Flour, what kind, where to buy

pularvik

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Jan 2, 2011
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I have been gifted with a lovely mixer (bosch).  I want to make bread, since this machine does most of the work!  My experience with flour here has been pretty dismal,----any directions would be appreciated.
 

AlterEgo

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I've tried every Dominican flour for bread, and they're ALL terrible. You're left with buying an imported bread flour, expensive. We ship down our bread flour [25 pound bag of bread flour from Sam's Club is about $6] and yeast [about $5 for two 1 lb. packages]. Here are some prior threads:

http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/144039-bread-flour?highlight=bread+flour
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.ph...bread-flour-in-Santiago?highlight=bread+flour
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/160407-Flour?highlight=bread+flour
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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I have been gifted with a lovely mixer (bosch).  I want to make bread, since this machine does most of the work!  My experience with flour here has been pretty dismal,----any directions would be appreciated.

Carrefour in Santo Domingo sells a 2lb bag of imported flour, which is fairly decent for making pie crusts. i have no idea how it would work for bread. it cant be any worse than the regular Dominican stuff, which is plain atrocious.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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where are you located? some dominican supermarkets carry good imported flour. all la sirena stores have hipster food sections (also available in el nacional and bravo stores) with a wide choice of bob's red mill flours.
el nacional in santiago and playero in sosua both have some italian brands of flour for breads and pizzas with high protein content. these can be found next to regular flour, jose luis in puerto plata has pillsbury. i have also seen on occasions gold medal and king arthur flours.

i do not recommend dominican flours for bread but you can get local harina integral (wholewheat flour) for darker breads, it will work fine. you can try adding germen de trigo (wheat germ) to breads to hive them more body. regular rice flour from goya is good for dusting baking pans and bread baskets.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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You might call the german sosua bakery (Moser) or the french in PP and ask what they use?

commercial bread baking is probably further from home baking than you think. there is a company called levapan (international brand, also present in DR) that has tons of various products for commercial baking. from pastry fillings and colourants to improving agents and other stuff that helps to keep the dough moist and fresh. they also carry ready mixes to be used in making baguettes, bagels, donuts and so on.

most of it is useless to home bakers, sadly, because it comes in huge bags but they also make smaller packages of fresh and dry years, baking powder, dyes, gelatin, icing sugar and more.

here's a link to their website:
http://levapan.com.do/
 

Abuela

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May 13, 2006
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You might call the german sosua bakery (Moser) or the french in PP and ask what they use?


Sadly, Moser's closed almost a year ago, so take this one out of the mix if you'll pardon the pun.
 

the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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commercial bread baking is probably further from home baking than you think. there is a company called levapan (international brand, also present in DR) that has tons of various products for commercial baking. from pastry fillings and colourants to improving agents and other stuff that helps to keep the dough moist and fresh. they also carry ready mixes to be used in making baguettes, bagels, donuts and so on.

most of it is useless to home bakers, sadly, because it comes in huge bags but they also make smaller packages of fresh and dry years, baking powder, dyes, gelatin, icing sugar and more.

here's a link to their website:
http://levapan.com.do/

there is also a company in Los Alcarrizos called NTD Ingredients which offers the same ingredients..including flours and special butters and margerines for puff pastry and croissants.
 

Meemselle

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Oct 27, 2014
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I have been gifted with a lovely mixer (bosch).  I want to make bread, since this machine does most of the work!  My experience with flour here has been pretty dismal,----any directions would be appreciated.

What are you doing with it? Pastry? Bread?

I am a serious bread baker, and when I came, with recipes that NEVER failed me, and lo and behold, my fency French yeast didn't work here. I called King Arthur Flour Bakers' Hotline, and one of those geniuses told me to use local yeast, and guess what. I would still insist on unbleached flour, which can be found without much problems. At least on the North Coast.
 

AlterEgo

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What are you doing with it? Pastry? Bread?

I am a serious bread baker, and when I came, with recipes that NEVER failed me, and lo and behold, my fency French yeast didn't work here. I called King Arthur Flour Bakers' Hotline, and one of those geniuses told me to use local yeast, and guess what. I would still insist on unbleached flour, which can be found without much problems. At least on the North Coast.



Were you using King Arthur's bread flour?  Good product, but pricey.  

I've used the Levapan yeast they sell in DR, not bad. Bread takes a yellow cast for some reason.  
 

monfongo

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Feb 10, 2005
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Go online, many company's in the U S sell 50 lb bags of pre-mixed bread,all you do is ad add water,It's idiot proof and good. You don't really believe all those super markets are making their own bread and doughnuts from scratch.
 

dv8

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I've used the Levapan yeast they sell in DR, not bad. Bread takes a yellow cast for some reason.  

i use fresh yeast from levapan. gives amazeballs rise. that's for sweet breads, babkas, brioche and yeasted breads. i also make sourdough breads using dark rye flour started i made few months ago. i add a pinch of dry yeast to those to give the dough an extra kick.
 

AlterEgo

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i use fresh yeast from levapan. gives amazeballs rise. that's for sweet breads, babkas, brioche and yeasted breads. i also make sourdough breads using dark rye flour started i made few months ago. i add a pinch of dry yeast to those to give the dough an extra kick.



Where do you buy the fresh yeast?  I'm guessing this is not the levadura seca in the bottle with the red cap.........  I've never seen anything else.
 

the gorgon

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Where do you buy the fresh yeast?  I'm guessing this is not the levadura seca in the bottle with the red cap.........  I've never seen anything else.

it is usually in the section with things like butter, cream cheese, and sour cream. it is fresh, so had to be refrigerated. it comes in blocks, like butter..
 

AlterEgo

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it is usually in the section with things like butter, cream cheese, and sour cream. it is fresh, so had to be refrigerated. it comes in blocks, like butter..



I'm pretty sure our La Sirena in San Cristobal doesn't carry it, but maybe I looked right past it.  Thanks!
 

dv8

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as gorgon said, fridge section, next to butter. now you say it i cannot remember if i saw it in our local la sirena but i know jose luis always has it. it gives really superior dough in terms of rise: very fluffy, tall and delicate. the downside is that it only comes in one size, half a kilo brick. given the fact that most bread recipes would call for about 20 gr that thing lasts forever. i solved this issue by trying some old school polish recipes from 19th century, they call for 40 or 50 gr of yeast per pop. i have to cut down on it tho because i get constant accusations that i am making my FIL fat. well, i make him sweet bread, yes, but he's the one who eats half of it in one sitting.