I'm a little late to the party, but I've been so taken out of my comfort zone lately that I really wanted to share my experiences. I've been baking for more decades than I like to think about. And for most of those decades, I've used King Arthur flour. With the pandemic, it became impossible to find and so, after reading a little blurb in a magazine (I think it was
Saveur but am not certain), I looked at the website of a place called Barton Springs Mill in Texas. (They are obviously one of dozens, if not hundreds, but since I don't have the patience to sort through them all, and since one was recommended, I visited it.)
I really liked their website: they have a nice, but not overwhelming, selection of different flours and a lot of incredibly helpful information and FAQs (including some charts recommending specific flours for specific applications). I also like that you can order as little as 2.5 pounds at a time and that you can order many of the flours as either whole wheat or 00. Now the flour is not cheap, but when you consider what you're getting.... In any event, price is something everyone needs to decide for themselves.
The point of my post is that I've been baking with these flours lately and it's like night and day. KA flour is great, but it has no "character." It works beautifully and makes wonderful items, but there is no distinctive flour taste. I've made bread with these new flours alone (generally hard red) and the flavors just jump out at you. Whether I like them or not, it's incredible to see how much flavor "plain old flour" can have. I feel like I've been doing it wrong all these years. We have gotten so used to cakes and cookies and breads and pastries that need gussying up precisely because the flour no longer has any flavor of its own. Just like chicken and pork and.... Well, you get the idea.
If you're interested, I'd urge you to at least take a look at
their site. Who knows, you might even like this "artisanal" flour (my appellation, not theirs). Happy baking!
Gypsy Boy
"I am not a glutton--I am an explorer of food." (Erma Bombeck)