All Purpose Flour - To bleach or not to bleach (european, bread)

[mmyk72]

I saw bags of AP flour in the store shelve so I just grabbed it... something is better than nothing. It's Pillsbury brand bleached flour. What I've been using is King Arthur UNBLEACHED flour. Is bleached version going to taste different? I would've preferred less chemical processing but didnt read the label as I got too excited seeing any flour at all.

[elnina]

You might feel a very faint bitter taste, but most people don't.
https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-...d-flour-223858

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I prefer to use the unbleached flour. I think it tastes better. But not enough better that I would throw out a bag of bleached flour.



Use the bleached flour in recipes that use spices and you won't be able to tell the difference. I've always found the Pillsbury flour to be good flour. You'll be happy enough to use it, and like you say: its flour and you got your hands on it.

[mmyk72]

Great! thanks for the replies.

[Bamaman1]

What's hard to find is bread flour--and yeast. It's almost like everyone is going to bake their own bread in this coronavirus time. They're not.

I finally found 10 lbs. of bread flour at Publix after searching at least 10 large supermarkets in the last week.

[Southern man]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

I saw bags of AP flour in the store shelve so I just grabbed it... something is better than nothing. It's Pillsbury brand bleached flour. What I've been using is King Arthur UNBLEACHED flour. Is bleached version going to taste different? I would've preferred less chemical processing but didnt read the label as I got too excited seeing any flour at all.

I make focaccia weekly and I am about out of AP unbleached. I have tried AP bleached and the dough is almost too sticky to work.

[Southern man]

There's plenty of flour available. Just look on Ebay. I suspect Ebay is why there is a shortage. The bay traders bought it all up when this started and are trying to make quick buck.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...g&_dcat=257942

[RDM66]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

I saw bags of AP flour in the store shelve so I just grabbed it... something is better than nothing. It's Pillsbury brand bleached flour. What I've been using is King Arthur UNBLEACHED flour. Is bleached version going to taste different? I would've preferred less chemical processing but didnt read the label as I got too excited seeing any flour at all.

Unbleached flour is better for you. Oddly, many European countries actually ban the sale of bleached and bromated flour, citing studies that the bleaching agent is possibly cancerous.

When one of the stores near me ran out of flour and yeast they got creative. First, they sold yeast through their bakery. The bakery workers would measure out enough commercial yeast to make about 4 loaves of bread and sell it to you for $1 in small condiment cups. Then when all of the major brands of flour flew off the shelves, they sold bags of Hecker's Unbleached Flour for only $3 each (5lb sacks). I was excited because I had always wanted to bake with Hecker's, but it's impossible to find. Hecker's is a brand that is only sold to restaunts and professional bakeries. I also know that it's Ina Garten's favorite brand of flour. I was able to snag 10lbs of Hecker's for $6. (It sells on Amazon for $18 for a 5lb bag.)

That was 3 weeks ago. Since then the grocery stores have been able to restock regular flour and yeast.

[charlygal]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

I saw bags of AP flour in the store shelve so I just grabbed it... something is better than nothing. It's Pillsbury brand bleached flour. What I've been using is King Arthur UNBLEACHED flour. Is bleached version going to taste different? I would've preferred less chemical processing but didnt read the label as I got too excited seeing any flour at all.

For general use, it won't make a difference. If you were making cakes, bleached performs better.

[mainebrokerman]

Flour has quite the history
With gristmills in most small towns
Years ago


I’m seeing flour in stores now