Ok my post was moved here so I’m late to the party but I read the posts above. I got some bags of AP flour from Dollar General. They get it and sell it but it’s coming in. It’s hit and miss at other stores. I have people grabbing a bag here and there. The Clover Valley AP from Dollar General has 10% protein and I’m able to make free form loaves with very good spring. So it’s not my 1st 2nd or even 3rd choice I’m able to turn out product even though I’m a novice Baker. I’m a better brewer than Baker and I’ve a big supply of barley malt and hops and have been just designing recipes with what I have. I can’t brew all the styles but Im still making beer. Getting artisanal flour or barley malt is a small problem but many people have it alot worse so I’m not complaining
Interesting that barley malt supply is an issue. I’ve been using a lot of my husband’s inventory of honey for making mead to make homemade granola.
I’m not saying barley malt is in short supply. I’m just not going out to get it. I’ve made bread using my Mead have you?
Ah gotcha (it would be cool if a boom in homebrewing was happening too 
)
I haven’t made mead bread. Did you make a boozy soft enriched bread, like a panettone, or a lean crusty bread?
I mostly make crusty bread because I hardly ever use straight water the carmelized crust from beer bread or mead bread is what I like. I used some apple juice that was partially fermented the other day. As far as a home brew boom I think we are. I don’t brew kits but I’ve heard on the beer forum alot of stuff is on back order. Alot of the brewers bake bread as well. We like playing with yeast I guess
Makes sense that the brew kits would go first. Gardening and cheesemaking kits too.
The bread shortage has been a great forced learning experience. Rather than constantly using the same bread flour, I got flour from Central Milling, Hayden and Janie’s based on recommendations above. I loved the Central Milling High Mountain and the Janie’s High Protein (although the 14.4% protein took some getting used to). The Janie’s will be my next experiment.
It has been both amazing and frustrating to use flour with different flavors, protein levels and without malted barley flour.
Sadly, I made the rookie mistake of discarding my rye starter with the plan to replace it with a new rye starter with flour purchased from Central Milling. For the first (and second) time ever I have had a complete fail getting a starter started with rye flour. Went like gangbusters for two days on both attempts and then simply died. I tried to resurrect both for days after that collapse and never got anything. I’ve never had this problem before and can’t figure out. It would pain me to have to buy some Bob’s Red Mill dark rye, assuming I even could, to get my rye starter going again. For now, I’m down to just my white bread flour starter.c
In working through a procedure experiment with Melissa (@Fermentada) for a project she is working on, I recently built a starter from scratch for the first time and dove into a lot of the details. I found this little PDF from the Breadtopia site useful in understanding what I was seeing.
I had a few different experiments going at the same time, but the one that actually ended most successful (just bread flour and filtered water) seemed like it totally died for 2 days after initially seeming like it was going like gangbusters - though not smelling right. My conclusion from the PDF above was that the gangbusters was all Leuconostoc bacterial activity and then the period of seeming death after that was when the lactic acid bacteria were beginning to take over and lower the pH. I just let it sit while it seemed dead and then after a couple days did a small feeding and viola! Proper sourdough activity and aroma.
Edit: Also @SingKevin, you may be more of a purist than me or may have other goals, but if I wanted a rye starter (which once upon a time I did use exclusively), I would just create a levain by mixing equal parts rye and water and then inoculating it with a tiny amount of my white flour starter. Feed it exclusively rye for a bit and for all intents and purposes, that’s a rye starter in my opinion.
I ordered some barley malt syrup from amazon so I could make proper bagels. I’ve always said I’d never bother with bagels because here in northern New Jersey we live in the center of world bagel-ry - but since we’re cooped up at home and not going out for pretty much anything, why not try?
Yes, I have read that previously and understand the science. Waited several days for some activity and did feed it again several times. Absolutely nothing. I have no doubt that human error (i.e., mine) is somehow responsible, but having done this successfully so many times in the past I am at a loss for why I can’t get it to work now.
I’m pretty sure my need to have a pure rye starter is more an OCD thing or my simply not wanting to admit failure. I am definitely not a purist per se.
Totally get that.
From what I’ve recently read, the primary source of the initial inoculation of the preferred yeast and bacteria species in a new starter is the grain / flour itself. Maybe the rye flour you have just doesn’t have enough of a viable population of those microbes.
I’ve been buying from Central Milling. It’s hit or miss. I watch the web site and see what’s available. If it’s something I jump on it. So I wound up with two 25lb. Bags and three 5lb. Bags. I’m set for a while. I got some nice Durham and some spelt a lot of 00 and artisan bread flour. Hopefully, this covid-19 will be over before I run out.
Holy Celiac Disease, Batman, the gluten of the Hayden Artisan Bread Flour may be listed as 14% but it feels like it is double that. My 80% hydration dough is rock solid.
I live on the West Coast and have been going to https://www.smartfoodservice.com/locations/. They are a public store that usually deals with the food industry. Have found 25# bags of flour although during current times sometime sketchy supply. They carry different brands, but also carry Bob"s Red Mill.
I’ve been able to find organic bread flour online at War Eagle Mill, Arkansas, and Bob’s Red Mill. Just plug in wareaglemill.com and bobsredmill.com to find good selection of flours, grains.
On the flip side, because flour seems to be difficult to come by and what is stocked flies off the shelf, shops are stocking stuff they never usually do to keep supplies coming. I normally have to source my rimacinata from a specialist shop which is a bit of a trek to get to however today I found it in a local shop which never sells it. And it was cheaper too!