Flour is not flour anymore

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hm. Barley is a northern crop and 2019 was a very bad year for northern crops due to wet spring, cold summer, and wettest fall on record in many areas, with badly delayed harvests and blizzards dropping 2 feet of snow in early October when the harvest issues meant a lot of crops still in the fields. The reason for adding malted barley flour is to add 2 enzymes that enhance yeast activity. Grain buying/selling/milling is a complicated business because crop conditions affect protein, moisture, etc but milling needs to produce as consistent a product as possible. I don't know but wouldn't be surprised if adding the malted barley flour is something that happens some years and other years not.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I work with the largest flour miller in the US. They produce 6 different types of flour which carry different prends and protein contents. They have an innovation lab where they test their flours to make the same product. From those tests, they determine the recipes for the major food producers. Qualifiers are thins like flavor, mouth feel, texture, etc.

Blends can change overtime, and it’s not uncommon for flour companies to make small changes if it improves the flours ability to produce a greater number of desirable goods. All purpose flour is the most likely to be changed over time.

[Anonymous]

Correct me if I am wrong but their website says they use wheat flour

Wheat Flour, Niacin (a B Vitamin), Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Enzymes, Folic Acid (a B Vitamin).

https://www.goldmedalflour.com/our-flour/unbleached-all-purpose-flour/

[Anonymous]

And I just confirmed that the Trader Joe’s brand is a wheat and barley flour blend.

[Anonymous]

We buy the giant bag of KA flour at Costco. DH "decants" it into smaller cambros.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used Gold Medal or grocery store flour for years but over Thanksgiving and Christmas, I noticed my baked good just weren't cooking the same - heavier, denser , I couldn't put my finger on it. My sister and another baker friend of mine agreed.

A quick google search revealed this:

'There has been a change to the Gold Medal Unbleached Flour, that change involved removing the malted barley and replacing it with an enzyme.'

I am not permanently switching to Bob's Red Mill or some other expensive brand.

Anyone else notice this?

The difference between Gold Medal and King Arthur is like $3 for 5 pounds. If eating crappy baked goods is really worth saving $3 stop complaining and eat your swill.

There is a pretty big difference (for flour) in the protein content for the two brands. Gold Medal is at 10.5% while King Arthur is 11.7%. That will make a difference. Not a bad difference but enough of a difference to perhaps make some small adjustments in some recipes. I had not heard about the switch in Gold Medal. I haven't noticed any difference but I don't think I've bought all-purpose flour since maybe September or October.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work with the largest flour miller in the US. They produce 6 different types of flour which carry different prends and protein contents. They have an innovation lab where they test their flours to make the same product. From those tests, they determine the recipes for the major food producers. Qualifiers are thins like flavor, mouth feel, texture, etc.

Blends can change overtime, and it’s not uncommon for flour companies to make small changes if it improves the flours ability to produce a greater number of desirable goods. All purpose flour is the most likely to be changed over time.

Not OP. This is interesting. Thank you for posting!