bread flour strength?
I know nothing about bread making and I'm a novice. I've got a new recipe that I really want to try, but it calls for bread flour and doesn't mention the bread flour strength.
I have strong bread flour, is that what they meant? If not, will that work anyway? Is there some way of converting strong bread flour to make it weaker?
Best Answer
"Strong flour" and "Bread flour" generally mean the same thing -- lots of gluten, so the dough can stretch and incorporate lots of bubbles.
Not all bread demands high-gluten flour, but the traditional airy loaf of Western Europe and most of the USA does.
If what you're making is bread of that kind, "strong bread flour" is what you want.
If you're making a cake or a sauce, things will probably be fine -- try it. It might not be perfect but it won't be a disaster. It's worth having some less strong flour (often labelled as "plain flour") in your store cupboard.
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Quick Answer about "bread flour strength?"
Bread flour, which comes in white and whole wheat varieties, has a higher protein content than all-purpose, usually 11-13%. It's called “bread flour” because most bread requires higher amounts of protein to produce lots of gluten.Is bread flour a strong flour?
Though it may seem like a simple ingredient, many varieties of flour are available, and choosing the right kind is crucial to producing a palatable product. Strong flour, also known as bread flour, is one of the many varieties of this pantry staple.What strength of flour is used for bread making?
Milled entirely from hard wheat, bread flour is the strongest of all flours with a high protein content at 12 to 14 percent. This comes in handy when baking yeasted breads because of the strong gluten content required to make the bread rise properly.Is bread flour strong or weak?
Bread flour is a strong flour, meaning that it has a relatively high gluten content\u2014usually around 13 to 14 percent. A handful of bread flour will feel coarse and will look slightly off-white. Bread flour is used for making crusty bread and rolls, pizza doughs, and similar products.What is the strength of flour?
Flour "strength" indicates the strength of the dough and its resistance to leavening. Therefore the higher the W index (e.g. W=180) the longer the leavening time. As a result of the longer leavening time, it takes longer to make the final product.How Flour Protein Content Affects Bread Dough
More answers regarding bread flour strength?
Answer 2
The strenth of a flour is given by its W value. This value is the area under the curve measured in an Alveograph.
In this other link (check table IX, you can see typical flour uses depending on their strenth. Bread flour varies between W=160 and W=310. Your flour is probably in the 250-310 group (strong bread flour). This flour is intended for longer fermentation times, or doughs intensivelly keaded with machines. There is another group: the strong flours (not bread flours) intended for doughs enriched with lots of greases/oils or sugar, or really really long fermentation times. Those flours are usually not suitable for bread making, not mainly because of their W value, but because their P/L value (yes, check the first link again) is not close to 1. P/L=1 indicates the dough can be somehow easily shaped, and it will somehow remain with that shape.
So yes: you can perfectly use a strong bread flour for making bread. It might be a bit chewy if you compare it with non strong bread flour, but it depends on the recipe.
Answer 3
If it calls for bread flour then they mean strong flour. The US for example doesn't use the word strong, bread flour is the term, and they both mean flour with enriched gluten content. The gluten content on flour varies, you can compare them by looking at protein content, as that is what gluten is, the higher the protein level the more gluten there is.
If you want to weaken strong flour you'd simply add plain flour, just make sure it comes out to the same weight or volume. One thing to keep in mind is the amount of water you add, as if you reduce the gluten content it won't require as much water.
Without seeing your recipe I can't be certain, but it sounds like strong flour is what you want. There is such a thing as extra-strong flour but I've never used it.
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