atta flour

jem
anyone have any experience with atta flour?
I am yet to make a sourdough loaf, but my yeast in breadmaker doughs were aways with atta flour because it is a way to get 100% wholemeal and keep a workable dough.
any thoughts?
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TeckPoh's picture
TeckPoh 2008 March 20

I've only made chapati from atta flour...not sourdough bread, but I'm sure it should be fine, since it's basically fine wholemeal flour.

Adam T's picture
Adam T 2008 March 21
We use it at work, but in small portions, to larger quantities of Organic white flour and organic rye flour, in our 'Pain De Campaign'. So unfortunately I do not have any experience using it on it's own.
JohnD's picture
JohnD 2008 March 23

Atta is used in India to make most traditional doughs for various flatbreads, particularly chapatti.It is supposed to be a stone ground sifted wholemeal,with the coarsest bran removed, and is a brown flour,still with germ. But you can buy a few varieties of what are supposed to be atta and sometimes are. A really authentic biodynamic one is made by Four leaf in SA its their light w/m. Its softer than the ones from the bread wheat millers,and so better for atta purposes....which usually isnt risen bread in the western sense....Indian wheat isnt that strong generally.

Nevertheless, you can make beautiful s/d with it.if it is good like the Fourleaf one.just have to keep times short as its soft.it wont be as big as otherloaves,but makes up for it in flavour.

The europeans use it traditionally too,its just not called atta, and its the favoured common historical sourdough from europe, made with this sifted wholemeal, def not u/b white.

 

jem 2008 March 23
Interesting, and thanks for the welcome.
I initially bought atta flour to make more authenic chapattis.

I did not know it had the bran filtered out, only that it was a nicer wholemeal to work with.

Before I started using atta flour I would always try to increase the wholemeal % of by breads, but eventually lose out on texture. I find I can get something that doesn't fall apart when I slice it if I just use atta flour (although you master bakers might have a way of getting a better crumb with normal wholemeal)

Anyway, if it is something like traditional flours for sourdough I am encouraged and will give it a try.

By the way, I am using it for my starter, the reasoning being that the culture gets selected to work on the flour that I will eventually use it in. That should be OK shoudn't it?
JohnD's picture
JohnD 2008 March 24

If your wholemeal is falling apart,sounds like the flour is too weak,or you are fermenting it too much/too long/too much starter?( 3 options).

 i agree,about using same flour in leaven and bread,but it isnt set in stone at all.

LMAshton's picture
LMAshton 2008 April 4
I'm enjoying this thread - atta flour is the only whole wheat flour I can find here in Sri Lanka.  I didn't know until this thread that it had the bran removed, nor did I know I can use it in breads since I've only seen it used in chapattis, rotis, and such.  Thanks!  :)

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