Did I hit the jackpot?
For quite some time now I gave up trying to find the European type flour “Ruchmehl” or “Halbweissmehl” here in the US, even though I still believe that the farmer’s style breads and rustic hard rolls would need this flour.
Two days ago browsing through Costco I found this flour and reading the label I felt this could be it.
Two 10 pound bags for a little bit more than $6 was also a very good price and it is unbleached and not enriched, so let’s give it a try!
Coming home I prepared a preferment and later in the afternoon mixed the dough. No cold retardation for this time because I was too curious to taste the rolls and didn’t want to wait. The result was and tasted awesome!
Happy baking!
Thomas
For the interested bakers: http://www.ultragrain.com/index.jsp
Update from my trip up North: http://tssaweber.com/WP/2011/05/up-north-in-the-driftless-area-of-wisconsin/
Comments
I've used that flour, too, Thomas and liked it. I think the "Ultragrain" part is just WWW. It was available at a Sam's Club near my home in Kansas for a few months and then I never saw it again.
Paul
Paul, I hope you are not freezing to death and that the calories from the croissants are keeping you warm. Are you coming back soon? I'm planing another turn at Mark's Back Home Bakery!!!
If I understand their comments correctly they want to launch now this product for retail. I think they always had an "ultragrain" WWW choice, new is this unbleached AP blend.
I hope it's not going away at Costco but you never know..
Take care
Thomas
I've used that flour, too, Thomas and liked it. I think the "Ultragrain" part is just WWW. It was available at a Sam's Club near my home in Kansas for a few months and then I never saw it again.
Paul
Thomas, try this link in the future if you cannot find it again.
http://www.continentalmills.com/brands/eagle_mills/
Ron
Thanks Ron, it's in my favorites!
Thomas
Thomas,
I see this flour in my local Roundy's Pick and Save all the time. I've never bought any however.
Eric
Eric,
I've seen it for the first time but I would give it a try, I like the blend and my results (so far) are very good.
Thomas
I used it for about eight months or so and lost interest in it. The flavor just didn't seem to be all that much for my tastebuds. I use Dakota Maid for my AP flour. The Eagle Mills did do quite well for feeding my starter.
Paul, it's still available at Costco stores in the KC area as of within the last two weeks. I've also seen it at Country Mart and price Chopper stores. The price is still very good for a 20# purchase.
Funny. I pretty much reached the same conclusions.
I found that even "starting" a starter was very quick and easy with the EMAP. But for over all bread baking, the EMAP is less than ideal. Although the EMAP seems fine for flatbreads, some pizza crusts, and maybe some rolls.
Being that the EMAP is just a blend of 70% white all purpose flour and 30% white whole wheat flour(albeit with some "special " milling techniques), I find I get much better breads with my own similar mix of say, GM Better for Bread(or KAAP), and KA whole wheat flours.
Just nearing the end of my 2nd 5 lb bag of EMAP.
ps: I will add that the EMAP does seem to work fine on at least some muffin/cake type recipes. I used it to make the King Arthur "Donut Muffin" recipe, and they turned out quite well.
For anyone interested, here's a link to a printable $1 coupon for EM Flours.
Be advised you will have to load a Java ap, basically a coupon counter, on your computer. This usually restricts you to print only one or two copies of a coupon. I find I can usually print 2 coupons, one in each of 2 separate sessions. If you have printed coupons from coupons.com before, you already have the ap already.
Most stores accept coupons, however buying clubs like Sam's and Costco and some other warehouse type stores may not.
http://www.ultragrain.com/eagle_mills_flours.jsp
The offer comes and goes, so at times, it may not be there. It's been up lately though.
Thanks mrfrost for sharing.
Thomas
Well reading through all your comments I believe I did not hit the jackpot. I guess I will survive and see what I do if I'm done with my two 10lb bags.
Thomas
Don't get me wrong; I think EMAP is a fine flour, and I will most surely be buying some more. I just personally think it is not a great all purpose "bread" flour.
But for things like muffins and cookies, etc., it works great.
Well that's interesting, from my perspective it would be too strong for this type of baking. It seems even stronger than my normal bread flour!