"Steph G.B" > writes:

>From: "Steph G.B" >
>Newsgroups: rec.food.baking
>Subject: "bread flour"
>Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 22:06:59 -0500
>
>I just got a bread machine recently, and i noticed that all recipes call for
>bread flour..
>
>what is bread flour and where can i find it? i'm in Ottawa, Canada, and
>most people i know have never seen any.
>
>Would all purpose flour yield the same results?

Bread flour contains more gluten than all-purpose ("AP") flour. It should
work OK in your bread machine, but gluten adds strength to your bread's
structure and provides the elasticity (stretch) during the kneading process.
This, in turn, better traps the bubbles of gas given off by the yeast
and can improve the rise of your bread.

Machine kneading in bread machines can give dough much more of a beating
than hand kneading. The extra gluten in bread flour helps assure that
the dough maintains sufficient stretch without breaking.

You can buy "Vital Wheat Gluten" which has been extracted from wheat flour
by a washing process. It is a fine white powder which is sold in boxes
or bags of a few ounces. You can add this to your AP flour at a ratio
of about 1 teaspoon per cup of flour.

Arrowhead Mills (box) and Bob's Red Mill (celo bag) are two suppliers of
vital wheat gluten. You can find the stuff in health food stores and
sometimes in supermarkets with the baking supplies. Here is a description
and photo of the Arrowhead Mills product:

http://www.leesmarket.com/Shop/Produ...ID=07433337120

It is also available from King Arthur Flour's Bakers' Catalog.

A 10-ounce box sells for around US$3.00 and you might want to experiment
with it to see if you like the result or if it doesn't seem to make any
difference in your recipes.

Cheers,
The Old Bear