Chicken or Egg? Good Flour or Good Bread? Which comes first? Which comes to existence because of the other? Is real flavoursome bread so hard to find here because there’s no good flours on our shelves or is there no quality flours because there is no (demand for) bread with character?
It’s so crazy that you know what I buy when I go for holidays overseas? Flours. There’s nothing that excites me more than seeing a wide range of flours in foreign supermarkets. Never mind that I have never tried them before or do not have anything in mind to make from them, I will just buy home as much as HWMBC will allow….but he’s catching on..he’ll buy for me the token bag or 2 of flours from his overseas trips.
So…local readers…if you’ll be so kind when you see any nice brown or granary flours in any of our supermarket shelves, please sound me. I just bought a last lonely packet of Hovis Granary Flour (below is a bran-coated loaf freshly baked from it) from Cold Storage supermarket. Sigh, they used to carry Waitrose organic flours but I haven’t seen them in a long while. Since our regular local flours do not come unbleached, I get my flours(imported) from organic outlets; may be expensive, but, what the hey, we only finish a loaf or 2 per week.
(originally posted circa 2006)
Replies
You should try living in NZ!! Good flour is practically non-existent! I tried a few different ones (with disastrous consequences) but have found a white that works, a wholemeal and a rye that I'm happy with. Just bought some spelt but haven't been brave enough to try it out yet - can any one recommend a good recipe to try it out with?
I did find a nice italian bread flour (5kg bags) but now they only get it in in 1kg bags - what's the point in that!?
K.