Is flour different bag to bag? "Looks" doesn't give a clue. White is white.
Testing a well-devised Pain a l'Ancienne bread formula last month involved
a series of 15 baking sessions. End result: a highly successful new
Ancienne method.
But there was an untold story: Flour variation bag-to-bag proved
nightmarish. After developing the technique and getting consistent
day-after-day results... I suddenly endured consistent failures! Three days
in a row! Adding to the agony if not embarrassment, my off-site
professional tester (used to verify results) was shouting words of glee,
"It works! It's fabulous!" Little did he know at that very moment I
couldn't bake bread worth beans! My bright idea a bust, a perplexed look
pasted firmly on face.
Thankfully, detailed note-keeping during the closely controlled testing
gave a clue, why consistent failure followed consistent success.
Testing consumed four 5-lb flour bags. Each bag (Gold Medal Bread flour)
carried different expiration (manufacturing) dates. Bag #3 was the
bad-apple, and used in three consecutive baking sessions. It was not
"total-failure" per se, but bread far less than extraordinary as achieved
previously. First failure I thought "must have been something I left out,
or a technique goof." No big deal. Next time I carefully monitored the
procedure - same thing. Third go-round, ditto! Running out of excuses and
in desperation I grabbed a new bag - everything back to normal. Great results!
Then it dawned on me: I've experienced similar periods during a baking year
when "things mysteriously go off kilter," layered between other "I can't
miss" ego-boosting periods. Those "off kilter" points inevitably left me
totally mystified.
The culprit is now clear: Flour variation bag-to-bag. Key suggestion: buy
same bag-dates at the grocery store and buy several at a time - at least
your flour remains consistent longer.
More irony: General Mills (maker of the Gold Medal brand) produces an
extensive line of professional grade flours manufactured to very tight
tolerances (unlike the retail Gold Medal brand), sold in 50-lb bags. It's
the perfect solution. "Harvest King" was the specific "just what I need"
flour. And then my dream unravelled: A local major-chain grocery store
couldn't special order it. SYSCO, a national food supplier could get it,
but only if they purchased a full pallet. Just what I need, a huge pallet
of flour stored in the kitchen!
Came up with "Plan B": use appreciably higher-priced King Arthur flour; KA
claims high-quality and close manufacturing tolerances. This would be a
slam-dunk solution, or so I thought. Two bags later: Had to adjust
hydration levels in well-learned formulas to accommodate the difference in
KA's all-purpose flour. Okay, I can accept that. But bread-crust coloration
was noticeably "off," less brown than normal. More critical, crumb taste
was lacking - it was ordinary, not extraordinary.
Grabbed a bag of store-branded (Publix) all-purpose flour. It turned out to
be close to low-protein cake flour. "Abysmal" is being kind with words.
The underlying issue of flour variation bag-to-bag, plus seasonal variation
of a product casually made for retail use is a concern. Had I not been
doing this series of carefully controlled Ancienne trials, probability says
I'd have no clue why success and failure were my kitchen partners.
Caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware.
- Ed Okie