For Our Bakers, Bread Flour???? - Updated

[Calamity Kris]

I was able to procure a bread machine.  The first loaf of bread I made with it was, lets say, less than stellar.  The recipe book that came with it called for "bread flour".  I've been looking for some but there isn't much, if any, to be found.  Does it make that much difference?  What do you use?

 

Thanks,

CK

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Bread flour has more gluten.  AP flour can be used but the result won’t rise as well.  There is a product  vital Wheat Gluten Which you can add to AP at the rate of 1Tbs VWG to 2 to 3 cups AP.

 

IIRC, there are at least 4 sources of VWG.

 

the following is from Anthony’s page for their VWG product

Quote

Please note that every purchase of our Vital Wheat Gluten helps to support Gluten's long standing battle against the villainous Gluten-Free empire. When ordered and shipped with our Gluten-Free items, customers have described the Gluten-Free items arriving with black eyes, bruises, and occasionally broken ribs.

 

[Whiskey Business]

You can order bread flour online

 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Does the bread machine have an option for more kneading?

[Mud Marine,SASS#54686 Life]

Most grocery stores carry bread flour, cake flour, unbleached flour and bleached flour. My tiny border town has them all. 

 

You can get some of the best from King Arthur Flour. They will deliver what you need.Many specialty bakers swear by them.

 

I have baked for hands, elk hunters, do contests, etc. King Arthur was inherited by one of my Dartmouth classmates so I tried it. I never went back!

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Here's an interesting and somewhat enlightening article ~ not specific to machine bread, but a good read nonetheless:  Basic Yeast Bread 

 

What kind of yeast are you using?  There are yeasts specifically for bread machines, although the differences may be slight.  I tend to "cheat" a bit; traditional bread baking calls for "proofing*" the yeast, but many bread machine recipes call for just dumping it into the mix dry.  I proof it.

 

I usually do a multi-grain; seems to hide a lot of flaws and is yummy, hot with butter, although a mite on the heavy side.  

 

*Proofing yeast:  Combine warm (NOT hot! Just slightly above "lukewarm") water, yeast, and a tablespoon of sugar in a bowl.  give it a quick stir, then let sit for 5 minutes, or until you see the yeast kinda puff up and cover the surface of the water. 

 

So what machine did you get?  I'm still using an ancient, 80's vintage Welbilt... the one that looks like R2D2's little brother.  

 

                            

 

 

 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

I ordered 10#bread flour from KA on 4 April, they projected April 28 deliver. I received it April 13

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

I HAD a bread machine. I like baking bread, it’s therapeutic.

[Calamity Kris]

Wow!!!  Thanks for all the info.  I did use KA, but all I could find was their all purpose.  Things are still kinda sparse here.  I use Fleischmann's Rapid rise yeast.  This is my bread machine: 

 

https://www.cuisinart.com/shopping/appliances/bread_makers/cbk-200

 

I wish I could bake by hand, Marshall.  O'l Arthur Itis won't let me knead.  As far as a more kneading option, I don't know.  I'll have to spend more time with the manual for that answer.

[Mud Marine,SASS#54686 Life]

I also enjoy baking sour dough bread with my own starter.

 

However, as an EL REY, I can see the end from here. I struggle with my 20" and 16" dutch ovens now. Standing over a range is getting to be a non starter. I wonder what it will be like when I qualify for the yet to be named 90 category. 

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

I buy my bread flour from Costco in 25-lb bags.  I  had about 15-lbs on hand when the grocery panic started.  I buy yeast in large bags from Amazon.  Red Star or Fleishmans are good brands.  I buy gluten from Bob's Red Mill of Milwaukee, OR (usually from the store).  Bob's Red Mill 7-grain cereal added to a whole wheat bread recipe makes a good Roman Meal knockoff.  Avoid recipes that call for cheese.  Some of the recipes produce a vile-smelling loaf.

[Subdeacon Joe]

28 minutes ago, Calamity Kris said:

I wish I could bake by hand, Marshall.  O'l Arthur Itis won't let me knead.  As far as a more kneading option, I don't know.  I'll have to spend more time with the manual for that answer.

 

I use my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook.  Let it run for about 5 to 8 minutes.  Knead by hand just enough to form it into a ball for rising, less than a minute. Heck, sometimes just a few turns, maybe 10 seconds.  

We had a bread machine.  I used it twice in 5 years.  

ADDED:
I can make a batch that uses 10 cups of flour in that, although that is right at the capacity for it.  My usual batch now is 6 cups of flour, which makes 2 good sized loaves.

 

[Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L]

16 minutes ago, Mud Marine,SASS#54686 Life said:

I also enjoy baking sour dough bread with my own starter.

 

 

My sourdough starter is one year old on 4-19.  We call him "Ralph"

 

Gold Medal is another good bread flour

 

you're correct that any bread flour is hard to find right now--best of luck

[Will Killya]

As others have stated, it has more gluten. You can add gluten or bake it as is. I've been making our everyday Brioche from AP flour as all other bread making material (flour of any kind, yeast, etc) are never on the shelf where I'm at. Luckily I buy in bulk and know a thing or two.

[Utah Bob #35998]

Took me a week just to find AP flour here.
Gluten free wheat flour makes lousy biscuits. 

[Noz]

I had a bread machine that I loved.  I would set it up so that it would finish a loaf of bread around 5:30AM. I could get up, make a pot of coffee, break out the butter and jam and have breakfast.

As my weight began to approach 300#, I came to life and gave the machine to my granddaughter.

[Duffield, SASS #23454]

I had a bread machine, and it made bread that was dense and chewey.

A friend suggested letting the machine knead the dough, but taking it out and baking in my oven. 

Problem solved.  That made beautiful, tasty bread.

 

Duffield

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

17 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

Took me a week just to find AP flour here.
Gluten free wheat flour makes lousy biscuits. 

Cake flour?

[Capt. James H. Callahan]

I was making bread with a machine for a while. Tricky part is fine tuning the yeast. Too little it won't rise right, too much it will blow the lid off. Even a little smidge can make a lot of difference. Here's a site with some recipes.

JHC

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

19 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

Took me a week just to find AP flour here.
Gluten free wheat flour makes lousy biscuits. 

Consumer staples are in short supply locally.  Flour, dried beans, rice and pasta are hard to find.  Sausages and canned soup are hard to find too.  I think many people do not cook and just want grub they can microwave and eat.  Bread machines are handy appliances.  However, without flour they are just nice decorations on a kitchen counter.  FWI, all purpose flour makes passable sweet, white breads like raisin bread.  However, bread flour is needed for whole wheat loaves or you get a very dense loaf.

[Utah Bob #35998]

44 minutes ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said:

Consumer staples are in short supply locally.  Flour, dried beans, rice and pasta are hard to find.  Sausages and canned soup are hard to find too.  I think many people do not cook and just want grub they can microwave and eat.  Bread machines are handy appliances.  However, without flour they are just nice decorations on a kitchen counter.  FWI, all purpose flour makes passable sweet, white breads like raisin bread.  However, bread flour is needed for whole wheat loaves or you get a very dense loaf.

I mostly just need it for pizza dough. Still looking for shortening for my biscuits. Hopefully stocks will improve soon.

[Calamity Kris]

 

Look at what I found, at my local TARGET!!!!  They had about a dozen bags so I snapped two up.

 

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

Here's my other closet hobby:  I like cooking and baking, especially outdoors, especially with cast iron, and Dutch ovens.

 

I haven't mastered bread, but I CAN bake a loaf in a loaf pan inside a Dutch oven, and manage the heat well enough to have it come out baked evenly and all the way through.  That's more of a testament to my Dutch oven skills than baking bread.  I'm still searching for the best recipes and techniques for baking bread.

 

That said, I have observed a HUGE difference when using bread flour.  One of my books confirms what someone else said on this thread:  Bread flour has more gluten than all purpose flour (which I always refer to as "General Purpose flour" to make an Army joke in front of my wife).  Apparently with more gluten and more kneading, it rises better.  

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

56 minutes ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said:

 

That said, I have observed a HUGE difference when using bread flour.  One of my books confirms what someone else said on this thread:  Bread flour has more gluten than all purpose flour (which I always refer to as "General Purpose flour" to make an Army joke in front of my wife).  Apparently with more gluten and more kneading, it rises better.  

Wouldn’t that be “Flour, General Purpose, Bleached”?

 

after thinking more about it

 

Flour, Wheat, General Purpose, Bleached

 

 

[Alpo]

That picture Kris posted. I had expanded it so I can read what it said in the right corner. It says 12.7% protein. I was trying to see if it said 12.7% gluten.

 

When I had it big enough to see, only the very end of that line in the top dead center could be seen.

 

I thought it said it was pre-owned.

[El Hombre Sin Nombre]

Bread machine? We used to call those ovens. 

[Calamity Kris]

This is the result using the KA Bread Flour - I think I need to fine tune the yeast a bit.............

 

[Sedalia Dave]

A stick of butter and fresh baked bread is a meal fit for a Queen and her King.

[Subdeacon Joe]

3 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

A stick of butter and fresh baked bread is a meal fit for a Queen and her King.

 

A few slabs of well aged cheddar and some beer make it a feast.

[Grumpy Old Man]

Had a great Aunt, who had a neighbor who baked a lot. We would run to her house when we were there and get a loaf of her bread. My mom baked a lot, but it was almost always for craft shows, so we didn't get much from her.

[T.J. Bones SASS# 75616]

10 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

A stick of butter and fresh baked bread is a meal fit for a Queen and her King.

GOOD bread needs nothing but eaten! My Mother made GOOD bread, So does my Wife. Never put anything on it.

[Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795]

Now THAT'S a loaf of bread, Kris!