Culinary Notes
The Kneading Rule: To activate the strength of this flour, you must work it. Kneading aligns the gluten strands into a strong, stretchy mesh. You can tell it’s ready using the "Windowpane Test": stretch a small piece of dough; if it stretches thin enough to see light through it without tearing, the gluten is fully developed.
Thirsty Grain: Because it has more protein and bran, strong flour is "thirstier" than plain flour. It requires more water to reach the same consistency. If you substitute strong flour into a cake recipe, the cake will be dry, tough, and rubbery.
The Chew Factor: This flour is responsible for the "chew" in a bagel or a sourdough crust. It provides resistance to the tooth.
Polish Typ 750: In the Polish classification system, Typ 750 is the standard bread flour. The number refers to the "ash content" (minerals); the higher the number, the more of the whole grain is included, and generally, the higher the protein.
