Vital Wheat Gluten, Question

Tyler, take a look at THIS POST.

http://flourmath.bradfordrobertson.com/

1. flour sources.  Are the distributors of 50 pound bags out too?  Or are you talking about retail grocery stores with bare shelves?

 Have you checked with distributors/wholesalers who sell 25/50/55 pound bags to your local restaurants, bakeries,and pizzerias?  some will make "cash sales" to individuals.  maybe not "walk ins", but call to see if you can order over phone, then go pick up in person.

Here's the web page of General Mills 25 lb and 50 flours.  after choosing a flour, go to that individual flour's web page, verify the protein % (scroll down to "features & details" and click the "+").  The link to distributors who serve your zip code is on the right hand side:

https://www.generalmillscf.com/products/category/flour

As as summary, Here is a list I made of all UNbleached and UNbromated General Mills flour, 11% protein and up, with links back to General Mills. (and from there get distributors).

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/62291/experience-w-general-mills-50-lb-flour

That helped a local TFL user get a 50 pound bag of King Arthur AP flour (11.7% pro) from a local pizzeria/restaurant supplier.  About $21 for 50 pounds, and he had to go pick it up.  (The supplier has GM, KA, and Caputo 00.)

2.  Indian grocery stores might still have flour.  But I don't know how applicable to your products their flour would be.  Larger Indian grocery stores usually carry a wide variety of flour.  Some of it high extraction, some whole wheat.

3. The instructions on one box of Hodgson Mill VWG I had said 1 tsp VWG per cup of flour.   but I'd start out at half that, and work your way up through test bakes.  Much  depends on the AP flour you start with, and whether your "bread flour" is/was 11.7% or 12.5%.

4. Do you know the protein % of the bread flour you were using?  Or what your present AP flour has?

5. Contact King Arthur professional division (see their web site) and ask for a distributor who serves your area. They still might have some. Pro division is 25/50 pound bags.

In my experience:

a)  adequate dispersal of VWG in the dry flour is critical.  Me just using a spoon, with a couple stirs, was not good enough. I shoulda used a whisk.

b) "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."  If your "new" AP flour that you found is low quality, you'll still just end up with higher protein crap.  or maybe "lipstick on a pig" is the better analogy. ;-) 

Hang in there! 

You will only need a tiny amount of Vital Wheat Gluten (VWG). 12 ounces is plenty. A few ounces will go a long way. I say this to caution new users of VWG to purchase small quantities. 2.5 pounds will last most bakers into the next millennium :D

Danny