Cheers from Downunder (I have no-one to talk cake to, I live in a small town) Thanks so much for everything I’ve learned so far. You need to stir it to equalise the temperature and to make sure that you’re not getting a reading from a ‘hot-spot’. My sponge cakes are lighter! Also, other precaution such as not using aluminum film and lead based paints in microwave have to be followed. So when you use 280gm you will be losing around 30-33gms of the original weight. I just wish Tesco would stock the OO again as I’ve just about finished my supply. I just wanted to let you all know that I have found a place that sells heat treated cake flour (protein content of 7.2 – 8.1%) on line. Rehydration – I generally do this only if the flour feels/looks very dried out after being microwaved. I’ll definitely be making up some kate flour of my own asap! Thanks a million x. Because of its performance, and the conclusions I've drawn from my own research, bleached cake flour will always have a place in my pantry, particularly considering the very limited scope of its use: a unique subset of recipes that are intended to be enjoyed in moderation. I always read about adding corn starch to all purpose flour to substitute for cake flour, but I’ve never tried that because I was afraid the cornstarch would suck up all the liquid and turn the cake dry (not sure if that actually happens, just a thought). I am originally from the Philippines but migrated to the UK 10yrs ago. For more flour than this, add no more than 1/4 teaspoon. Hi Liz – sorry to hear that your flour is so out of date! ( Log Out /
I pour the hot water into a pyrex bowl (it makes the procedure slightly less sloppy than pouring it into a baking tray, which I originally used) on the shelf below the flour. All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. 2) Have you used your flour for pie crust? Just a few particulars I am using a Panasonic microwave with 1000W and a therms pen for measuring… It also is fan operated, could that be a reason ? Many Thanks and hope you’re having a lovely weekend? In your experience does the kate flour work better for both butter and genoise-type cakes or is it better in only butter cakes? Keep up the great work. In my experience, it’s more likely to need some sort of rehydration if the heat-treatment temp has been reached quickly (the flour is also more likely to be toasted too).
I’d buy it!!! I no longer groan in frustration when I see “cake flour” in a recipe, and am so excited to try all the cakes that I skipped over until now. 1, Sosland Pub., 2008.
The observing of fire could also be due to over heating of flour. 3. I know I will be discovering so much now I have over come my fear. Any advice would be great and thank you so much for such an interesting take on baking – truly amazing! Hi Kate,
Using plain flour will result in a very spongey and eggy texture. 2. So yes, I think the taste of chemical bleaching is probably something that is less noticed by those who have grown up eating cakes made with bleached flour. I’ve recently baked 2 cakes using Kate flour (made with McDougalls 00) and whilst they’ve both tasted great with a excellent texture they’ve both sunk in the middle once take out of the oven.
What a good job you’ve done. I have been reading about your work for the last 2 days both from your own blog and via info from Rose’s website ( I initially went on there with a query re the US and UK versions of her book and was kindly redirected to you from another poster.) grams per {{du.name|lowercase}}. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Forgive my ignorance, but if the purpose of all this is to heat-treat the flour to remove the moisture, why does it have to be re-hydrated (in step #7)? Why would you want to convert UK (unbleached) flour to US (bleached) flour when this version (UK) of the book was written specifically for the UK market and you are resident in the UK?! can you use this method to make steamed chinese buns? In addition to whitening, gaseous chlorine can partially break down amylose and amylopectin fragments of the flour, improve protein solubility, degrade pentosans and modify the flour lipid profile. I find that sort of hard to believe, because if it were really that great, you'd think that they'd have put microwaved flour on the market years ago......but it's certainly worth a try at home! The result is a highly absorbent dry mix that soaks up way too much moisture, for a cake that bakes up heavy and dense. Think You’ve Tried Everything to Boost Protein? Potato flour has different starch composition as compared to corn or wheat.
Two thoughts occurred to me as to why this might be: first that I omitted the hydration step before using the flour; second that using Kate flour in a genoise rather than a butter cake might explain the difference. Flour bleaching with additives was introduced following a 1906 Congressional Landmark Pure Food and Drug Act which addressed the safety of chemical additives. I love US cakes and you just don’t get the result with the “cake flour” on supermarket shelves.It is not bleached and in any case the protein content is still too high. or your cake may be very dry. Comments can take a minute to appear—please be patient! The shift toward acidity inhibits browning, a major no-no for crusty breads and golden cookies, but a lovely touch when it comes to the snowy crumb of an angel food cake. The history of angel food cake is directly tied to the invention of bleached cake flour in the 19th century, but that's a whole 'nother story. Color formation in flour is my two different mechanisms firstly, due to protein and starch at low moisture and peeling of starch (formation of dicarbonyl compounds).
Kate, I discovered your blog through Rose LB’s website which I resorted to in a fit of frustration after attempting to make her “Downy Yellow Butter Cake”.
Does the Carr’s flour in your experience work well in butter cakes? 2) I agree with you, perhaps what’s being called plain here could actually be called pastry because of it’s gluten %. Processing.
It’s so frustrating that it isn’t allowed in the UK! Additional plaudits seeing as you’ve managed all this with tiny child and home kitchen. I just don’t get it. I am in Norway and just starting up my weddingcake business. I am an American living in Mid-Sussex and have been stumbling along using my American recipes with U.K. ingredients with varying results. Follow along as we develop a recipe from start to finish. Sieve the flour and discard any residue. I’m planning on making my wedding cake and as a first step carried out some initial comparisons between flours etc for a genoise sponge using the recipe from Rose’s heavenly cakes (from the White Gold passion genoise). I've gone down a fun google rabbit hole and stumbled across this General Mills patent from the early 90s in which they talk about microwaving flour to mimic the effects of chlorine bleaching for producing cake mixes for international markets. The best we figured out how to do at my work was half that dove gluten free flour you can get at tescos, half pastry flour, or plain flour in a pinch. I’ve also recently bought some T45 flour called Fleur de Lys from a French delicatessan near to me.
Baking with Fermented Dough. Thaaaaaaaank so much ! Heat-treatment, in my experience, doesn’t give this same taste. They sometimes stock different brands of 00 flour.
The only “stronger” flours are those made with semola/semolina for bread making. The Role of Yeast in Baking, Nutrition and Health, BAKED in Science S2E35: Baking with Ancient Grains, A Proof Tolerant Yeast to Control Your Dough, Learn Your Own Way at the BAKERpedia Academy.
5. Not been in touch for a while but I’ve been delighted to read of your co-operation with Rose, the queen of cakes! I haven’t tried it yet, but Sainsburys seem to have stopped selling my own favourite brand of 00 flour so I think I’ll be ordering some from Shipton Mill myself soon. I’ve never come across dumpling/bun flour, but I’ll certainly keep my eyes open for it.