Flours

[hedgerow pete]

heres a question for all you bakers and cooks out there,
we use strong brown bread flour alot which as far as i am aware is whole wheat flour thats just milled??

still with me ?

what is ATTA flour that is sold in asda and every where else, according to wicopedia it is also whole hard wheat flour, so is any good for bread making or is it not strong enough??

 

[broandy]

Nice for making Chapatti and nan bread

 

[Hivemaker.]

A chapati is made using wheat flour. This flour is durum wheat flour, also called "atta flour." This is why a chapati has a darker brown color than a naan, which is white. A naan is white because it is made with maida, or regular all-purpose flour.

 

[wilderness]

Pete, take a look at the protein content of the flour.

If it is above 11% then it will make a "chewy" loaf.

Anything lass than 11% makes more of a "fluffy" loaf.

Of course the texture depends on the length of time you knead it, the yeast type and water content. Not to mention cooking time and temperature.

There's a whole load of chemistry in bread making

Here's one I made earlier

 

[hedgerow pete]

so it is possible to use the cheaper atta flour than asda strong white flours then

 

[wilderness]

Pete, any flour will make bread. It depends on what your preference for the texture is. Give it a try & let us know.

Reading the Wiki on ATTA flour suggests it is high in protein so should make a "chewy" bread similar to the strong flour you already use.

I guess the flatbreads they mention on the Wiki is because no yeast is used to make the bread rise.

 

[hedgerow pete]

i will have ago and see whats what, by be the local asian shops and there is a lot of them sell the flours in very big bags not the little ones and it does work out cheaper than the asda stuff, i will get some breed flour enhancer to . to see if that is any good aswell

 

[hedgerow pete]

well we tried to make several loafs today the better one was after we put the atta flour through a fine sieve to remove some but not all of the bran. it did not rise as much as normal so it will have some flour improver for the next batch and we will see what happens then

 

[FenBee]

You could also try a 50:50 mix of the ATTA flour with the strong brown bread flour, if you are experimenting. It may give you some of the characteristics you already enjoy.