Bread flour

[roumette]

We live in the south of the Lot (46) and use a breadmaker with British flour. Delivery costs have risen sharply recently, so we'd like to make a large combined order with other people in south Lot or north Tarn-et-Garonne (82) to reduce shipping costs. As an example, 130 kilos costs £1 per kilo to ship - but if we could bring over a tonne, it would only cost 15p per kilo. This is NOT FOR PROFIT - apart from anything else, that would be illegal. We can't buy "on spec" and sell the flour on either - we'd need firm orders, with collection from a central pick-up point.

There's huge range of flours available - white, brown, granary, sunflower, six seed, softgrain and lots more. The flour comes in 1.5kg, 10kg and 16kg bags. We divide the big bags we buy for our own use into single-loaf amounts in plastic bags (so it keeps) and store them in rigid plastic boxes. Three boxes each the size of a milk crate hold over 60 kilos.

If you'd like to know more - even if you're thinking of starting to make your own bread -please email. There are factsheets I can email to you, or we can talk you through what we do. (Setting the breadmaker going takes five minutes or less in the evening, and the bread's ready the next morning.) Anyone seriously interested but unsure can come over and see us and have a "demo".

Hope to hear from you!

Chris & Lynda

[Clair]

[quote user="Roumette"]We

live in the south of the Lot (46) and use a breadmaker with British

flour. Delivery costs have risen sharply recently, so we'd like to make

a large combined order with other people in south Lot or north

Tarn-et-Garonne (82) to reduce shipping costs. As an example, 130 kilos

costs £1 per kilo to ship - but if we could bring over a tonne, it

would only cost 15p per kilo. This is NOT FOR PROFIT - apart from

anything else, that would be illegal. We can't buy "on spec" and sell

the flour on either - we'd need firm orders, with collection from a

central pick-up point.

There's huge range of flours available - white, brown, granary,

sunflower, six seed, softgrain and lots more. The flour comes in 1.5kg,

10kg and 16kg bags. We divide the big bags we buy for our own use into

single-loaf amounts in plastic bags (so it keeps) and store them in

rigid plastic boxes. Three boxes each the size of a milk crate hold

over 60 kilos.

If you'd like to know more - even if you're thinking of starting to

make your own bread -please email. There are factsheets I can email to

you, or we can talk you through what we do. (Setting the breadmaker

going takes five minutes or less in the evening, and the bread's ready

the next morning.) Anyone seriously interested but unsure can come over

and see us and have a "demo".

Hope to hear from you! Chris & Lynda[/quote]

Sorry, this is probably not the answer you expect, but why do you import British flour?

I know it has a higher gluten content and is better for breadmaking, but do the cost and quantities involved make it really worthwhile?

Do you make bread in industrial quantities?

I am not being glib, but I am intrigued... I make bread at home, by hand or in the bread-maker, but I don't keep more than 5kg of flour at the most...

[Patf]

Is there no one in your area who sells british bread flour? I have two sources here -  a market stall and a shop, both within 20k. They are supplied by someone who does a trip to the UK every few weeks. It does work out dearer than eg the Francine bread flours but not much. Pat.

[Suandpete]

    Admittedly they are not very exotic but I find that the Francine flours are absolutely fine.  Two thirds muti grain and one third either basic pain or pain de campagne makes a very nice loaf.

[roumette]

Yes - a few basic varieties of flour, and often near their sell-by date! And nowhere near the varietyof mixes! (You try getting sticky malt loaf mix here!!) And if we buy in the UK, it comes to our door. No need to go huge distances to get it. And we don't want "Homepride". For anything other than bread, French flour's fine, thanks!

Chris

 

[Clair]

Have you tried your local health food shops? The ones I visit occasionaly have all sorts of grains, seeds and flours, not to mention the locally milled flours I can buy from my GammVert...

[roumette]

Yep - and they're all low gluten, they don't have the range of product, and the availability is often patchy. We want the product we like in quantities big enough to get the advantage of bulk, and we want it when we need it. Just look at our millers' website - www.wessexmill.co.uk - and you'll find a damn' sight more choice than Gamm'Vert. And as long as we buy enough at a time - as I keep saying, it's cheaper. And do health shops stock malted grains for granary bread, processed grain for softgrain, and all the other types for all the other mixes????? It sounds a bit like you think we haven't thought this through...

[Clair]

I am not passing judgement, merely offering suggestions...[:)]

[Danny]

Roumette,

I think Clair was just offering you some possible alternernatives to bulk ordering, rather than implying you haven't thought things through. We too have a bread machine which we use regularly and have found that our local Gamm Vert has a good range of flour on offer at a reasonable price (wholemeal, white, buckwheat, rye, chestnut, etc). I buy in 5 kg sacks and have never had a problem with the expiry date. I add my own honey, seeds, nuts or fruit and we are more than happy with the result.  I have found that supermarkets here (46) stock the minimum and it's expensive. If you have any mills local to you it may well be worth approaching them to buy direct. It does seem crazy to pay so much for delivery when France produces (in my opinion anyway) such lovely bread - the flour here can't be that bad! But good luck with your search for other british flour-hunters - it's a great idea to buy in bulk like that if there is enough demand,

Regards,

Jane

[Clair]

Thank you Jane. You have put it much better than me![:)]

That's what I do too, buy flour and add bits to it to vary the flavour of the bread. By trial and error, I have devised a few mixes I am happy with.

[roumette]

Jane,

We've tried the alternatives - we don't like them.

We've found what we like - we're happy with it.

If it's too dear to ship - we'll stop.

Expiry dates are only a problem with stuff we've been offered on markets.

We also make breads with walnuts etc. added.

Local mills - do I have to say it again? - don't produce the same stuff, and our local bread is not to our taste. I presume you haven't tried our village bakery.

After all this, I shan't use "Forum" again. Sorry - but why do all these people think they know better?

 

[Clair]

[quote user="Roumette"]After all this, I shan't use "Forum" again. Sorry - but why do all these people think they know better? [/quote]

[8-)]

[roumette]

Clair

Your emoticon says you're "confused". So am I. I put up a post about importing things that are unobtainable here, and all I get is replies telling me what IS available. I've lived here for years, and been closely involved with France, French people and all things French for about 50 years, so I already know what is and isn't available. If you went to England, would you give up cognac for gin? And if I wanted to bring over some "Lincolnshire Stuffed Chine" and invited others who like it to join me in an order, would you tell me to go to Carrefour and buy a bit of ham?? So why this fuss about our wanting different flour?

That's why I feel a bit frustrated by the replies. We've been bringing flour over for several years, but our usual carrier does very few trips to the UK now, so we've had to look at other companies - who have quoted some ridiculous prices. So we haven't got the cost advantage we once had. To break the log-jam we offered to organise a delivery (we get the work involved but no profit for our time) for anyone else who likes the bread we enjoy. (And - yes, we do enjoy good French bread as well.) But it seems from the (actually irrelevant) replies as if people want to tell us that it's pointless and we shouldn't be doing it - which might actually discourage someone who might otherwise be interested. And that's not very helpful, is it?

So people who, I'm afraid, have actually no wish to be involved in what we're trying to do but think they can "put right" those poor misguided souls like me have torpedoed this. Guess I'd better take down the original post. Correspondence closed. But an apology wouldn't go amiss.

Chris

[Dick Smith]

Yes. I think perhaps you should...

[Will]

Chris, you may be in a minority of one, but there is nothing wrong with that.

I agree with a lot of what you say, such as the poor selection of so-called 'health foods' in much of France (not everybody has a Gamm Vert nearby, and they aren't really that wonderful compared with the British equivalent), and the fact that French bakers are pretty variable. A lot of the bread is rather tasteless, horrible texture that you just cannot digest, and it doesn't keep fresh for more than a few hours. We are fortunate in our nearest baker being a very good one, and I know some French from 30km or so away who will make a point of stopping there when passing because the breads (and particularly the croissants) are so much better than they get at home. I also endorse your point about market goods being variable in quality and freshness.

In fact I am seriously looking at importing various seeds, nuts etc (like you, I have a supplier) - maybe we should work together?

I do not necessarily agree about French flour, we manage fine with the Francine products, Lidl bread mixes (which are excellent) and I can easily bring flour and mixes from England. That doesn't make me right and you wrong though.

Remember, there's a difference between being the only one who is wrong and being the only one who is in step.

 

[Clair]

[quote user="Roumette"]Clair Your emoticon says you're "confused". So am I. I put up a post about importing things that are unobtainable here, and all I get is replies telling me what IS available. I've lived here for years, and been closely involved with France, French people and all things French for about 50 years, so I already know what is and isn't available. If you went to England, would you give up cognac for gin? And if I wanted to bring over some "Lincolnshire Stuffed Chine" and invited others who like it to join me in an order, would you tell me to go to Carrefour and buy a bit of ham?? So why this fuss about our wanting different flour?

That's why I feel a bit frustrated by the replies. We've been bringing flour over for several years, but our usual carrier does very few trips to the UK now, so we've had to look at other companies - who have quoted some ridiculous prices. So we haven't got the cost advantage we once had. To break the log-jam we offered to organise a delivery (we get the work involved but no profit for our time) for anyone else who likes the bread we enjoy. (And - yes, we do enjoy good French bread as well.) But it seems from the (actually irrelevant) replies as if people want to tell us that it's pointless and we shouldn't be doing it - which might actually discourage someone who might otherwise be interested. And that's not very helpful, is it?

So people who, I'm afraid, have actually no wish to be involved in what we're trying to do but think they can "put right" those poor misguided souls like me have torpedoed this. Guess I'd better take down the original post. Correspondence closed. But an apology wouldn't go amiss.Chris[/quote]

Chris, I am confused indeed, but not by original post, which is perfectly fine.

I am confused by your comment that implies that everyone who has replied should be dismissed as "people who think they know better".

The replies above all simply explain why the posters do not need to import English flour. They do not imply they know better or that you are a misguided soul, that's your take on it.

I do wish you luck in your quest though. As for an apology... [:)]

[Danny]

Roumette,

A forum is a place for public discussion. Whilst no one has replied to take you up on your generous offer (and I'm sure they will - it certainly makes sense to do one big order) you have received replies related to the availability of flour in France. No one is suggesting they know more about things than you do, and if someone is interested in organising something with you surely they wouldn't be put off just by reading others' opinions? From whom exactly do you expect an apology, and what for?

Jane

 

[Patf]

Roumette - presumably you've been buying in bulk for a while. I might be interested in joining with you but for one thing - how do you store these large quantities of flour? Isn't there a chance of infestation by bugs or mice, or mould starting up? I only bake at the rate of 2 kilos per week so would have this problem. Pat.

[pissouribeach]

Roumette

What a great list of flours wessex mill have!  Unfortunately you are too far from me to share a delivery, but thanks for the info.  I too long for a decent tasting loaf and have been using french flour which is OK but not quite the same. 

Good luck in finding some like minded souls.

Pissouri Beach

[Teamedup]

This has been an eye opening thread for me. I didn't know that flour could be considered that different.

After some discussion on here once I made two lots of bread at the same time. One lot was made with 'bread flour' and was expensive, the other with my usual cheap and cheerful 55 stuff. I got the neighbours to taste it and in fact they said that they preferred the bread made with the dear stuff as they said that it had slightly more flavour.

I had made quite a lot and cut it into 'meal' size quantities as I usually do and froze it. A week later whilst we were eating I simply had no idea whether the bread I was chewing cost me an arm and a leg or was very very cheap. It was lovely that is all I can say, but all the bread we had had that week had been and it could have been from either batch. Also we never eat dry bread, once the butter is on it I couldn't tell.

So no thanks, I am a long way away, but wouldn't actually dream of bringing any flour to France from the UK and certainly not stuff to store in quantity.

 

[Patf]

TeamedUp - I remember you doing this experiment and I tried the same thing with cheap flour and it turned out well. But if you want a bread that has texture, flavour, doesn't dry out and fills you up I still think you need to use either english or canadian flour. You can feel the difference when you're mixing and kneading - it's just more responsive and flexible than french flour. BUT more expensive. It depends what your priorities are. Pat.

[Teamedup]

[:)]I never 'keep' bread. Never ever have and that is a very long time now. When I bake it, the minute it is cool it gets cut into hunks for each meal and frozen. And everytime we need some we get it out and it is just like very very fresh bread. LOL that is what we like.

Personally I do not have any idea as to how my bread would be, if kept. Odd times I keep a part loaf out for bread crumbs or to make a bread and butter pudding, but that is it, but I don't eat it as it is.

However, saying that, when I give loaves to friends they say it is good for several days. I wouldn't want to try it.

[Sunshine]

I dream of a thick sliced, toasted Warburtons with lots of butter.  I too agree that I have not found the French flour to be too my taste.  Its a personal thing.

I would be interested in your bulk buying, but I have no where to store it.  perhaps if there are enough of us we could order a range of flour making up the minimum weight for bulk.

I shall send a PM

[roumette]

Hi Sunshine!

Re: flour storage... Our entire stock for six months or more fits into a space about 85cms x 75cms x 50cms in the bottom of a wardrobe in the spare room. (We don't store in the "caves" because although it's cooler, the odd mouse gets in now & then despite our small army of cats!) As soon as flour arrives we split the big bags down into single-loaf size bags which we seal tightly by twisting the necks and using a wire bag tie. A few of us have already been buying this way for some time, and none of us has ever had a problem with contamination or flour going "off". (And we're renovating too...)

We've had a number of enquiries about this, but some people are quite a distance away. We live about 20 mins south of Cahors quite close to the N20/D820 - so you can factor in likely petrol costs involved in collecting.

We have the details ready to send out by email as to what's available, what it costs and how we handle it, but there's too much to post on "Forum". (For example, there are over 20 different flours in bag sizes from 1.5 to 16 kilos!) Anyone who'd like the details - please let me have an email address by private message.

And in case anybody's still wondering - yes, we buy French bread flour and French bread too! We just don't like our local bread, and it's costly in time and fuel to go further afield to buy better stuff. And we also like variety!!!!

Roumette