# Flours



## w.debord (Mar 6, 2001)

I've been reading bread books for the last several months....it's something I really haven't gotten into on any job (hope one day I will get more of an opportunity). I have 3 books from Rienhart & Artisnal Breads Across America.

Anyway....In my typical out spoken manner I've disagreed several times online over the need to ONLY use the flour specified in some recipes. Like I've have good results using all-purpose in cakes vs. exclusively using cake flour, etc... 

The place I'm at is using hard spring wheat from King Aurther for their ap flour (actually they have NO other flours on hand). Which Reinhart specifies as a high gluten bread flour. Yes, I'm in Rome and will do like the Romans....but I might as well see what I can learn along the way. I've seen the difference between cake and ap flours in many items it's very clear....but it's not as clear to me with this flour as I would have guessed (granted I'm using their recipes and not mine which would have made for an easier comparision). What items will show me where using this high gluten flour is hurting a product? 

Thanks....


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## thebighat (Feb 21, 2001)

High gluten and bread flour to me refer to two different things. I don't use them interchangeably. King Arthur's high gluten is called Sir Lancelot and the label is black. Their bread flour is King Arthur Special and the label is red. Which do you have? I also sub one flour for another a lot, especially for cake and pastry flour. Make a liquid shortening cake with high gluten and watch what happens.


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## w.debord (Mar 6, 2001)

I'm pretty sure it's the red label. The only part that stood out to me was that it definately was labeled: hard spring wheat.

Like I said I'm not much of a bread baker....I guess I missed the differences between the high g and bread flour....would you mind explaining how you treat them/think of them as different, please?

P.S. I can't do any experimenting at this place....it's not the right situation. I was hoping there might be something I could notice with their products...


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## thebighat (Feb 21, 2001)

I use the Sir Galahad as ap flour, the Special as bread flour, and the Sir Lancelot obviously as the high gluten. so any recipe or formula that calls for all purpose flour, it's the Sir Galahad. The high gluten has three percentage points more protein and makes a tougher dough. I use it for muffins, paradoxically. but it's an oil-based recipe and I think they come out fine. I also use it for bialys and you really notice it in them as they seem to have a lot more bench tolerance before they collapse. You get more oven spring out of the bread flour than the all purpose, but I think you might get bigger holes when using the softer flour. We did an experiment in school using high gluten flour in a liquid shortening cake. It went way up in the oven, and then collapsed, leaving a dense inedible cake.


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