June 16, 2015 - 1:50pm
Giusto's Bread Flour
I was shopping at my local Safeway and in their bulk bin section they had a couple bins with Giusto's flour. They had the Baker's Choice and Ultimate Performer versions. I bought some of the Baker's Choice so I could try it out. Totally don't remember how much they charged for it. So, if you are in the SF Bay Area, you might want to check your grocery store's bulk bins to see if they have any.
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Kathy,
Thanks for the info! Will do! Giusto's is in Petaluma and they sell from there, as well. You might also check out the Costco organic section: they are carrying Central Milling's organic AP, but you have to buy 2 ea. 10 lb. sacks. I don't recall the price, either, but it seems it was around $14 for the 20 lbs.
JoAnn (in the East Bay)
You know, I never really checked to see where the flour in Costco came from. I will check it out next time I go. The way I have been powering through flour lately, it might be worth buying 20 lbs.!
Same here, the only issue I have is having enough space to put it all away! I just got almost 40 lbs. from King Arthur! After reading David Lebovitz' recent post about the Irish Brown Bread, I bought 3 ea. 3 lb. bags of the Irish whole wheat flour. It has a rougher texture than normal. Baked a couple of loaves of bread today using about 25% of the Irish whole wheat, and it is super good.
When my local Costco started carrying this flour I sent an email to CM to find out more about it. They replied that it is their Organic Beehive Malted All Purpose Flour, which is 10-10.5% protein, and is probably more appropriate for pastries and batters than for yeast breads.
...but it's definitely not what I use for bread. It has a very fine texture. Right now, I'm using King Arthur's European style bread flour along with their Irish style whole wheat for a very good sourdough hearth loaf. Thanks for the info!
JoAnn
Here's Central Milling's "about us" web page:
http://centralmilling.com/pages/about-us
I've been using it for little over 5 years now. This was Tartine Bakery's main flour (they may still be using it though I haven't checked lately).
Wild-Yeast
I have also been using Central Milling flour, Bakers Craft for around 5 years. A couple times a year we make a trip up to Petaluma and buy a few bags.
About a year ago the Costco in Redwood City, CA started selling 25Lb bags of “Central Milling” Bakers Craft at a price that was substantially less per pound than I was buying 50Lb bags in Petaluma. Unfortunately they stopped selling it although they still have Central Milling AP flour.
I called Giusto’s to see if they had a better price for a larger purchase. I argued Costco price was so much lower there has got to be room for a better deal. Was told two things, they only offer a better price if you buy 500 Lbs, and that the “Bakers Craft” at Costco was not the same “Bakers Craft” they sell. I pushed hard on the difference between the two flours, but the best explanation was it came from a totally different mill and that Giusto’s customers demand a higher quality flour which they provide.
I do think the bread I make from Giusto’s flour is better, but maybe thats just my rationalization for paying more.
Bob
It is my understanding that Central Milling and Giusto's are connected, but are different companies. Currently I use King Arthur flour. I will have to try my Giusto's and see if I can see a difference.
Interesting. I went to Costco yesterday and it seems that my local Costco carries a different flour. The flour there was from Miller Milling in Oakland. They had an all-purpose and a low protein flour.
...and picked up 20 lbs. of Central Milling AP flour. However, it was in yet another spot today, so scratch what I said about the organic aisle. They put all the organic stuff back again with the "other" stuff, no longer all together in a separate aisle. It was like going on a scavenger hunt...
Interesting that different Costco's are carrying different brands of flour. You are in the East Bay and your Costco is carrying Central Milling. I am in Marin County and my Costco is carrying Miller Milling in Oakland.
I went to Whole Foods today and they had some Giusto flour there. I think it was around $1.79/lb. I will have to check again and see how much it costs at Safeway.
Yes, and they had a lot of it, too. Seems more like an East Bay Costco would carry Miller's of Oakland and a Marin Costco would carry Giusto from Petaluma... But yes, it seems that Central Milling's flour hasn't completely disappeared from Costco. I did look for the 6-grain pancake mix that gets rave reviews, but didn't see that.
Bought some more Giusto's flour at Safeway today and it was $.99 / lb. Much better price than at Whole Foods. I really like this flour. It seems easier to handle and is more extensible but still has good strength. A good balance between elasticity and extensibility. Of course, I am using a lower hydration. I don't know how it would perform with high hydration.