mixing flours for desired overall protein level

The croissant with poolish recipe from Suas' ABAP calls for low protein bread flour. SFBI defines 'low protein bread flour' as a flour with 12-12.5% protein level. I have two flours in my pantry. WF 365 Organic Unbleached AP Flour (which I believe is Central Milling Beehive Malted AP) which has a protein level of 10.5% and KA Unbleached Bread Flour which has a protein level of 12.7%.

#1. Generally speaking, can I mix these two flours in the correct proportions so that I get a flour with my desired overall protein level (in this case 12-12.5%)? For example, 300 g 10.5% flour + 700 g 12.7% flour = 1000 g flour with a 12.04% protein level.

(0.30 * 10.5) + (0.70 * 12.7) = 12.04

#2. Instead of mixing the two flours, can I use the 10.5% flour in the poolish and the 12.7% flour in the detrempe for the croissants?

For example, 160.9 g flour in poolish + 367.8 g flour in detrempe = 528.7 g total amount of flour used in the recipe.

poolish: 160.9/528.7 = 30.4%

detrempe: 367.8/528.7 = 69.6%

(0.304 * 10.5) + (0.696 * 12.7) = 3.19 + 8.84 = 12.04

or you can add VWG to the lower protein bread flour to get what you want.

Happy baking

...for my puff pastry dough to create a flour with an overall lower protein content. Although I've never used method #2 for laminated doughs, it seems like a sound method I don't see why you couldn't do it.

-Mark

You can use alligation math to figure out the correct proportions. Instead of buying bread flour, AP flour, and high gluten flour, I only buy AP and High Gluten and then I make my own bread flour. Here's a link:

http://www.pharmaccy-tech-study.com/alligations.html

Good Luck

http://www.pharmacy-tech-study.com/alligations.html

Good Luck

Thanks, greyoldchief! I've never heard of alligation math, but it makes perfect sense. I'm going to be using that a lot from now on.

for the math I was doing. Thanks!