1.27.2004
The Best - So Far
Faithful readers of the Weber_cam know I am absolutely obsessed about flour. I buy a bag and immediately put it through a "use" test. A use test is a euphemism. It means you don't know enough about the specifications of the material to adequately know if it will work in your application - so you use it and see if it's ok. Too many cookbooks blindly preach more is better when it comes to protein content in flour. Ultimately, it depends on your application. Flour's complicated and there are many more significant specs (ash, ascorbic acid additive, bromate or not, etc., ) that are crucial to the final product. Also, it's good to find a flour that will be constant over time. That's why I prefer large manufacturer flours. Small mills have greater variability.
Montana Sapphire unbleached white flour is my current favorite. It's all-purpose with a protein content of 10% w/w and it performs extremely well in my use test. My test recipe is a straight dough baguette:
water, 200g
flour, 300 g
rapid rise yeast, 5 grams
salt, 5 grams
butter, 4 grams
3 rises, baked at 425 for 30 minutes. It's been a stellar performer. And, it's available at Giant-Eagle in 5, 10 and 25 lb bags.
Faithful readers of the Weber_cam know I am absolutely obsessed about flour. I buy a bag and immediately put it through a "use" test. A use test is a euphemism. It means you don't know enough about the specifications of the material to adequately know if it will work in your application - so you use it and see if it's ok. Too many cookbooks blindly preach more is better when it comes to protein content in flour. Ultimately, it depends on your application. Flour's complicated and there are many more significant specs (ash, ascorbic acid additive, bromate or not, etc., ) that are crucial to the final product. Also, it's good to find a flour that will be constant over time. That's why I prefer large manufacturer flours. Small mills have greater variability.
Montana Sapphire unbleached white flour is my current favorite. It's all-purpose with a protein content of 10% w/w and it performs extremely well in my use test. My test recipe is a straight dough baguette:
water, 200g
flour, 300 g
rapid rise yeast, 5 grams
salt, 5 grams
butter, 4 grams
3 rises, baked at 425 for 30 minutes. It's been a stellar performer. And, it's available at Giant-Eagle in 5, 10 and 25 lb bags.
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Montana Flour is the best for baking bread. However, in my area, out of many Giant Eagle stores only 1 carries it and it a 60 miles roundtrip. Rather rediculous since there are 4 Giant Eagles within 10 miles of my home.
Linda
Linda
That's too bad. At least they have 25# bags. Buy a lot when you go. I really like it. Don't hesitate to try other flours though, sometimes it's surprising how much difference there is in performance and everyone has their own preferences.
What is the actual brand name maker of this flour? Is it really "Montana" or is that a trademark name or something? I'm trying to find other stores that carry it, but it is difficult without know the actual maker. Thanks in advance. email:jerrodshaffer@yahoo.com
Hey Jerrod,
It's manufactured by Conagra (conagrafoods.com) and is tricky to find. I got lucky and it's carried in a few common grocery stores here in the heartland. Maybe email a contact from the site for the closest distributor.
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It's manufactured by Conagra (conagrafoods.com) and is tricky to find. I got lucky and it's carried in a few common grocery stores here in the heartland. Maybe email a contact from the site for the closest distributor.
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