Bread making -- recipes, best machines, techniques, etc.
#61
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I bought my 50-lb bag of flour at a nearby cornershop that has great inventory of other kinds of flour and baking. They also had yeast in March when I needed it. Until March, I rarely did any major grocery shopping there and now theyre like my new bestie. They always have things on my list and they have certain brands that are rarer to find.
so maybe other kinds of shops will have the flour you need because now Im obsessed with having at least 5-10 pounds in the house before I replenish. I even bought a 2-lb bag of sugar at that place today because I was down to 2-1/2 pounds.
Last edited by cblaisd; May 4, 2020 at 9:48 pm Reason: merged poster's two consecutive posts
#62
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of course there is no yeast and I am down to 2 packets. I have some on order but it has taken 2 weeks so far to get here from China. I need to reorder now apparently but Id like to wait and see if its any good (or ever gets here).
#63
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Have you checked Walgreens or other off beat places for flour or yeast? There are different types of grocers in sf and some of them will randomly sometimes have flour, yeast, and other baking products. They definitely have SKU space for baking.
#64
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I tried Dollar Tree once with no luck. But I am trying to limit outings to a once a week grocery run and a once a week curbside restaurant pick up. I will just wait a week for my yeast which I ordered on Amazon yesterday (1 lb bag). I think I will try the Korean rolls later this week. It does take a while to finish what I bake. Especially when I’m less than successful. Stay tuned for the crumpet disaster pics. At least some were edible.
#65




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We've been buying flour from local restaurants and coffee shops. Some of them are quite happy to sell off their surplus. We've also been introduced to some amazing flours (King Arthur Organic Select Artisan makes wonderful bread). Our local bakery is selling yeast.
#66
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We luckily have about 40 pounds of King Arthur all-purpose on hand. We're running low on bread flour, but the KA AP is higher protein than most AP and works well. We still have a decent bit of semolina also.
At the grocery store today, we snagged the last bag of KA white whole wheat (they had plenty of self-rising flour, LOL, and a little all-purpose).
At the grocery store today, we snagged the last bag of KA white whole wheat (they had plenty of self-rising flour, LOL, and a little all-purpose).
#67
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Is self-rising flour a uk / Europe only product? We don’t have it in USA as far as I know.
hope everyone gets their yeast. i don’t want to stop making the roll-ppang and omg so fun. Thanks again to LapLap for posting the recipe.
so what is the purpose of instant yeast? I bought it when I got the active dry yeast. I noticed that the cornershop hasn’t ever had a new shipment of yeast when I’ve returned; I go there weekly or sometimes more because they have a few rare items (Sonoma pickles; huge flour assortment including 00; lux coffee recently roasted; cheap organic berries due to date). I would notice the yeast because I bought my two 2-lb bags of yeast about 8/9 days apart.
hope everyone gets their yeast. i don’t want to stop making the roll-ppang and omg so fun. Thanks again to LapLap for posting the recipe.
so what is the purpose of instant yeast? I bought it when I got the active dry yeast. I noticed that the cornershop hasn’t ever had a new shipment of yeast when I’ve returned; I go there weekly or sometimes more because they have a few rare items (Sonoma pickles; huge flour assortment including 00; lux coffee recently roasted; cheap organic berries due to date). I would notice the yeast because I bought my two 2-lb bags of yeast about 8/9 days apart.
#68
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Self-raising flour is simply all purpose white flour with added baking powder (which you can mix yourself with bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar).
The problem is that the ratio used isnt put on the packet, and if you have lemon juice or some other acidic ingredient you need to add more bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) anyway. I live in England and do not see the appeal of self-raising flour unless you have a limited cooking repertoire and make the same things with it all the time.
There are tons of tips online on how to convert all purpose flour into self raising flour. Its generally about 1 teaspoon of baking powder to 1 cup of flour.
Im guessing youre looking at one of those YouTube just two ingredients! recipes.
So what is the purpose of instant yeast? I bought it when I got the active dry yeast. I noticed that the cornershop hasnt ever had a new shipment of yeast when Ive returned; I go there weekly or sometimes more because they have a few rare items (Sonoma pickles; huge flour assortment including 00; lux coffee recently roasted; cheap organic berries due to date). I would notice the yeast because I bought my two 2-lb bags of yeast about 8/9 days apart.
If the instructions are to activate the yeast first in a liquid, youd probably need to do that first.
The other kind of dried yeast doesnt need to be soaked in liquid first (although it can be, making it more versatile). You can whisk it in to flour and salt before adding the wet ingredients.
A non-instant yeast cant (generally) be added directly to the flour will take more time to activate in liquid than an instant yeast does, but this kind is more likely to be sold as a refrigerated crumbly block, or as a sourdough starter kit.
Last edited by cblaisd; May 10, 2020 at 7:42 pm Reason: merged poster's two consecutive posts
#69
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I remain blown away with the roll-ppang and omg so fun.
the instant yeast seems whacky but of course better to have both active dry and instant yeast than no yeast :-)
so the uk has King Arthur flour??? I thought it was a Usa product.
Last edited by cblaisd; May 10, 2020 at 7:41 pm Reason: merged poster's two consecutive posts
#70
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We actually have a part of a 5lb bag of it in the pantry. No clue how old it is or why we have it. I'm sure we have a recipe that called for it at some point, but why we didn't just add the baking powder I don't know.
#72
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No, not really.
The U.K. has flour is correct but finding any flour, let alone King Arthur flour is a hard ask right now.
Ill respond as if we were back in February/early March (before the shortages) King Arthur Flour was only ever an extreme niche product. I dont believe I have ever seen it on sale in the U.K.
Canadian White Bread Flour was widely available and Ive seen plenty of packages of assorted Non-wheat flours from the US Bobs Red Mill company. If you were looking specifically for a package of conventional American flour there were a few shops that imported Gold Medal...
But thats not surprising as Gold Medal is part of General Mills (Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Jus-Rol) which is well established in the UK market.
We ended up with a 1.5kg (3lb) back of self-raising at a point when there was no other flour available, reasoned it would be better than having nothing. Its now my go to bag when I need a bit of flour to dust and coat baking containers or to sprinkle on a chopping board. That way I dont use up any of the non-fiddled with flours I prefer to cook with.
I found cornmeal flour (fine polenta) has been consistently easier to buy than wheat flour and thats another good way to line baking pans and conserve the precious precious wheat flour.
The U.K. has flour is correct but finding any flour, let alone King Arthur flour is a hard ask right now.
Ill respond as if we were back in February/early March (before the shortages) King Arthur Flour was only ever an extreme niche product. I dont believe I have ever seen it on sale in the U.K.
Canadian White Bread Flour was widely available and Ive seen plenty of packages of assorted Non-wheat flours from the US Bobs Red Mill company. If you were looking specifically for a package of conventional American flour there were a few shops that imported Gold Medal...
But thats not surprising as Gold Medal is part of General Mills (Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Jus-Rol) which is well established in the UK market.
I found cornmeal flour (fine polenta) has been consistently easier to buy than wheat flour and thats another good way to line baking pans and conserve the precious precious wheat flour.
Last edited by cblaisd; May 11, 2020 at 10:35 am Reason: merged poster's two consecutive posts
#73
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We ended up with a 1.5kg (3lb) back of self-raising at a point when there was no other flour available, reasoned it would be better than having nothing. Its now my go to bag when I need a bit of flour to dust and coat baking containers or to sprinkle on a chopping board. That way I dont use up any of the non-fiddled with flours I prefer to cook with.
I found cornmeal flour (fine polenta) has been consistently easier to buy than wheat flour and thats another good way to line baking pans and conserve the precious precious wheat flour.
I found cornmeal flour (fine polenta) has been consistently easier to buy than wheat flour and thats another good way to line baking pans and conserve the precious precious wheat flour.
#74




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It is. It's an employee owned B corp based in VT. The company has been in business since 1790.
I'm glad to see that they export.
It's the only flour brand my serious baking friends in New England and New York will use.
I'm glad to see that they export.
It's the only flour brand my serious baking friends in New England and New York will use.
#75
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I used to get King Arthur products - we went to their place in VT in 2012 or 2013! Big fun. I love that part of New England - western MA and VT. Its also on my relocation list.
anyway I baked roll-ppang today and its forever thank you LapLap.


Im still going to try to make pizza dough using Robertas Bkln recipe from nyt. I just have to get 00 flour. The cornershop where I got my yeast and 50-lb bag of flour usually has 00 and Ive just not yet bought it. Soon - I tend to get coffee from that place so I want to combine the purchases.
anyway I baked roll-ppang today and its forever thank you LapLap.


Im still going to try to make pizza dough using Robertas Bkln recipe from nyt. I just have to get 00 flour. The cornershop where I got my yeast and 50-lb bag of flour usually has 00 and Ive just not yet bought it. Soon - I tend to get coffee from that place so I want to combine the purchases.
Last edited by cblaisd; May 13, 2020 at 7:55 am Reason: merged poster's two consecutive posts

