On Sep 14, 2:47*pm, dougcullen > wrote:
> to what degree would you end up with an equivalent dough if you mixed
> up a less hydrated dough using the gold medal flour. some say to make
> ciabatta, you can use AP flour with a long rise and multiple folds to
> built up strength...
>
Doug,
My experience is that you cannot make that trade.
If you could, then you would (in theory) be able to make ciabatta with
cake flour. But with so little gluten there would be very little
water, and it would be a very stiff dough rather than the highly
extensible dough that is required for ciabatta.
As you reduce the hydration there is a higher ratio of solids to
liquid, and a higher ratio of solids to gluten, so that even though
the gluten is matched with the amount of water, there is not enough
strength from the gluten to carry the rest of the solids.
Doc