"TammyM" > wrote in message
...
> brooklyn1 wrote:
>> "TammyM" wrote:
>>>> What is the functional difference between high gluten flour and bread
>>>> flour? Are they interchangeable?
>>>>
>>
>> Bread flour is high gluten flour. Now it depends on how high is high
>> and of what function. Which flour to use is determined by what you
>> desire to bake. For most everything folks bake at home ordinary AP
>> flour works fine and so do the various brands. Flour is not an exact
>> product (they're actually blends to obtain a particular gluten value),
>> every wheat harvest is different... it's very easy to convince oneself
>> psychologically that one brand of flour is better than another... it
>> never ceases to amaze me how people can be made to believe that a
>> basic staple foodstuff is better because it costs more, is in a
>> fancier package, it's more difficult to locate... this is all called
>> "marketing".
>
> But if you look at the nutrition label of various brands of bread flour,
> protein content varies. Rose Levy Beranbaum (author of The Bread Bible)
> only recommends King Arthur, Gold Medal and Pillsbury flours, and advises
> always to check nutrition label on any brand of flour one buys for bread
> making purposes. She asserts that 4g of protein per 1/4 cup of flour is
> the benchmark. I know I'm forgetting part of her advice on this, so if
> anyone is interested, let me know and I'll look it up.
>
> Thank you for your response, Sheldon. I'm still trying to perfect my
> bread making skills, and my family and friends hope I never achieve
> perfection because they love my failures :-)
>
> I have the artisan bread book that Barb has mentioned on request at my
> local library. Most of my bread making over the past couple of months has
> been using the machine - my chronic tendonitis makes kneading difficult.
> I'll be using the Kitchen Aid to knead my "by hand" efforts
>

When you are over at alt.bread.recipes ask about the stretch and fold
technique in lieu of kneading. Check out the faq for the group. There is a
wealth of information in it.

Debbie