FLOUR
Flour is the most important ingredient used for
bread making. It provides food for the yeast and
structures the loaf. When mixed with liquid, the
protein in the flour starts to form gluten. Gluten is
a network of elastic stands, which interlock to
trap the gases produced by yeast. This process
increases as the dough undergoes kneading and
provides the dough with the structure required to
produce the weight and shape of the bread.
White Wheat Flour
The flour used in the bread machine should be
bread flour. Baker’s flour or plain flour may be
used. There is no need to sift the flour. Plain flour
is most readily available, however best results are
obtained with flour that has 11-12% protein. For
this reason, the recipes in this book requiring
bread flour, have been made with flours with 12%
protein. This is normally indicated on the
packaging. Do not use self-raising flour unless
indicated in the recipe.
“Kitchen Collection” brand Bread Flour
This brand of bread flour is available nationally at
larger supermarkets and was used for the
development of most of the recipes contained in
this guide. It is a high protein, white bread flour,
with a 12% protein content, ensuring a higher
quality and consistency to the baked bread.
“Defiance” brand High-Grade
Plain Flour
Also known as bread or baker’s flour, it is
produced from hard wheats to give a protein level
of at least 11.5%. This product is available
nationally at larger supermarkets.
Wholemeal flour
Contains all the bran, germ and flour of the
wholewheat grain. Although breads baked with
this type of flour will be higher in fibre, the loaf will
be lower in height and heavier in texture. A lighter
textured bread can be achieved by replacing 1
cup of wholemeal flour with white bread flour.
Rye Flour
A popular flour used for bread making, rye flour is
low in protein and so it is essential to combine rye
flour with bread flour to make bread successfully
in the bread machine.
Gluten flour
Gluten flour is a concentrated mixture of gluten-
forming protein and wheat flour. Adding gluten
flour can improve the structure and volume of
bread when using a low protein, stone ground,
wholemeal or plain flour.
BREAD MIXES
These convenient mixes contain bread flour,
sugar, milk, salt, oil and other ingredients such as
bread improvers. Usually only the addition of
water and yeast is required. Bread mix brands
such as “Kitchen Collection”, “Defiance” and
“Lowan” are available nationally from major
supermarkets. Recipes for these brand bread
mixes are listed in the Easy Bake recipe section
of this book. For information on other brands of
bread mix, contact the manufacturer listed on the
package.
The Vital Ingredients
19
The Vital
Ingredients
When using a low protein, stone ground,
wholemeal or plain flour the quality of the
bread can be improved by adding
1
1
/
2
-2 tablespoons of gluten flour.
NEW ZEALAND ONLY
‘Elfin High Grade White Flour’ and
‘Champion High Grade Flour’
These are high protein, white bread flours,
containing 12% protein.
☛
NOTE!
NEW ZEALAND ONLY
Bread mix brands such as ‘Elfin’ are available.
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