Bread flour - or bread mixes

[Jill<br><br>Jill (99)]

Can you buy the flour that is use for the greyer and other off-white types of bread in France?  If so, what is it called.  Can you get bread mix in France?  Only we've just started using our bread machine again, but when we are in France we are usually camping, so we've never considered looking for bread flour.  When in France, we usually get to a boulangerie twice a day.  But in England, we can't get fresh bread every day, and I can't bear the plastic stuff in the local shop.  Even the bakery in the next village sells tasteless fluff!  Whilst I prefer it when we make granary or seedy bread, my husband prefers ordinary white, which I find a bit tasteless.  So, I thought if we could find the flour which is used for pain artisinale, we might get a tastier "white" loaf.  We're popping over in a fortnight for a day - not a shopping trip, but to deliver my daughter and her belongings for her year abroad.  It will be a brief trip, but hopefully we'll find a small supermarket open - even though we are having to fit it in on a Sunday.  Has anyone ever asked a baker if he would sell flour?

[Clair]

Lidl and Aldi sell their own mixes. The ciabatta mix is very good in both ranges.

The Francine brand of bread flours has a varied range available from most supermarkets.

[Richard T]

Not sure about flour in France (and doubt you'll find a small supermarket open on a Sunday anyway!) but you could try substituting 25% of the white flour with wholemeal. It'll come out whitish looking but will have a better taste. You might also slip in about a quarter teaspoon of aniseed to the bread mix - just enough to give it a slight hint of aniseed flavour. Trust me, it's delicious!

Richard T

[Jill<br><br>Jill (99)]

Interesting idea - the aniseed.  I quite like caraway seeds in bread.  Thanks for the suggestions, both of you.  If I can find a supermarket open, I'll see what I can find.  Failing that, I'm hoping my daughter will find things we never have time to look at while she is living in France.

[Patf]

It's called farine complète and you can get it in supermarkets, or better still, from a mill. Very cheap from the mill.

There are various bread mixes which are interesting, but have additives.

The small supermarkets called Casino are usually open on a Sunday, around us anyway. Pat.

[Danny]

The wholemeal flour from the supermarket is unlikely to be 'strong' flour which is need for bread machines. We have two large supermarkets near us and I have only ever found mixes, not flour on its own that is suitable. I agree that the Lidl mixes are really good, especially the multigrain and sunflower ones. They produce a malty, stretchy kind of bread that is really nice as toast.

It is best to go to a mill if there is one nearby (more chance of there being someone there on a Sunday, too!). For buying strong plain and strong wholemeal flour I used to use our local Gamm Vert - they sell it in 1kg or 5kg sacks. But, beware, I have been put off by little creatures (black, tiny) we discovered in the flour - as soon as it gets a bit warmer here they turn into flour-munching white maggoty things. Don't know if they came from the mill or where the shop stored the flour - either way, put me right off and I am currently just using the mixes and sieving all flour before I use it!

Jane

[chocccie]

having used bread mixes for a while , I was overjoyed when I tasted bread made from English wholemeal flour after my friend brought a haul over for me.  Wonderful, nothing like it ... much as I like french bread, nothing tops wholemeal for me.

[Pierre ZFP]

[quote user="Jane and Danny"]

I have been put off by little creatures (black, tiny) we discovered in the flour - as soon as it gets a bit warmer here they turn into flour-munching white maggoty things. Don't know if they came from the mill or where the shop stored the flour - either way, put me right off and I am currently just using the mixes and sieving all flour before I use it!

[/quote]

Could well be the eggs and larvae of the 'Confused Flour Beetle'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confused_Flour_Beetle

 

[Val_2]

For those who havn't discovered it but Francine do dried yeast especially for bread machines and the results are 100% better than using their ordinary dried bread yeast. Our local super U also does blocks of fresh yeast for home made bread.

[KathyF]

We've just returned from France with a good supply of French bread flour (mostly for pain de campagne) All the packets have a recipe for bread machines and we are having some very nice "off-white" bread to alternate with my normal wheatmeal (half wholemeal, half white flour) recipe which I've used for yonks in my bread machine. I bought both Francine and Super U flours and both are working well with my normal dried yeast.

[LisaJ]

We buy all our bread flour in the organic supermarkets. The higher the "Type" number, the browner the bread. We use Type 55 / 65  for white and Type 110 for wholemeal. We never use bread mixes or a bread machine; OH (who makes all our bread) sets it off the night before, leaves it to rise until the following afternoon and the bread is wonderful.

We will soon be getting our new wood-fired bread oven working and we can't wait to try the results from that.

regards

Lisa

[Patf]

I make bread by hand too, and use either the same kind of flour as Lisa, or english/canadian strong bread flour, when I can get it.

The members of this forum are bread fanatics! http://www.thefreshloaf.com/?t=1219234369    The current craze is sourdough.

Let us know how you get on with your bread oven, Lisa.

[Jill<br><br>Jill (99)]

[quote user="Jane and Danny"]

But, beware, I have been put off by little creatures (black, tiny) we discovered in the flour - as soon as it gets a bit warmer here they turn into flour-munching white maggoty things. Don't know if they came from the mill or where the shop stored the flour - either way, put me right off and I am currently just using the mixes and sieving all flour before I use it!

Jane

[/quote]

We've had problems with weevils in flour bought in Sainsbury's and Tesco.  Usually in strong plain flour though.  We haven't had so much trouble since we started keeping the flour in jars. 

I'm not particularly fond of normal wholemeal flour.  I prefer granary and seedy breads and also rye bread - although I don't make the latter.  I just think that some French bread has more flavour than the white bread mixes.  I'm not sure whether they add something else.  I love the bread from places like Petrin Riberou and places where they make bread like that.  It's quite hard to find.  It doesn't really seem to be wholemeal flour - not like normal wholemeal - you can see bits in wholemeal but not in the vieux petrin sort of bread.  The colour is more even and it is quite a rich brown.  It is as though there is malt or molasses or something in it.  Does anyone know?

[Quarmby]

Am I right in thinking that you can't use ready-mixed flour (ie with yeast already added) in a bread machine with a timer programme, because the water will start to activate the yeast straightaway? I make bread on cheap-rate overnight lekky, but can't use the Lidl ready-mixes for that reason.

[Clair]

[quote user="Quarmby"]Am I right in thinking that you can't use ready-mixed flour (ie with yeast already added) in a bread machine with a timer programme, because the water will start to activate the yeast straightaway? I make bread on cheap-rate overnight lekky, but can't use the Lidl ready-mixes for that reason.[/quote]

I have not had that problem.

The yeast-flour blend is not "activated" until it is combined with the liquid.

[Danny]

[quote user="Clair"][quote user="Quarmby"]Am I right in thinking that you can't use ready-mixed flour (ie with yeast already added) in a bread machine with a timer programme, because the water will start to activate the yeast straightaway? I make bread on cheap-rate overnight lekky, but can't use the Lidl ready-mixes for that reason.[/quote]
I have not had that problem.
The yeast-flour blend is not "activated" until it is combined with the liquid.
[/quote]

I think that is what Quarmby means Clair - when using the timer programme, the water is added to the mix and then it sits for however long until the programme begins. Normally we use the timer overnight but with the Lidl mixes (which are very good) we do them on a quick bake in the afternoon for this reason (we also have cheap hours then)

Danny

[Clair]

I'm not sure I understand...

I put the yeast, flour and salt (or flour/yeast mix) in the BM bowl, then add water/liquid.

Then I set the timer.

The ingredients are not combined until the set-time has expired, then and only then does the BM start.

Until the start time arrives, nothing happens.

I do that with the Aldi and Lidl mixes without any problems.

[Danny]

We put the mix in the bowl and add the water. I presumed that as the ingredients are combined, the yeast starts to activate and then sits there for hours. But maybe it doesn't really matter and it works OK. The proof of the pudding etc.

If it works OK for you then maybe we will try it too.

Danny

[Clair]

The ingredients are in contact, but not yet mixed.

As I have posted above, I have not had any problems (yet!)

Try it and let us know... [:)]

[Quarmby]

When I use my own mix, I put the water in first, then the flour/salt/sugar,  then the dried yeast on top of the flour. In this way the yeast does not come into contact with the water until the timer kicks in and the paddle starts. (This is what the instruction book tells you). I have always assumed that if I use the Lidl-type flour with yeast ready mixed in, then I couldn't do it on an overnight timer because part of the already-yeasted flour would be in contact with the water. Has anyone done this, and with what results?

[Clair]

Take a chance... It's only 0.89€ a packet and you only use half of it![:)]