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Flour info request

MythagoWd@aol.com
Thu, 21 Oct 1999 15:57:06 EDT
v099.n053.15
Hello!

I am new to the list and have been enjoying the recipes and information 
presented here.

I wonder if anyone can help me with a question about flour.  I have recently 
acquired a very old family recipe for Irish Brown Bread from an elderly woman 
in Ireland.  Tessie's recipe calls for Strong White Flour and I'm not certain 
what the closest American equivalent is.

As I understand it, the climate in Ireland is not ideal for hard wheat and 
Irish flours are made from soft wheat.  Would Strong White Flour, if made 
from soft wheat, have a high or low gluten content?  Her bread had an 
extremely tender bite to it, no toughness whatsoever, which would make me 
think that it was made with a lower gluten flour.  I made her recipe with all 
purpose flour and it was definitely tougher than when I was served this bread 
in Tessie's kitchen in County Cavan, Ireland.

I found many Irish, English and Scottish recipes that call for Strong White 
Flour but no definitive description of what type of flour it is.  I did find 
one website that vaguely compared it to cake flour or pastry flour, but I 
couldn't verify this information anywhere else.  

Any ideas on the closest American equivalent to Strong White Flour would be 
much appreciated!

Myth