Bacheldre Watermill Organic Stoneground Strong 100% Wholemeal Flour 16 kg

Bacheldre Mill 100 per cent extraction wholemeal flour retains all the bran and all the wheat germ for maximum taste and nourishment. However, the more bran a flour contains the more water is required for a satisfactory dough because the bran, given time, is more absorbent. If not given sufficient water and time, the bran fragments only wet on the outside, the inside remains dry.‘Slow bread’ is the answer. Ideally, using a Kenwood mixer with the paddle attachment, start the dough in the evening by making a ‘batter’ or ‘sponge’. Change to the dough hook then leave overnight in the Kenwood bowl. Finish the mix in the morning. Leave to prove for a few hours. Place in a mould. Bake to perfection at 220 degrees for 50 minutes.METHODPADDLEBatter = 500g water + 3 pinches of fast action yeast (i.e. not more than 2g) + 400g wholemeal flour added graduallyLeave overnight for the yeast to develop.HOOKAdd 10g salt to condition the yeast & make the dough more elastic (+10g caraway seed if desired) + 300g wholemeal flour added gradually & mixed thoroughly. Leave to stand in the mixer for an hour or so.Give the mix a final stir with the hook then place the soft sticky dough in a 2 lb (9” x 4”) silicone loaf tin and leave to stand for another 2 or 3 hours. Covered with an upturned plastic bowl if possible. Because of the high bran content this dough will shrink a little during baking. The natural sweetness of this beautiful flour is enhanced when the bread is sliced and lightly toasted.“It often seems that the only measure of flour quality that counts is loaf volume. . . . there is an inverse correlation between volume and nutritional value. The more white flour there is in a dough, the more gluten and hence the bigger the aggregate volume of all fermentation gases trapped in the dough structure. The bran layers and the wheat germ, where almost all the minerals and micronutrients reside, are not capable of holding gas: they act as a dead weight which must be ‘carried’ by the gluten structure. So any dough with an appreciable amount of bran and germ (e.g. made with a flour of 85 per cent extraction or higher) cannot be expected to expand to the volume of its all-white counterpart. . . . Let’s have a little less stress on structural engineering and a little more on flavour and nutrition. Bread is food after all.” Page 82 BREAD MATTERS Andrew Whitley.“YEAST. If the dough is to be fermented slowly overnight, only 0.25% of flour weight, barely a gram per pound/500 gm is needed. (one gram still contains millions of yeast cells.) As a general rule, the less prepared yeast goes into the dough, and the longer dough is allowed to rise, the better the flavour of the finished bread. This is because the concentrated yeast has its own somewhat harsh flavour, and because the process of fermentation generates a variety of desirable flavour compounds.” Page 535 McGEE on FOOD & COOKING Harold McGee

I always use wholemeal in bread at 60% or less as I find the bread too heavy with more wholemeal. Even using only 50% in my first attempts with this wholemeal I found it gave a sawdust texture to the bread, some people probably think this indicates its healthy properties. To me it means it is not a pleasure to eat and possible indigestion. Not wanting to throw away nearly 16Kg of flour I experimented. Using 50% of this and all the water of the recipe, mixing them together. After leaving for five minutes I add the rest of the flours 40% of strong white and 10% Kamut Khorasan wheat flour (you can not beat that flour for taste and although expensive at 10% it is not going to break the bank, look at the reviews). The soaking of the wholemeal softens it and takes away that woodfibre texture from the bread.

This is the second batch of flour I have bought from Bacheldre Mill and I am not disappointed. This is stoneground and quite a coarse flour, which I prefer to much of the finer ones on the market. On its own, it makes a dense loaf although not so tough as to make eating difficult and it has a good flavour. If you want a lighter loaf, mix up to 50% white flour - I use about 25%, but make a 5 seed loaf using only whole meal flour and enjoy both types equally. Using the Poolish method and preparing the dough 24 hours ahead, I make a loaf that I like and the rest of the family enjoy too. Not light and fluffy, it makes great toast and, thinly sliced, good sandwiches - absolutely made for strong cheese and thick soups.

My first objection was that the bag's outer transparent polythene sack had been torn, and underneath the Best Before Date written on the paper sack had been altered by a marker pen, extending it by another 6 months or so, thus overwriting the original marked date. This put me off as far as the authenticity of the product's quality was concerned. When I kneaded it for the chappati bread, it was too rubbery and not good for what I had bought it for. May be mixed half and half with other flour may have improved the outcome. But the altered Expiry date had put me off and I had to return the product. Unless they supply me another bag free of charge as a token of goodwill gesture for their date change mistake I would not buy from them again.

Only four stars but its down to my bread making and not the flour...very good and wholesome bread and I will stick with it. Better and lighter when risen in the oven rather than start to finish in the bread maker. No more cheap soggy limp store bought bread after trying this...and it doesnt mould like it either, even though no additives. Keeps your appetite at bay on half the amount of store bought rubbish! Get real and make your own bread. This bag will last for 4 months or more.

I can't believe the difference this flour has made to my bread making. I've used the same bread making machine for years and had been using Dove Farm wholemeal flour, which was fine. I tried this flour because it was available through Subscribe and Save, but it will now be a permanent switch. The bread rises beautifully and the texture of the loaf is lighter. I add linseed and sunflower seeds to my bread mix and this flour copes really well with the added weight of the seeds.Obviously it's a big sack of flour that needs to be stored, but that's not too much of a downside when the product is so impressive.

I can't recommend this highly enough. Wish I could get more as at time of writing this review it seems to be out of stock

This flour requires are bit more water or better still mix with normal white flour on a 70/30 mix.I used the Panasonic bread maker, 70/30 mix and XL setting. From this you get a pretty normal loaf.If your looking for a wholemeal flour to use at 100% and still get a nice rise, this is probably not for you.