You probably have flour in your pantry, but is it the right flour for the dish your’e making?...... If youre like the most people, the flour you have is AP (All Purpose) Flour. But, is All Purpose Flour really all purpose? If you want to create the best whatever, probably not. Yes All Purpose Flour will work in pinch for most dishes but it will seldom be the best choice. A great analogy is an all purpose printer. It will fax, copy and print, but youd never use one to print those family color photos. To make sure you print the best looking photos, youd use a printer made specifically to do photos. Well thats exactly what you should do with your flour. So what flour should you use? Well, that depends.... You didnt think this was going to be easy, did you? There are literally hundreds of flours across the world. Flour is different from country to country. In most of Europe they rate their flours with the T designation T45, T55, and T65. Although France uses the T designation, as is typically the french way, they have many variations. There is a type of flour known as Grau-vert which is a little stronger and more resilient than the softer T55 type flours. My favorite and the one Im currently playing with, is the new farine de ble premiere flour. In Eastern Europe they mill their flours much less finely than we are used to. They do this specifically for making dumplings. I have used these flours for my Polish Pierogis (a dish you might soon find in my Bistro). In Germany, you wont find a flour below 10.5% protein as compared to the much lower 7-8% protein normally found in U.S. cake flour. So what does this all mean to you. Not a whole lot, unless you plan on opening a a bakery. But, I highlighted the wide variety of flours to illustrate that, for those of you who want to make the best, or even for those who simply like to experiment, there IS a specific flour for almost every imaginable type of baking. For everyone else, well keep it down to the most common flours found in the U.S. and the most common baking requirements for the infrequent baker. Simply put, if you make bread or cakes, you should keep on hand the best flour for each. Almost all flours are made from wheat. The difference between most flours is the type of wheat that is used, when they are harvested and most importantly, how they are milled. I compared protein content previously between German flours and U.S. flours. I did this to highlight the differences between countries. But protein content also varies between the flour type you use. In the U.S. cake flour has the least protein and durum semolina (pasta) flour has the most. Why the difference? It all has to do with there dish you are making. When you activate a flour (by adding the liquid to your dry mix and by stirring and/or kneading) the proteins form strands of gluten. Gluten is required to add strength and structure. You need some amount of gluten in most recipes (thats why so many of the no gluten cakes and pastries are so dry and crumbly). But the amount you need varies by the dish youre making. When making cakes or pastry, to assure they stay light and fluffy, you want as little gluten as possible. Thats why cake flour has the least amount of proteins and since gluten formation doesnt start until you add liquid and/or begin mixing, why most cake and pastry recipes have you wait until the last minute to mix your dry ingredients with your liquids. Conversely, for breads, you want as much gluten as possible and that is why bread flour has a much higher protein content than cake flour. Youll also notice that your bread recipes add the liquid at the beginning of the mixing and why you knead your dough until its elastic or springy. This maximizes the formation of gluten and assures your bread will be crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Although there are some variations (the exact protein content varies by brand and by region), in general, the protein content of the different flours available in the U.S. are: Bread Flour: 14 - 16% All-Purpose (AP) Flour: 10 - 12% Pastry Flour: 9% Cake Flour: 7-8% At Crumbzz, we use every type of flour listed above for their specific purpose. In addition we use a European flour that is low in protein in many of our cakes. That is why so many people who are gluten sensitive are able to eat our cakes without incident. If you have someone who is gluten sensitive, try using a low protein content flour, it may make all the difference in the world. So, even if your not the next Julia Child, try using a flour that is specific to the task. Your guests will notice it and youll reap the rewards that only the chef in all of us loves to hear That was the finest ......... Ive ever had! Bake On!
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 13:57:40 +0000
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