Baking with All-British Flour

Hi Anastasia,

Many thanks for your kind words.

When I worked at Village Bakery, we used to dust the tops of these loaves with the fine cut coriander.   We also use to coat the bottom of the tin with a few whole seeds to differentiate the loaf from the more plain Rossisky loaf.   I loved the aroma from the topping, but the seeds on the bottom just got in the gaps in my teeth, which I really did not like.

If you look carefully in the photo you can see evidence of the coriander in the finished bread.   But it is not so easy to add as a topping to a panned loaf which is baked with a lid on it!

The flavour is, indeed, very delicious

Best wishes

Andy

Hi Franko,

It's very good to hear from you as always.

Yes, I have long been aware that what Andrew Wilkinson is doing with Gilchesters is really quite special.   I intend to be more a part of what he is doing than I have been up to now.   Although, I have made a point of using his flour in College, and he did provide a thoroughly invigorating slot as a guest lecturer for the Foundation Degree students a couple of years ago too.

The reason for the seemingly effortless results in the Rye breads you mention is only down to a couple of real secrets.   The first is in the control of the fermentation to produce a ripened and active sour.   This is actually easier to achieve in rye than in wheat!   The other factor is the character of the flour, and, I suspect this is probably where you fall down.   While Canada produces the very highest quality of bread wheat flour, I just wonder if you are able to source the types of Rye flour I am able to boast of in these posts?   On this score, we in the UK are most fortunate indeed.   Maybe you can comment further on the rye flour you have available?

The holiday in Scotland?   Awesome, many thanks for asking.   Here's a couple of photos I'd meant to post earlier, but ran out of time when putting the blog post together.

The weather was fantastic, and it has to be noted that we spent time on beaches which are truly as fine as any in the whole world.   But the water was soo very COLD!   However, we return with suntans which are hard won in the North of Scotland, but which don't disappear quite so quickly!

And your question about the salt level.   No, it has not impacted on flavour, but I regard that as revelatory of the faults highlighted in the process.   The bread is too sour for the flavour profile I am looking for.   That is for the reasons mentioned...over-ripe wheat leaven, and too much of it in the formula.   The sourness hides the lack of salt.

I will work to try and correct these faults in the next few bakes.   It's very interesting because I've been increasing the amount of pre-fermented flour in my formulae of late.   Now I'm concentrating on higher ash content and totally untreated flour, I'll be reducing these levels!

Very best wishes, and more feedback to come

Andy

Hi Gary,

Many thanks for taking an interest in my post and adding your welcome comment.

I do understand your frustration from not achieving the kind of crumb desired in your bread when using flour which does not live up to expectation.

Perhaps you could clarify which flours you have bought which you feel have let you down?   I may well be familiar enough with them to comment on how to achieve better results, although I would not want you to feel uncomfortable revealing sources if you would find that in any way difficult.   I will try and make more meaningful comment in reply to your questions in the next day or so.

You ask very interesting questions, and they deserve considered reply.   I will, in the meantime refer you to a comment made on Shiao-Ping's blog just recently.   If you haven't seen her post, please give it a good look through, as she always makes outstanding bread; here's the link: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/23389/miche#comment-168247

More later, meantime, best wishes

Andy

Hi Nico,

Sort of 4 elaborations, but actually, 2 elaborations of 2 different cultures: one rye, one wheat.   Your analysis of crust and crumb is quite near the mark, but not absolutely.   Too sour for my taste in a predominantly wheat bread.

So...yes, I know where you are coming from with the concept of multiple refreshments meaning less sour bread.   BUT:

• my rye sour needed urgent attention.   Nonertheless, thorough fermentation applied means sourness is retained.
• meantime, the wheat leaven became over-ripe during feeding, on account of the higher ash content in the local and less refined flour
• salt quantity impacted big style!
• too much pre-fermented flour in this formula for bread made with such mineral-rich flour.   20% pre-fermented flour strikes me as the way to travel!

Labelled as "STRONG".   Well, I sort of know where Andrew Wilkinson is coming from here, even though I don't really think it's valid as a marketing strategy, and tend to agree with your description of a "strange notion".   The Gilchester flour is mineral-rich, and protein-rich too.   Sadly, there is no Nutritional Information provided, but the high water absorption sugests my analysis is absolutely correct.   By UK domestic standards, this flour is about average in gluten content, maybe slightly low.   If ever there was an illustration of the difference between overall protein content, and potential gluten forming proteins in a flour, this is it!

BUT, if you accept Gilchesters underlying philosophy that intensively produced wheat sold on the world market is ultimately, unsustainable, whereas this local and organic single strain and untampered variety can offer a realistic and long term sustainable alternative [and I do accept this premise], then you start to see why the producer might regard his product as "strong".   BUT, this does not address the expectations of his customers...I suggest!

Just to point out, for interest: UK factory bread accounts for c. 75 - 80% of total sales.   This bread is made using, largely British-produced wheat now!   Grown in the East Anglian bread basket from Canadian-type strains, VERY intensively; the large-scale millers regard this as a modern day miracle.   Well, the crop is sprayed a multitude of times with all sorts of chemicals, and gives a yield of 8 times per hectare what is achieved in Canada, so I guess you can see why this is so miraculous.   BUT, it won't work in the long term, will it?

So, what is "Strong" flour then??????   This is the question I believe Andrew Wilkinson is really trying to challenge us bakers with!

Borodinsky...well, this involved using the rye sour with 3 full elaborations!   One of my best attempts thus far

Many thanks for your kind words, it's always really good to hear from you

Best wishes

Andy