it was worth it. I tried to make a starter again, but this time out of the rye flour. It seems everything is going well! It smells correctly and is bubling! I am so excited, I cannot wait to bake my first load of bread with it!
//ulterior
P.S.: The mill of which I speak is the Bridgeton Mill.
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I usually make my own starter with dried yeast,flour and water as I live in Cornwall and don't know where I can buy starter where I live - a lot of recipes on here seem to use bought starters so I'm unsure if they'll work - any tips/suggestions.What is AP flour ????
AP Flour is All-Purpose flour here in the US. Its closest equivalent seems to be European type 550.
Here's a list posted by David
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/6037/europeanking-arthur-flour-equivalents
on TFL
we have plain flour or strong plain flour - strong is the best for making bread and we also have self raising flour which isn't any good for baking bread but can be good for cakes.Personally I always use plain and add my own raising agent.We also have wholemeal,wholegrain,rye,spelt and a range of others but we don't have the numbered types.I think AP would be equivalent then to either our plain or strong flour.Thanks for the information though it's very useful - happy baking
Hi Ulterior
Search this TFL site out for starters made on pineapple juice and wholemeal flour. I think by memory the article it was posted by the sourdoughlady
Excuse my lack of knowledge...maybe its living in a different country using differing termonology for the same product but is All Purpse flour the same as bakers flour? I know that plain flour is not the same as AP or bakers flour. Can someone help please?
Pete
The names "All Purpose Flour" and "Bread Flour" are marketing terms that are not standardized. So what follows is often true in North America but not always.
Each brand generally classifies its different flours principally by gluten content. The order is often something like CakeFlour->PastryFlour->AllPurposeFlour->BreadFlour. I'm not aware of the terms "bakers flour" or "plain flour" being used much in North America, and am a little unsure just what you mean by them.
Despite the name, "Bread Flour" is only sometimes used for making bread. The very high gluten content is good for "chewy" things (such as Bagels) and things that need to be very strong yet stretchy (such as Pizza Dough). Some recipes call for it, and less experienced bakers tend to use it as it will "develop" even if you pretty much totally screw up making the bread dough.
So it's typical to see bread discussions and recipes refer to "All Purpose Flour".
Thanks Chuck,
Bread flour or bread flour premix here in Australia usually means a pre mix bread flour for bread machines. It contains salt, bread improver and other ingredients not found in other flours and is generaly ready just add moisture to and lets the bread machine do the rest.
Thankyou for the help...I'm thinking the termonoligy is determined by the country you live in.................Cheers Pete