October 24, 2010 - 7:38pm
KA Flour Question
I've seen KA flour at Smart & Final but haven't looked closely enough to see if it's bread flour. Will the package state specifically if it's bread flour?
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I've seen KA flour at Smart & Final but haven't looked closely enough to see if it's bread flour. Will the package state specifically if it's bread flour?
Yes. It will also state if it's organic or not.
Yes, the different types of KA flour both state the type and are color coded - Bread Flour is light blue.
Ben
Lest there be any misunderstanding, the bag of the bread flour of King Arthur is blue, not the flour.
msbreadbaker
Just kidding - I am sorry if I caused any confusion on this post ... I was just thinking of how I see the various KA flours displayed in my market - using different colors on the "BAGS" is a nice differentiation and smart marketing I think.
I assumed that the bag was blue, not the flour. I don't think many people would be into eating blue bread.
:)
You know that was my assumption too but I am sure it is better to be completely unambiuous - especially when writing and not speaking english. Now, I did have an older brother who was a hippie in the 60's and he actually made BLUE bread from white flour and food coloring ....
The KA flour that is most appropriate for most yeast bread recipes is their King Arthur All Purpose flour. King Arthur Bread Flour is really considered a specialized, higher protein bread flour and may make breads that are too chewy for some. That said, KA bread flour still can make some fine breads, especially if you like to add large portions of whole grains or other add ins to your recipes.
If you visit the King Arthur web site, you will see that most of the yeast bread recipes call for their AP flour. Their all purpose flour is actually comparable in protein levels(11.7%) to most other nationally mass marketed bread flours.
I use KAs bread flour all the time and love it, but then I love my bread to have a bite to it, a chew. I've made the same bread with all-purpose, and it lacks that bite.
For sourdough I mix KA AP, Bread, and Rye Flours in a 45%/45%/10% ratio. This mix gives the crumb the degree of chewiness we like. Dough made with 90% KA Bread Flour is too chewy for our taste. For baguettes I use 100% KA AP.
I had been using Arrowhead Mills organic Whole Rye Flour, but my local supplier stopped stocking it so I substituted KA Pumpernickel (organic, whole rye) this last time. It is ground courser than Arrowhead Mills whole rye; this gave an added texture to the dough that we like. I will make it with KA Pumpernickel in the future.
David G
Thanks everyone! I've been using Trader Joe's AP and WW flour with some success and would like to try KA bread flour to see the difference. I like chewy bread so it might be right up my alley.
What difference does it make in the crust?