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All Purpose Flour between Bread Flour

So far, the inclusion of the vital wheat gluten in my bread making solved the problem of having to deal with not having my usual brand of bread flour. I know for a fact that there are quite a huge selection of bread flour or hard wheat flour here in the Northeast but buying them is a problem. I was told Costco and BJ's have them, but the brands i am seeing is ???? Turning to the www for your flour purchase isn't that too inviting either, imagine  coughing up $9-$13.00 for shipping and handling per package? The ones i bought are quite satisfactory, i give them a 95% passing grade.
Going back to the all purpose versus bread flour, there is a big difference in  water absorption, the volume, the make-up and texture. My biggest concern back home was that all purpose was more expensive so i did not use it when i bake breads. At P50.00 something per kilogram, (this is the "tingi" or retail packs you buy from your corner bakery supplier, not the Gold Medal or Pillsbury in the groceries),  you tend to set this flour aside and use it for specialty cakes. Not just the price though, all purpose will not produce the height and volume that you want in breads so you barely use this flour at all. In a country where the size of the bread matters a lot ( the pandesal has to qualify 3 dunks in the hot coffee to satisfy Manang or Lola Angge or else...), bread flour is your choice. I have made a pictured comparison of these two flours in my ebook, among other things so do check it out. To those who have bought it, you may not pay attention to this fact but it is very important, i suggest that you read the topic again, just in case you slip while enjoying that Pandesal you just made.
Below is a comparison of what a soft bun looks like when baked using both all purpose and bread flour. You may not see it up close on screen, but i do. The texture while i make the dough up, the feel when i shape them, when i start to proof them, the way the dough behaves during proofing, during baking and yes, after it has baked. Even the texture of the bread when you take a bite and while you chew!!! When you are baking for this long, you will know.

ALL PURPOSE SOFT BUNS, START OF PROOFING










THE BAKED SOFT BUN, FLATTER NOW AFTER BAKING, LOOKING LIKE A MCDONALD'S BUN. (see more images on the sweet yeast dough page)
NOW LOOK BELOW TO SEE THE BUNS MADE WITH BREAD FLOUR. I used Purefood's Emperor (too bad, i am not being paid to write this here).
THE SOFT BUN MADE WITH BREAD FLOUR, FIRMER AND TAUT COMPARED WITH THE ONE ON TOP.
ONCE BAKED, THE BUNS DID NOT LOSE SHAPE, VOLUME IS MUCH BIGGER (BOTH ARE WEIGHED AT 60 GRAMS EACH.) view more of the images in the sweet yeast dough page.

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