2023, Family, Food, home, Science, Uncategorized

Flour Power

24 Comments

About two years ago, I found a great deal on King Arthur artisan flour. It is called Sir Galahad flour. I got it from a wholesale restaurant supply company. We got 50 lbs for $18.00. I thought I was buying King Arthur artisan bread flour, which has ascorbic acid as well as a little white whole wheat flour in the mix. I was mistaken, as it was a general flour with ascorbic acid but no white whole wheat. No matter. It turned out to be a great all round flour for bread and pastries. We have maybe 8 lbs left. We also have every kind of rye flour, graham flour, and other esoteric flours you can imagine. That is Husband’s doing.

We bake a lot, and it worked really well for a long time in all our breads along with Swany White flour from the mill in Freeport, MN. I think we got 40 lbs of that at the same time we got Sir Galahad. We have large bins to store it in next to our freezers.

As time has passed my French bread has become inexplicably denser and less springy. The loaves are smaller. The recipe has remained the same. I make four loaves at a time with 6 cups of King Arthur and 5 cups of Swany, adding a little gluten, and using bread salt and the same brand of fresh yeast.

We ran out of Swany earlier this month, and I ordered 20 lbs from Freeport. I love the Swany White mill. Gary, the owner, only takes cheques, but he shipped our flour so fast this month it arrived the next day after I placed the order by Speedee Delivery before I could get the cheque in the mail. The last time I ordered I gave all the information to his wife, who said Gary was down with a bad flare up of gout. I love the trust and community feel of this.

I baked French bread this weekend using the old Sir Galahad and the new Swany, and the loaves were big and puffy and wonderful. All the other ingredients were the same. In the past I have ignored comments from Master bakers who say that flour ages poorly, and you should only bake with flour that is less than 6 months old. Well, I believe them now. I plan to pep up the remaining Sir Galahad with 5 lbs of a new bag of King Arthur regular bread flour and pound of white whole wheat. Who knew? I am grateful for the Scientific Method! We will only order flour in 20 lbs bags now.

How old is your flour? What are your favorite kinds of flour? When have you used the Scientific Method lately?

24 thoughts on “Flour Power”

  1. I’ve been making my own bread for almost 30 years now. I buy whatever flour is most cheaply available at whatever store I’m at. A few years ago I was having trouble with how things tasted, and looked into specialist flours for a while, but was shocked by the price difference between those and my cheapskate ways. I went back to the basics of measuring carefully and paying attention to making sure that ALL of the ingredients went into the bucket on the machine. Things seem to be going well now. The bread is bland, but it carries the peanut butter at breakfast at least as well as anything else I’ve ever made.

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    1. The one thing about baking is the measurements must be exact to get the best results. That’s why I don’t bake much. I’m more of a “toss in a little of this, a pinch of that, a cup OR SO of something else.”

      Chris

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  2. Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever bought that much flour but I don’t bake that much either. The flour I have might be about a year old. You learn something new every day here! I guess that flour will be in the bin – just as soon as I get back from Michigan.

    I like the King Arthur flour too. I usually buy a 5-lb package. It takes me a really long time to use that much flour. Obviously, I’m not much of a baker anymore.

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  4. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    My flour is not old, since I just bought it. I bake bread, biscuits, and a few muffins, so we use it quickly.

    The Scientific Method regarding human biology recently failed us. My mother’s demise held a mystery that completely flummoxed medical and hospice personnel. Mom was without water/fluids for over 2 weeks, which is supposed to be impossible. But there it was. It left everyone shaking their heads and hospice personnel stopped predicting anything.

    I have a lot to do the next days to prepare for returning to Iowa for her Memorial Service, so off I go. Mom breathed her last at a bit before 5pm Friday,a full 5 days after her demise was eminent, so the meeting to set dates and time for the service was delayed until this morning when business hours are again in place.

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  5. This weekend we were trying to determine what the difference is between Spelt, Emmer, and Einkorn flour. They all seem to be a form of Farro, but I am not sure.

    I would never buy 50 lbs of whole wheat flour, as it can go rancid. Same for graham flour.

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  6. “How old is your flour?” *gulp* Don’t ask. I used to bake more when my wife tolerated gluten. Not so much anymore. But I love a good light fluffy biscuit. I used to make a decent baguette, but they tended to be denser and chewier than restaurant or bakery baguettes. I’m more of a cookie baker, but I haven’t made cookies in several years either. Gotta watch those calories, especially since I get my baked-goods fix at the local coffee shops several times a week.

    Scientific Method? Not a lot of need for that as a fiction writer. At least I haven’t found any scientific magic formula for writing a great novel in all my years of studying the craft. 🙂

    Chris in Owatonna

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  7. I may have to try the King Arthur, Renee – I’ve seen it here somewhere… I just don’t do enough baking – esp. in summer – that it’s something on my radar.

    I usually buy the co-op’s whole wheat flour and mix it half and half with whatever white. I tried baking with all ww and the results were just too dense. I wish I could find a pre-mixed half white/half ww.

    Will think about the scientific method…

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  8. https://www.google.com/search?q=theodoric+of+york&oq=theodoric&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgEEAAYgAQyEAgAEAAYgwEY4wIYsQMYgAQyEAgBEC4YgwEY1AIYsQMYgAQyEAgCEC4YgwEY1AIYsQMYgAQyEAgDEC4YgwEY1AIYsQMYgAQyBwgEEAAYgAQyBwgFEAAYgAQyBwgGEC4YgAQyBwgHEAAYgAQyBwgIEAAYgAQyBwgJEC4YgAQyDQgKEC4YrwEYxwEYgAQyBwgLEAAYgAQyBwgMEC4YgAQyBwgNEC4YgAQyBwgOEAAYgATSAQkxMTg2MWowajSoAgCwAgA&client=ms-android-charter-us-revc&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:6447c905,vid:edIi6hYpUoQ
    I’m hoping against hope that this comes through.

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  10. Have no idea how old my flour is. So good thing I don’t bake anything anymore. You and your husband are so super!

    Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

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  12. Have not had flour in my apartment for about 20 months. Not planning on buying any .
    I did a test today to see if lying flat on my back flares up my migraines. I call it scientific because it was fine in day surgery center. It does. And then anesthesia does even more.

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  13. I go through flour very quickly, but I also go about as cheap as I go. Most of the time my flour comes from Aldi’s. But I’m not baking bread with it so the quality of the flour doesn’t matter as much. When I do use bread flour when making bread and if I can get King Arthur without having to pay shipping on it then I go for that. I don’t think I have any flour in the house that’s more than a couple of months old.

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  15. I used to buy flour in bags, but now if I’m baking something I usually just go to the coop and measure out the amount I need for the recipe from the bulk bin, so I don’t have any left over.

    I’ve been buying organic flour that is not enriched.

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  16. The most flour I use is during winter when I’m baking the Amish Friendship Bread. And we only buy the 5 lb bags…

    As for science… I’ve been studying how to install windows, and how many screws / sheet of pole barn steel, and figuring out how much I need and got that ordered today.

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