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There are subtler differences in baking quality that come from the wheat, and some from the milling. The most obvious difference in flours is how finely they have been ground. Hammermilled or rollermilled flour, even when it comes from a small mill that grinds in only one step, will be extremely fine, making light bread of a fine, resilient texture. Stone-ground flour can also be finely ground, but our own favorite among commercial stone-ground flours is quite rough. It makes wonderfully nubbly loaves of excellent flavor that are very tender. The large bran particles, softened in fermentation, make excellent dietary fiber. Properly stone-ground flour should feel smooth except for the bran particles—the white part shouldn’t be grainy feeling.

Stone grinding is as controversial as it is full of mystique, but it is true that the flour is different; whether it is better is perhaps debatable, but we very much prefer it for our daily bread. It is true that commercial stone-ground flour from a reputable mill is usually more expensive, because these mills can never match the volume of the faster hammermills or rollermills.

Advocates of stonemilling—ourselves included—have felt that the flour might well taste better and keep fresher because the slower speed of stone mills protects the flour from heating up as it is ground. This may still be true as a general rule, but now we know at least one conscientious commercial miller of whole grains who has air-coolers for both his stone mill and his hammermills to make sure neither heats up as it grinds. The only way to be sure about flour is to see how it works.

GAUGING FLOUR QUALITY

If you shop around and try all the flours you can find in your area, you will hit on some you like much better than others, and probably settle on two or three that you like for particular strengths they have: a super high-gluten, finely ground flour for making fruited and mixed-grain breads, for example; a coarse, slightly lower-gluten flour with outstanding flavor for French and other plainer loaves.

One thing to keep in mind is that whole wheat flour will also vary noticeably from year to year. Spring wheat is harvested in the fall; winter wheat, in early summer. Millers let newly harvested wheat cure for 90 days before they grind it, so some time in November, the first of the new spring wheat flour makes its debut. You will notice the difference in your bread.

Baking Test for Flour Quality

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (¼ oz or 7 g)

1 cup warm water (235 ml)

6 cups whole wheat flour (900 g)

2 ½ teaspoons salt (14 g)

1 ½ cups water, approximately (355 ml)

2 tablespoons honey (30 ml)

2 tablespoons bland oil (30 ml)

If you want to make a choice about what flour to get regularly, or, even more, if you want to choose a wheat to buy in bulk for grinding in your own mill, you may find it useful to take a more careful look at the baking qualities of the flour or wheat you are considering. This baking test is modeled on one professionals use for this purpose, and it can be very helpful in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of any flour. Use these ingredients to make bread according to the basic Whole Wheat Bread recipe.

Date: Type of wheat: Type of grind:

CHARACTER OF FLOUR: coarse/granular/fine/powdery/rough/soft

Bran flecks: large/medium/small Taste: fresh/stale/musty/sour/rancid/mild

AMOUNT OF WATER ABSORBED: cups

KNEADING TIME: minutes by hand/by dough hook/in food processor

DOUGH ELASTICITY: elastic/not very elastic/not at all elastic

GASSING POWER AT 80°F:

First rise: less than double/double/triple. Time:

Second rise: less than double/double/triple. Time:

ROUND & REST Spring of tense dough to finger poke: strong/slow

Time required to relax: minutes. Dough stability: stable/runny

GASSING POWER AT 90°F PROOF: sluggish/vigorous

Time required to proof: Rise: inches above/below pan rim

OVEN SPRING Baked height above pan rim inches. Spring: inches.

CRUST COLOR: pale/medium/dark

BAKED minutes at °F

BREAD CRUMB Color: pale and bright/gray/dark/streaked