Honeyville Hi-Gluten Flour & CHEAP shipping.

[Plexiprs]

New member and first post as I am learning more by keeping my mouth shut.  But, this seemed too good to be true, so I thought I'd post and see what you real pizza experts think.

Searching for Hi-Gluten flour and found this:

Honeyville's XL Premium High Gluten Flour (Bleached) is milled from sound, scientifically cleaned and specifically selected spring wheat, to produce a premium quality high gluten-patent flour.

Protein:   14.0% -14.5%

Their On-line Store

Please also see on the right of their screen the Ship Anywhere in the U.S. for $4.49 ..... 

I know it is bleached; they have unbleached, but it is only 13.1% -13.8% protein.

I did a trail run shopping cart and 6-50 lb bags to Las Vegas was UPS Ground for .... $4.49

So, what's wrong with their flour/company/reputation??  Please add to this if you have any experience with them and their products!

[Pete-zza]

Plexiprs,

If you are planning on buying six 50-lb. bags of flour, or anything above one bag for that matter, you would be getting a pretty good price. However, if you are really thinking about getting only one 50-lb. bag, you might find it a bit cheaper, even after adding shipping charges, to use someone like Chefswarehouse, at http://www.chefswarehouse.com/Catalog/DisplayDetail.aspx?prd_id=GF210. Honeyville apparently prices a good part of the shipping charges in their initial price, whereas others price the flour normally and charge for shipping separately. PennMac, at pennmac.com, also prices the product normally and shipping charges separately. With PennMac, it pays to live close by because the shipping charges go up quite quickly the farther away you are from them.

My practice is to run the numbers through all the potential sources and compare total price. You will note that both Chef's Warehouse and PennMac carry the All Trumps high-gluten flour, which is considered one of the premium high-gluten flours. You will see that their prices for the 50-lb. bag are much lower than Honeyville's prices, but the shipping charges bring the totals up.

Peter

[Plexiprs]

......Honeyville apparently prices a good part of the shipping charges in their initial price, whereas others price the flour normally and charge for shipping separately.........

My practice is to run the numbers through all the potential sources and compare total price.

Thanks Pete-zza, and I too normally run all the prices to completion.  It did seem like quite the deal and I'm still investigating other sources.

I was surprised that Honeyville seem to be quite a supply point in multiple locations but had no previous discussion here. Perhaps we have discovered the reason!   

[Pete-zza]

Plexiprs,

One of our members, MWTC, has tried a few of the Honeyville flours, as noted at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,4625.msg45339.html#msg45339 (Reply 46) and  http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,3831.msg32034.html#msg32034 (Reply 48).

Peter

[Pete-zza]

Plexiprs,

This is also a good thread on potential sources of high-gluten flour, in this case mainly the King Arthur Sir Lancelot high-gluten flour http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1907.msg10062.html#msg10062.

Peter

[MWTC]

I have tried the Honeyville unbleached Hi-gluten flour and have found it to be excellent. You won't go wrong with that brand of flour.

I have found through experimentation that the All-Trumps Non-bromated Hi-gluten flour has a slightly better flavor profile.

The KASL is also an excellent choice. It's a slightly blanker slate than the All-Trumps and the Honeyville but doesn't disappoint.

I can pickup 50lb bags of All-Trumps for under $20.00. So the choice is very easy for me. I now know why NY chooses All-Trumps!!!

MWTC 

[pizzoid]

So, what's wrong with their flour/company/reputation??  Please add to this if you have any experience with them and their products!

Can't comment on the product, but the price is suspect. At $44 a 50 lb. bag, it doesn't compare with the ~$20 you'll pay for 50 lbs. of KASL from a foodservice wholesaler, or cash & carry (last bag, I paid $25 from the bakery at the local supermarket for that!)

It's seems some of the shipping is hidden in the price.

- pizzoid

[Jackitup]

I get mine from Con Agra flour mill a few blocks from me for about 8 bucks for a 50 lb bag, but before I started getting it from them I got it from a local bakery. They didn't always have it on hand to buy partial bags but were happy to order me full 50 lb bags for 15-20 bucks. Call bakeries in your area and ask for the manager and see if they will accommodate you, most will. I use it for bread making too so it gets used up and if not the savings is still worth it if you have to toss it, or split a bag with a friend who bakes too.
Jon

[austinstrickland]

Plexiprs,

If you are planning on buying six 50-lb. bags of flour, or anything above one bag for that matter, you would be getting a pretty good price. However, if you are really thinking about getting only one 50-lb. bag, you might find it a bit cheaper, even after adding shipping charges, to use someone like Chefswarehouse, at http://www.chefswarehouse.com/Catalog/DisplayDetail.aspx?prd_id=GF210. Honeyville apparently prices a good part of the shipping charges in their initial price, whereas others price the flour normally and charge for shipping company services separately. PennMac, at pennmac.com, also prices the product normally and shipping charges separately. With PennMac, it pays to live close by because the shipping charges go up quite quickly the farther away you are from them.

My practice is to run the numbers through all the potential sources and compare total price. You will note that both Chef's Warehouse and PennMac carry the All Trumps high-gluten flour, which is considered one of the premium high-gluten flours. You will see that their prices for the 50-lb. bag are much lower than Honeyville's prices, but the shipping charges bring the totals up.

Peter

Thanks for the info. What do you think about King Arthur Sir Lancelot Hi-Gluten Flour. I heard that it is also good.
They claim "This is the highest-gluten flour (14.2% protein) available on the retail market today. It's a must-have for lusty, extra-chewy artisan breads, and breads made with lots of whole grains."