Gluten Development problem

Baking Techniques
1

My recent loaves have tended more toward flatbreads, and I suspect the blame belongs to the flours I am using. I use my own sourdough starter, which always doubled in size and remained strong, bubbly and high for up to 16 hours. Of course, as a result of the pandemic, both flour and even wheat berries disappeared from grocery shelves. So I scrounged around and found an organic distributor, from whom I purchased large bags of both wheat berries and bread flour. Coincidentally, suddenly both my starter and my loaves changed: the starter would only rise roughly 50% and the dough refused to rise . . . or even to come together. So maybe it was not such a coincidence. Maybe my flours and even my wheat berries are not so great. The distributor tells me the flour has a 14% protein content.

Has anyone else had this sort of problem after changing flours? And can you think of any reason – other than lousy flour – why this could have occurred? (It certainly cannot be that my starter dislikes me. I always talk to it with respect!)

Suggestions will be appreciated. In fact, being locked down out here, any response at all would be great.

Jules

2

There is another recent thread with same issue and I happened to remember a much older discussion where lemon juice was used as an improver …

Bread suddenly not working @anon44372566 notes 1 T per 4-5 cups of flour

Crazy! It is hard to imagine what “might” be being done to flour or if something in the wheat that effectively kills yeast/leaven?

I will say that 14% protein content sounds high, not that that would cause a problem, but I have to wonder about the accuracy.

3

I too am suspicious. I’ll ry a bit of lemon juice.

Thanks!!

PS: Just mixed up another batch using mostly KA organic bread flour.

With the same result! Ughhh!

4

You are stoking the flames of my conspiracy theory about bread flour over the past few months. I would swear that some of the major brands are either cutting their bread flour with all purpose flour or simply using lower protein wheat. It may be that I just have too much time at home to think about things, but I really feel like some of the large commercial brands of bread flour have lower protein levels the past few months. At least as far as I can actually find any to buy.

5

I’ll be trying several experiments before I make any conclusions. Thanks for your thoughts.

Jules

6

Before I labeled my flour bins in a way that was 🤦proof, I once lost track of which bin was all-purpose and which was bread flour. (Lesson: don’t label the lids only)

An internet search gave me a test to do where you mix each flour with water and fry the goo in two pans like two crepes. The greater bubbliness and rubberier texture tell you which one is bread flour. Of course this only works if you’ve got a flour that you trust to compare…

7

Hahaha, but I just keep my bread flour in the original container inside a large ziplock bag.

8

@SingKevin, that’s what I do too! Actually, I store my grain/flour in my freezer in its original packaging with some extra wrapping, if the packaging is on the thin side. Breadtopia flours and grains come in such wonderfully sturdy packaging I just pop them into the freezer as-is. That’s what works for me.

Leah