Mulino Marino Flour & Getting The Most From Them Instructions We ve been stocking Mulino Marino flour for quite some time and have found that they perform cpictureonsistently, producing great loaves of bread and perfect cakes. With such an extensive range and with them being called by their wonderfully evocative Italian names it s sometimes confusing choosing which flour suits which loaf best so we asked Angus McCraig, friend, chef, tutor and the owner of our favourite pub The Holt if he might put them to the test and give us a rough guide to what the flours do best. I think you will agree that this chart is a fantastic guide to the flours, and makes choosing the right one really easy. Mulino Marino Flour bagsangus, along with his brother Joe, of the Otter Brewery clan, has been running his restaurant in Honiton since 2005 with great success and local acclaim. Recently, Angus has started running bread courses, using his extensive experience and kitchen facilities. We have had lots of very positive accounts of the courses which tend to be booked some time in advance. Angus: I decided to look at the the range of flours from Mulino Marino stocked by BakeryBits and to do my own trials, ignoring the details and specifications published, to find my own results from tests in my kitchen at The Holt. I ve suggested my recommendations for each of the flours, but of course you could use any of them for standard sourdough, yeast or perhaps your Sekowa loaves. I have devised a standard set of characteristics to describe each flour and how it performs, so that they may be compared. Most of the terms used are self explanatory, but there are a couple that probably warrant clarificiation: Ingredients Makes: 2 800g loaves. 9g Organic dried yeast (1 sachet) 600g water 550g Strong White Flour, ideally Organic Sapori Antichi Flour 50g Organic Durum Semolina 275g Organic Wholemeal Flour 12g Cornish sea salt 125g Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Pelia Extensibility: this is the ability of the dough to stretch without tearing. Shortened to EX in the table. Elasticity: this is the ability of the gluten in the dough to pull the dough back into shape after stretching. Shortened to EL in the table.
In a balanced dough, the extensibility and elasticity will allow for a higher hydration which means that the dough has a higher tensile strength and so is more able to support itself if made into a freeform loaf and gives the bread a more open texture. I looked for other characteristics too: Final Fold: The performance at the final fold of the dough. The easier the dough is to manipulate at the final stage before baking, the better balanced the extensibility and elasticity of the dough. Rise: The speed and consistency of the rise of the dough at ambient (warm kitchen) temperature, reflects the quality and availability of the starches and sugars. Colour: How well did the crust of the loaf colour? I am looking for an even, rich golden to deep brown. Crumb: Subjective view of the appearance of the crumb, looking at the openness, evenness and chewiness. Crust: I am looking for a crust with crackle and resistance when bitten. Flavour: the flours vary of course, but I am looking for excellence, whether in terms of complexity of taste or smell I need to like it. The same recipe was used for each flour. To get a consistent loaf for comparison, of the flour used, I used 1/3 Mulino Marino and 2/3 a generic 12.5% strong white bread flour. The recipe used 70g sourdough starter per kg flour and 73% hydration. (At The Holt we use a small amount of sourdough starter in all our breads as the extra acidity is helpful for realxing the gluten).
Sapori Antichi Sapori Antichi is a stone-ground organic flour blending the ancient Kamut http:// bakerybits.co.uk/organic-sapori-antichi-flour.html and Enkir flours with rye and Farro to make a pasta or pudding flour. A good nutty flavour, dependable extensibility and elasticity. Worked well in yoghurt bread, whey bread, cream and milk bread. Also good in enriched doughs. Grano Saraceno (Buckwheat Flour) Gluten free* Well balanced and full of essential amino acids, the Farina di Grano Saraceno has a high nutritional value, in fact its protein content can be compared to that found in meat and soybean. This flour can be mixed with others, naturally gluten-free, to prepare country style cakes, bread and it will have a taste similar to wholemeal bread. *Note that although buckwheat flour is gluten free, the mill uses the same equipment for all grains. Sfarintino di Grano Duro Durum wheat flour is ideal for pasta made without eggs and Pugliese bread. The Pugliese is characterized by a moist dough which results in large holes in a well structured crumb, and a well-developed, crunchy crust. It is heavier than a Ciabatta, because is is made with a higher gluten flour, the Pugliese is typically shaped as a Batard (oval), and slashed with a single cut running lengthwise. Semola di Grano Duro (Durum Semolina) Semolina made from durum wheat is yellow and is often used as the base for dried products such as couscous, which is made by mixing roughly 2 parts semolina with 1 part durum flour (finely ground semolina). It is also used in pasta making. Broadly speaking, meal produced from grains other than wheat may also be referred to as semolina, e.g. rice semolina, or corn semolina (more commonly known as grits in the U.S.) When semolina comes from softer types of wheat it is white in colour. In this case, the correct name is flour, not semolina. In the United States, coarser meal coming from softer types of wheat is known also as farina. Organic Type 0 Flour A creamy white flour, ground to 0 on the scale of fineness, this flour is excellent for flatbreads, focaccia and very popular for pizzas. Buratto Type 2 This is an earthy flavour, extremely versatile. This is a new favourite for pizza bases, sourdough loaves, and for any breads that we want a nice rooted but not over powering flavour.
Kamut or Khorasan Flour The composition of Khorasan (or Kamut) wheat has a clear advantage compared to modern wheat because it contains up to 40% more protein, which improves its vitreousness. Indeed, a significant positive correlation exists between the protein content and the vitreousness degree. Khorasan wheat is also richer in magnesium, zinc, selenium, as well as many polyphenols and fatty acids. It comprises up to 65% more amino acids and up to 30% more vitamin E than common bread wheat. One can describe Khorasan wheat as a high energy grain since it has a high percentage of lipids, which provides more energy than carbohydrates. Khorasan wheat contains more gluten than regular durum wheat. Its high amount of gluten coupled with its high protein content ensures a good cooking quality and therefore influences the end result positively. Type OO Soffiata OO flour is a strong wheat flour, and is the Italian equivalent to the French T55, making it ideal for crusty breads such as baguettes and as the base for more complex bakes. It is the most commonly used flour in Italy where it is also used in making egg pasta. Enkir Enkir is a wild cereal belonging to the diploid species domesticated in the Near East 10-12000 years ago. It is considered to be the father of cereals and still grows wild in some parts of the Fertile Crescent (Turkey and Iran). Considered a key species for the birth of modern agriculture, it has a wide adaptability, minimal nutritional requirements and is naturally resistant to pests and therefore is well suited for cultivation marginal environments. For the baker, Enkir has a high protein content (between 18 and 24%) as well as essential nutrients. The naturally yellow flour is excellent in breads, pasta and biscuits. Semola di Gran Duro (Semolina) Durum wheat is characterised by a higher protein content than standard wheats and is coarser with a yellow colour. Ideal when combined with OO for pasta or added to OO for a tastier, chewier textured bread. Commonly used when dusting peels and bannetons. Pandi Sempre Type O Manitoba A fine, very strong flour designed for long fermentations and where lots of lift is required, bakes such as panettone, Colomba Pasquale and pastries.