Adding Gluten to Bread

[Zeb]

It is my understanding that the flour in Mexico is typically low in gluten content. In order to bake a good bread, a certain amount of gluten in needed. My question is this--is gluten readily available or does it need to be purchased at a specialty shop?

I have been using King Arthur Flour which makes a good bread, however, that is in US.

Any bread bakers out there, I'd appreciate your input.

[ajijicbound]

I think they sell gluten at the spice store next to gossips in Ajijic

[callejera]

Superlake usually has King Arthur Flour - I just bought a bag of unbleached all-purpose flour there. But when they run out sometimes it is a while before it's back in stock. Also Superlake has Bob's Red Mill Gluten and they even carry a selection of the high-gluten Italian 00 flours and semolina for making pasta. Also, the little gourmet store "Casa Gourmet" has a small selection of Bob's Red Mill stuff but now they are also bagging their own specialty flours under their own label. I just bought a bag of their garbanzo flour a few days ago.

None of this stuff is cheap, but you can get it if you can't get the balances right adding gluten to the Mexican flour.

For what it's worth, I never have had any problem with Mexican flour though I was making cookies and pastry, not bread...

[fordtruckman]

I get good results using local flour for bread but get better results using bread flour.

[holdrja]

I bake whole grain breads so I have always added gluten to the dough. I buy whole wheat flour at Walmart and get the gluten at SuperLake. The mixture seems to work as well as the NOB flours/glutens did.

[More Liana]

My wife is a recent convert to bread-baking. She prefers to make country-style boule (with an initial sponge) and uses Tres Estrellas Harina de Trigo San Antonio brand white flour, which has a higher gluten content than most flour available in Mexico. She also adds a small amount of whole wheat flour to the dough.

She hasn't needed to add gluten. The bread is always excellent: great rise, great elasticity, excellent 'oven spring', and super crust and texture. We haven't bought bread for months.

Your success should be equally good. We're more than 2000 feet higher in altitude than you are, so it took some tinkering with recipes and quantities to get it right--but she's definitely gotten it right.

The flour is available almost everywhere, including at Wal-Mart.

[Zeb]

My wife is a recent convert to bread-baking. She prefers to make country-style boule (with an initial sponge) and uses Tres Estrellas Harina de Trigo San Antonio brand white flour, which has a higher gluten content than most flour available in Mexico. She also adds a small amount of whole wheat flour to the dough.

She hasn't needed to add gluten. The bread is always excellent: great rise, great elasticity, excellent 'oven spring', and super crust and texture. We haven't bought bread for months.

Your success should be equally good. We're more than 2000 feet higher in altitude than you are, so it took some tinkering with recipes and quantities to get it right--but she's definitely gotten it right.

The flour is available almost everywhere, including at Wal-Mart.

That's great! I also make the same type of bread, European style crusty bread. I have various recipes, some of which I start with a sponge and I mix things up a bit. I haven't consumed store bought bread in years, as what I can make at home is so much better and cheaper.

[Serenity6]

Now I want bread. Any of you breadmakers do deliveries?

[Zeb]

Now I want bread. Any of you breadmakers do deliveries

I am sure fee for service can be arranged by some of us.

[Nancy in CO]

It's my understanding that the higher the protein content of flour the higher the gluten. So a flour with 14% protein has more gluten than one with 11%. That being said, because I make bread that's half white and half whole grain (whole wheat and rye) I always add one tablespoon of gluten for each cup or partial cup of non-white flour (in my case it would be 2 Tbs). I buy gluten at a baking supply store in Morelia, along with the rye flour. I can get whole wheat (harina integral) at local grocery stores that sell it in bulk.

I used to bake bread in Colorado at the same altitude as Pátzcuaro (7200 feet), and the rule of thumb was to decrease yeast and increase salt. (Salt depresses yeast action.) You'll want to do both of these things because higher altitude and the subesquent lower atmospheric pressure makes bread rise too much. We've all discovered the disappointment of cutting into a fresh loaf and findiing that the bottom half is dense but the top is too open and puffy to hold together.

So read the back of the package and select flour with a high protein content. I think that's all bread flour is--high protein flour.

There's nothing like baking your own bread, is there? I've made bread most of my adult life, and find it very satisfying. However, for other baked goods, like scones, I use a lower-protein flour.

Nancy in Pátzcuaro

[AlanMexicali]

My wife is a recent convert to bread-baking. She prefers to make country-style boule (with an initial sponge) and uses Tres Estrellas Harina de Trigo San Antonio brand white flour, which has a higher gluten content than most flour available in Mexico. She also adds a small amount of whole wheat flour to the dough.

She hasn't needed to add gluten. The bread is always excellent: great rise, great elasticity, excellent 'oven spring', and super crust and texture. We haven't bought bread for months.

Your success should be equally good. We're more than 2000 feet higher in altitude than you are, so it took some tinkering with recipes and quantities to get it right--but she's definitely gotten it right.

The flour is available almost everywhere, including at Wal-Mart.

I remember decades ago in Mexico that many small local bakeries sold sweet bread that would cumble into small pieces when you bite into it. My friend said it was because they buy cheap flour and it contains low amounts of gluten and they don´t add gluten. Then these small backeries started selling sweet bread that didn´t crumble as before. I wonder if this was the case?