I am going to San Jose (bright lights, big city) for an appointment, on Friday. So, I will be trying to hunt down a 50lb bag of flour, for my bread-making. I’m hoping for an actual selection, since I’m going to a much bigger city. The last two times I was able to buy flour, I literally got the only bag of flour, on the shelf. Any other time, there has been no flour, whatsoever. Anyone have a favorite? Since I’m not sure what I will find, tell me what you love & what you haven’t liked, also. I have tried Miller Milling, Mellow Judith, which was okay, but was kind of compressed. There were a lot of lumps in it, that needed to be broken up. I have tried Ardent Mills Harvest Bread flour...but it was sooooo long ago, I don’t remember either loving it, or hating it. But, if I were to run across KA Sir Lancelot, or something else I’ve never tried, what should I pick up/avoid?
If the town has a baker’s supply company, check with them. Prices are super low. They should be able to suggest the best flour for your needs.
Google might help...
Cathy, see if they have MorBread. It is made by the same company and is possibly my favorite bread flour.
Flour Power is super high in protein. You may find the bread a little chewy, but it is good flour and the price is right.
Sir Lancelot is also super high in protein...
Thank you, I will look for that!
Morbread is one of Teresa Greenway’s (of Northwest Sourdough) favorite flours. I bought it years ago on her recommendation and haven’t quite using it since. I pay through the nose for shipping because it is not available in my area. It’s a steal if you don’t have to pay shipping.
I am now the proud owner of a 50lb bag of Morebread! Thanks for the recommendation!
Cathy, please let us know how you like.
This particular flour is outstanding for very long and warm fermentation. It resist degradation better than any others. It is my favorite flour for the extremely demanding fermentation used in San Francisco SD. Central Milling Type 70 and CM ABC+ is also excellent, but I don’t have as much experience with those 2.
I will, for sure. Even if I find changing to a new flour to not be sheer perfection, right out of the gate, I will learn something in the process. That, alone, makes the adventure worth it.
Still, though, I am expecting good things!
P.S. When you say very long & warm fermentation, could you give me a ball park figure on how long & how warm? Also, what has your experience been with a cold bulk rise, using Morbread? Is it just a big fat no?
Try calling ahead to Cash & Carry (smartfoodservice.com I think), Restaurant Depot, or some other restaurant supply store to make sure they are open to the general public. Normally you wouldn't be able to buy at Restaurant Depot, but I saw somewhere that they were opening up to the public because of COVID.
If you feel like an extra drive up to Petaluma, can put in your order a few days ahead of time, and the thing you want is listed as in-stock... CentralMilling.com is great.
Smart Foodservice is one of my regular stops, when I get up to San Jose. I will be seeing what they have, on hand, Friday.
I will also head up to the Costco Business Center, in Hayward, as long as I’m that far north,
I just happened to be checking out the website, for Restaurant Depot, about half an hour, ago. Their website says it’s for members only. That would be pretty sweet if they opened up to the general public, during this time. I tried to search their website for what they carry, but you can’t even search their site, without a membership number. I am adding them as a stop, on my adventure, in a couple days. Maybe they offer a trial-membership, or maybe they’ll just let me in, we’ll see.
I went into one, today, for the first time. Loved it! Came away with several new goodies!
Besides the Morbread?
I got some shiny, new Cambro containers, in different sizes. I also grabbed one of those little one-cup, sized cups with the sifter style lid, for “dusting” my bread board with flour like a fancy person. I wanted a new digital thermometer, but there were so many to choose from, I just couldn’t choose. I will have to do some research, and go back. I was only able to be in there for about 30 minutes, before I needed to go pick my daughter up. But I will return, for sure. There were many things I did not get to see.
I’m such a geek!
Cathy,
Buying a 50# bag of unknown flour sounds like a recipe for ending up with 45# of flour you may never (or very slowly) use. I'd certainly find smaller sizes to test out before investing in so much.
And if I can suggest -- Central Milling (delivers to us here in Santa Cruz from Petaluma) is great. The products are superb and even with the shipping cost, it's not exorbitant compared to supermarket flour prices. They've been out of a lot of products owing to America's new baking obsession, but are likely to restock (or already have) when everybody settles back down from the initial pandemic panic.
Tom
Tom,
I checked out the website, for Central Milling, in Petaluma. They have many, many intriguing flours. Sadly, they are out of most things. I will definitely be checking back with them, when all this craziness is over. Thanks for the recommendation!