flour is a basic ingredient in any pantry. Rare is the kitchen that does not have, at least, an indeterminate variety package that we usually call “normal or all-purpose flour”. Terms of walking around the house that can generate confusion and problems when embarking on specific recipes.
A flour is the product obtained from the grinding of a cereal, seed, dried fruit or legume, including insects. Although in certain countries there is a tradition of cereals such as corn or rye, the wheat follows being the most widespread and common in our kitchens.
The wheat cultivation it is relatively simple and inexpensive, facilitating large-scale production and offering great versatility when handling it. Its flavor is quite neutral, even more so when refined, and due to its protein content it is easy to work with and prepare all kinds of sweet or savory doughs with it.
Professionals care about specific origin of each grinding and they know how to choose between varieties of cereals, production areas, type of land or harvest season. All this influences the result of their creations and it is a very complex world, which should not be so worrying at a domestic level.
However it is important to understand that not all flours are the same They don’t serve the same purpose. Although it is more common every day, it is more than likely that you have come across the term “strength flour” when reading a recipe without knowing what it refers to. What is? How is it different from other flours? For what do you use it?
The strength of the flour
Strength refers to amount of protein that contains the flour, which in the case of wheat corresponds mostly to gluten, approximately 80% of the total. The rest of the proteins are made up of soluble and insoluble proteins.
Gluten, when hydrated, allows get elastic masses, easier to knead and form. This protein is capable of trapping the carbon dioxide that is released during fermentation -giving volume to the dough- and providing a good general structure to the crumb.
The greater the strength of the flour, the greater its capacity to absorb liquids and withstand the pressure generated by fermentation. A strong or strong flour allows you to work with bakery doughs enriched with fats and sugars and with prolonged fermentation. However, the quality of the protein is also important, as not all respond the same.
The higher the W value, the stronger the flour.
In the most professional language, the strength of the flour is spoken of in numerical values expressed with the W. The higher the number, the stronger the flour. Low-strength cake flour typically has a value of less than 100 W; From 350 W we are already talking about a very strong flour, which can reach W 400 in Manitoba.
However, just because it is the strongest does not make it the best in terms of quality. There are manufacturers using additives to lower the production costs of its forcemeals. Those that dispense with preservatives and artificial improvers have nothing to do with quality.
As we pointed out above, before choosing a flour is essential to know very well how it has been made, what it is for and how it will react when we mix it with other ingredients such as yeast, sugars or fats. Only in this way will we achieve that our doughs are perfect, both in texture and flavor.
Types of strong or force flours
Below we review each of the strong wheat flour that we can usually find in shops for the preparation of our recipes.
High Strength or Manitoba Flour
They are flours with a baking capacity greater than W 350. The manitoba refers to the region of the same name in southern Canada, where the grains of a specific variety of wheat with a high percentage of protein originally come from; it has a lot of gluten.
It is reserved for bakery doughs enriched that need long fermentations. The panettone, the pandoro, a brioche or roscón de Reyes are some of them. Also pizzas and focaccias with extended fermentation of more than 24 hours in the cold.
strength flour
If nothing else is specified, it is normal that we find ourselves before a flour with a high protein content, generally higher than watt 200 or even more than W 300. The recommended uses usually appear on the packaging, although in a concise and unspecific way.
It is a more suitable flour for enriched doughs, as in the previous case. Less suitable for use alone in ordinary bread preparations. It is currently the term most used in supermarket bread flours, which have increased their presence in recent years.
A form of check strength What you have, in case the W value does not appear on the package, is to look at the nutritional composition to know the percentage of proteins. If it is higher than 12%, it is a flour of great strength.
Medium strength or bread flour
This is what medium strength flours are called, around W170-200, or 10-11% protein. They are the most suitable for making common breads, that is, not enriched with a lot of fat or sugar.
is a variety Very versatile for making rolls, baguettes, bagels, etc. There are different qualities depending on the mill or the producer, who usually mixes different grains. It is also suitable for combining with different flours depending on the desired result.
Some professionals establish a distinction between medium strength and breadablelike Xavier Barriga in his book Bread: home-made and with the usual flavor, which indicates that a medium strength (around W 200) is suitable for puff pastry or enriched with olive oil, while bread dough offers better results for most common breads.
Strong or durum wheat flour
This variety is made with a specific type of cereal, durum wheat, which offers a medium-low strength of W 100 and it has a golden color, a less spongy texture and a more settled crumb, with a characteristic aroma and a more pronounced, slightly sweet flavor.
It is perfect for making more breads thick crumb hard and that they are not going to rise much, with little honeycomb, like the cateto bread. They are very tasty and very particular breads, although the dough is more difficult to work precisely because it has less protein. It requires longer kneading and rest, but can be combined with other flours to enrich other doughs.
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Other bread recipes in which to use strong flour
In DAP | The eight most common types of flour: what are their properties and how to use them in each recipe
In DAP | Guide to distinguish the different types of wheat flour: how they differ and how to use each one