My wife and I've been getting such great help for our bread thanks to @Dani3ll3 and others with their tips for the Forkish Overnight Country Brown.
We wanted to try a local organic bread flour made by La Milanaise. They call it "Sifted Wheat Bread Flour". They also have a "Whole Wheat" so that cleared up our initial confusion of whether or not this was whole wheat or an unbleached white. In any event, we're finding the fermented dough a tad, not much, but a tad thicker, denser maybe. It's not "moving" like the Robin Hood white bread flour from our previous bakes. And more importantly it seems to proof REALLY fast. In less than an hour we were doing a finger test and seeing it coming back slowly and not all the way. The bread that we baked for the first time with it, respecting all the above methods, was fine but a bit smaller, a bit denser. The crust was perfectly fine.
Can anyone take a guess at why we're seeing this difference in the proofing and in the final bread? Does anyone know this particular flour? What info can I provide to help us figure out why the bread is so different? All I can think is that it looks and feels like the T65 that I used to use in France.
You should try a search on La Milanaise on the site here, as there seems to be a number of posts about it. A quick search of other sources came up with the information that the particular flour is a high extraction flour that has some bran sifted out, but still retains much of the germ(see http://lamilanaise.com/en/product/wheat-sifted-bread-flour/ ) and so will act more like a whole grain (100% extraction) flour than a white (low extraction) flour. This means that it is providing more food for the yeast (from the germ) and so you'll see faster fermentation and proofing.
The definitions here might also be helpful to you: https://www.gristandtoll.com/flour-properties/
The blog here: http://www.farine-mc.com/2011/08/made-in-quebec-from-wheat-to-bread.html indicates that the wheat used by this mill is local, organic soft winter wheat --- which would be the same / similar type used in French flours (and explains why it feels the same to you as the flours that you used in France).
So - you were getting used to using the Robin Hood bread flour, which is low extraction (so doesn't contain the bran or germ), and is milled from a typical Canadian hard spring wheat, and is a "bread" flour and so is higher in protein (and high quality protein) than even an All Purpose type of flour. The lack of bran or germ means slower fermentation, and the higher protein / stronger gluten allows for a stronger structure able to sustain a higher rise (and also a more chewy / tougher crumb).
What you are now using is a high extraction (so contains at least some germ), and is milled from a lower protein soft winter wheat. It is most likely to take less hydration, won't rise as high (lower protein content / weaker gluten to sustain the form), and should have a softer crumb.
Good for you for checking out the local organics - and hopefully you'll get the opportunity to visit the mill and get the "inside scoop" on their grain choices and what adaptations can be made to your favourite recipes in order to get the best results from their flours.
I've routinely baked with bagged flour and my own freshly-milled flour (both from the same producer: Bob's Red Mill) and seen them behave vastly differently. Even though both come from soft white wheat, the consistency of the dough and the proofing time are radically different. The freshly-milled flour is much firmer (almost like an AP) and proofs much faster. Not a shocked that you're seeing the same type of behavior from a local miller, who presumably is supplying you with a superior product.
- Mr. Waffles