KABF vs KASL

[EJB]

For about the last 20 pizzas I have made I've used KABF at 63% hydration with very good and consistent results. The dough was pretty stiff after about 3 minutes of kneading in the Kitchen Aid mixer and at times when the dough got squeezed between the hook and the side of the bowl the mixer would almost stop (1413 g dough ball). When the dough came out of the bowl there was no residue left and the dough ball was tacky but not sticky and no bench flour was used. I recently made the same size dough ball with KASL and it was noticeably wetter. The mixer never struggled, there was some residue left in the bowl, and the dough was a bit sticky and required about 2 Tbsp of bench flour to get the consistency I'm used to.

If the absorption spec for KABF is 62% +- 2% and KASL is 63% +- 2% shouldn't the KABF appear wetter than the KASL if both are hydrated to 63% with the same procedures? Has anyone else noticed this?

I'm very confident that my measurements are accurate (digital scale) and the water temperature was the same as always, about 105' F. Nothing has changed except the flour.

Also, is a flour with a higher absorption spec better suited to a lower baking temperature? My thought is that a higher hydration level would not dry out as fast with a longer bake time.

And lastly would a lower absorption flour be more fragile if it was over-hydrated in an attempt to achieve the same result?

Thanks for the help.

Ed

[Pete-zza]

Ed,

My first reaction to your questions was that perhaps your dough batch size was too large for your KitchenAid stand mixer and that possibly that was responsible for the results you got when using the KASL. However, when I checked the operator's manual for my basic KitchenAid stand mixer, the only admonition was to keep the amount of flour (stated as all-purpose flour) for yeasted doughs below 8 cups. Allowing for modest hydration levels and the addition of other pizza ingredients, I estimated that my KitchenAid stand mixer can handle about 3.7 pounds of dough. In your case, at 1413 grams, the dough batch weight is a little over 3 pounds. So, it looks like you were within the recommended limit of your machine, if it is anything like mine.

The second possibility that occurred to me is that your two flours have different moisture contents. Generally speaking, at the millers where the two flours originate, the moisture content of the two flours should be the same because of the way that the millers adjust the moisture content to be within the limits required by law. However, the flours may get to your pantry via different routes and with different transit times and be subjected to different storage and environmental conditions along the way, including variations even within your own home. These changes can affect the performance of the flours. Moreover, room humidity at different times of year can also be a factor although it will not be as great as many people believe. At the moment, with the colder weather and home heating systems doing their job to warm up our kitchens, moisture will be removed from the air, making the dough seem likes it needs more hydration. Whether that was a factor with your KASL is hard to say. You may have to do some more experimenting with the KASL to see if your room humidity was a material factor in the results you got, or it was only a flour moisture content issue.

For some interesting information on rated absorption values for some of the King Arthur flours, you may want to take a look at this thread:
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,4646.msg39204.html#msg39204. You might also want to read the items linked in that thread. Unfortunately, a couple of those links are no longer active, but I think you will get the general drift of things.

With respect to your question about whether there is some sort of correlation between the absorption characteristics of flours and baking temperatures that makes one flour more suitable than another at lower baking temperatures, I can't say that I have read anything of that nature. However, all else being equal, including bake temperature, skin thickness, etc., a high hydration dough should retain moisture longer than a lower hydration dough. But, in practice, dough formulations can vary quite widely and may include ingredients like sugar and oil that also work to retain moisture in the dough during baking. In such a situation, hydration is just another aspect that has to be taken into account with all of the other aspects.

I am not sure which result you are referring to in your last question, but in general I would say that if a flour is hydrated more than its rated absorption value, it will be more fragile in the sense that the dough is likely to be more extensible and harder to handle, especially if the differences between the rated absorption value and operational hydration value are large. Under those types of conditions, the doughs should be able to retain moisture longer during the bake. But, as noted above, it is not the only factor. You might also keep in mind that it is possible to use high oven temperatures and short bake times to help retain moisture in the dough. Usually the issues in such cases is whether you get the desired degree of crust coloration with the shorter bake times.

Peter

[Glutenboy]

Same thing happened to me with Gold Medal Bread Flour (Harvest King) and All-Trumps.  I expected the AT to handle more hydration than the HK, but the absolute reverse turned out to be the case.  My Harvest King dough was above 65% while my All-Trumps dough hovers just above 61%, both with similar consistencies.  Very mysterious... 

[EJB]

The difference in moisture level of two flours seemed like a very plausible explanation as to why the doughs had a much different feel but after more experimentation I estimated the difference in moisture level would have to be more than one quart per 50 pounds of flour. While I think it's possible for the flour to be that "moist" I don't think it's likely in New England in February. So I called King Arthur Flour and I spoke with a technician there who told me that because of the higher protein content of KASL the absorption was slower and would need to be mixed "considerably longer" than dough made with KABF to achieve the same feel. He also added that since the longer mix time will heat the dough more, it may be necessary to start with a cooler water temperature.

My typical mix time once the ingredients are all incorporated and I switch to the hook in the Kitchen Aid mixer is about 5 minutes plus about 3 minutes of hand kneading.

Now the question is, do I mix longer and develop the gluetin more or do I just let it absorb during the rise time?

More questions = more experiments = more pizza!

[Pete-zza]

Ed,

I completely forgot about the protein aspect of this matter but your last post toggled my memory. Some time ago, member Trinity, who is a professional baker, raised the issue of protein and its effect on making dough at Reply 12 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,3416.msg29094.html#msg29094. You will note that Trin said that he uses up to a quart plus or minus of water (per 50#'s) of flour. As a result of Trin's post, I did some followup research but, unfortunately, the links that I posted on the results no longer work because the PMQ Think Tank forum where I found some useful information on the subject went to a new system and the old posts were not archived anywhere.

I am not sure what advice to give you at this point. On the one hand, you want to develop the gluten so that it better retains the gases of fermentation and get better dough volume but, on the other hand, you want the dough to be somewhat underkneaded and not go to full development of the gluten, which might produce a finished crust and crumb with small voids of uniform size. Too much kneading and the dough might also become overoxidized and harm the carotenoids that are responsible for a creamy crumb color, among other benefits. As between the two approaches, I think I would go in the direction of slightly underkneading and let biochemical gluten development do the rest of the work.

I'm glad you went the extra step in search of the answer.

Peter