Canadian flour VS European Flour

not the flour amount.  Because the salt and other additives are usually based on the amount of flour.  Water can be held back or added as needed depending on desired dough consistency.  Changing the water amount is simple.  Changing the flour amount may mean changing the salt amount, sugar, spices, yeast etc, etc. to get the same flavour.

Hi Sam,

You should find that flour labelled as "Strong" here in the UK will give a performance reasonably consistent with Canadian mainstream bread flour.   There are also "super strong" flours available, largely developed in response to the burgeoning bread machine baking market at the time.   You should not need to use these for regualr sourdough baking.

One caution you may want to take on board.   There really is no equivalent to the "All Purpose" flour used by many American bakers here on TFL....well, at least at retail level.   I've used commercial "Baker's Grade" flour, which would have a similar specification to North American All Purpose, but I didn't like it very much at all.   On the High Street we are offered "Plain Flour".   The protein content will generally be around 9%, and if it gets up to 10% you are doing well.   UK wheat is soft, and the gluten content is low.   So, unless you buy flour labelled as "Strong", or, "Bread", you should be prepared for poor results in terms of bread quality.

That said, it is perfectly possible to mix Plain and Strong to come up with an equivalent of "AP"

There are also some great local speciality flours being produced.   These have nothing whatsoever in common with the mainstream and standard industrial flours available in the big supermarkets.

Hope this helps; welcome to the UK, when you get here!

Best wishes

Andy

Hi melian,

you really don't need to worry about not being able to find good flour here.

Mainstream ,eg. Sainsburys, sell Allinsons Strong flours which are good, and my preferred bread flour from Carrs.   Retail, it's called "Breadmaker Flour", commercially, I buy it as "Special CC".   Hovis also make good quality bread flour.   Waitrose do a Strong Canadian flour should you get really homesick!

For more specialist flours, try Marriage's, who produce very good organic flour.   Shipton Mill in Gloucs are at least as good.   For Rye, my colleague on TFL, Daisy_A, and I are quick to rave about a stoneground organic Dark Rye flour from Bacheldre Watermill in Wales.   More local to me [I'm based in the far north of England] is Little Salkeld Watermill which mills only organic English wheat, and Gilchesters which grows and mills their own tall-stem variety sourced from sativa wheat in Switzerland.   I have a colleague based in Dorset running bakery courses from the Cann Mills site: great flour by all accounts.

Just a few for starters

BW

Andy

Think of it the other way around: (the "more positive" way if you prefer):  you'll be able to get "European" flours that you can't (readily) get in Canada. Bakers who want the best possible French baguette have been known to import T55 flour at huge expense; "AP" is a decent substitute for baguettes  ...but it's just not quite right.

"strong" flour with higher gluten would be really nice to have as an option (just ask an Italian baker:-)  ...but it isn't better for everything. You can easily deal with it needing a little more water. But it's harder to handle its propensity to get "tough" when slightly overworked. And it's hard to handle its propensity for producing a "closed" crumb no matter what you do.

You may very well find being able to match the gluten content and the style of flour more closely to what you're making to be a plus.

Do watch out though that north american flours almost always have small amounts of both ascorbic acid and diastatic malt (barley flour) pre-mixed right in the flour. Hence much of the use of "dough conditioners" is rendered irrelevant in north america. European flours are less likely to include these extra ingredients automatically, so you may find it more useful to experiment with small-to-tiny amounts of ascorbic acid or diastatic malt or "dough conditioners".

Also watch out for slightly different terminology (a "standardized" baking term? HA!). For example its's fairly likely that what in Europe are called "dough improvers" north americans would call something like "base mix".

Hi Melian,

Chuck is correct that our flour, at retail level, does not normally have ascorbic acid added.   That is not to say it has not been tampered with, necessarily, and, unfortunately.

It is very common that the miller will adjust the amylase content by adding fungal amylase to give consistent fermentation.   This is common practice in nearly all industrial flour mills to my knowledge.

As things stand, it is not necessary to declare added enzymes in bread and flour [see UK Bread and Flour Regulations, 1996], as they are classed as "processing aids", and are therefore exempt.

In London you may very well be able to track down authentic T55, "00" etc, from interesting and local sources.   But be aware, that the mass produced flours from these countries really have very little more in character than the regular UK flour, and will cost a lot more too.   So you may want to check for authenticity in any imported flour before buying.   I have used some French wheat commercially which was very bland and uninteresting, milled in the UK.   On the other hand, I have also used organic French flour imported by my friends [see: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/16151/working-french-flour ] which is about as special as it gets...but only available because they drive through the Tunnel to collect it for their bakery.

I agree with Chuck, that you should avoid what he terms "base-mixes".   They are quite common, especially aimed at the "Breadmaker" market: look out for terms such as "bread mix", or "pre-mix".   Whilst some of the functional additives will be on the label, it is unlikely any manufacturer will go so far as to include the enzymes added in the Ingredients List of the pre-mix

BW

Andy

Hi,

can someone tell me if the flour in the link is really very strong?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marriages-Strong-Canadian-White-Flour/dp/B0043RQ01O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303125767&sr=8-1

If the shipping were free the cost would be good.

I wonder if an excessive milling weakens the strength of the flour. I ask because italian millers have begun to sell 00 flour (very refined, just like cake flour) made from canadian and american hard wheat, but to me it seems to be not at all better than the 0 manitoba flour (less refined) I've been using so far. This 00 manitoba seems to absorb less water and to develop less gluten, overall the dough comes together less firm than with the 0 manitoba flour.

Hi Algonzo

For Heritage wheats try these links:

http://www.brockwell-bake.org.uk/ and http://www.oxfordbreadgroup.co.uk/index.php?page=how-to-buy

Hi Nico,

"Long time no hear", really good to catch one of your posts again.

I've used this flour a couple of times only.   I believe Daisy_A has also used it from time to time.   Personally, I wasn't that blown away with it, even though I believe the protein quote is 15g/100g flour on the nutritional information.

EDIT: Nico, I apolgise, I thought you meant Waitrose own label Strong Canadian.   I have used Marriage Organic flours a lot, and they are superb.   That said, I believe Marriages have the contract to mill all Waitrose own brand flours, so, it is possible these 2 flours are one and the same!!!

Maybe stick with the Manitoba?

Have you thought about trying the Hovis or Allinson Super Strong varieties?   I don't know if they are available to you in Italy, but it might be worth a try for what I think you are seeking.

Very best wishes

Andy

Thanks for your feedback. I try to test all the flours I can get my hands on, provided they are available without too many twists.

Unfortunately I've just seen that the seller doesn't ship to Italy, so my order was cancelled. What a pity.

Bye,

  Nico

I am in Canada and use Milanaise flour. I use the Milanaise #50 sifted bread flour. The recipe I follow is from a British baker, 'Baking with Jack'. I follow his recipe for whole wheat sourdough using the same hydration level with 100% of the Milanaise flour in place of the mix of whole wheat and sifted bread flour. He also has some interesting tips for sourdough bread. e.g. only keeping the scrapings in the pot and just adding water and flour to make as much fresh starter as you will need. If you are not baking every day the starter can stay in the fridge for multiple days ( I have left it fo over three weeks) and it can be used for a new batch of bread. Good luck with your return to the UK.