Folic Acid & Flour: What Bakers Need to Know
You may have noticed something new appearing on flour bags recently, namely folic acid. Although it won’t become a legal requirement until December 2026, many UK millers have already begun including it, so bakers are starting to see “folic acid” listed among the fortification ingredients.
If you’re wondering why it’s ... Read more
What’s What? With so many terms used in bread baking and flour milling, it can be tricky to keep them straight. Our glossary explains common words like autolyse, banneton, W value and wholemeal in plain English, helping bakers of all levels understand artisan bread making.
Some terms, like the Italian 0-system or the French T-system, deserve their own full articles, but this glossary gives ... Read more
Elasticity vs. Extensibility in Bread Dough: What’s the Difference?
Understanding how and why your dough behaves the way it does is a key part of mastering bread baking.
Two fundamental properties of dough are elasticity and extensibility. They might sound almost the same, but they are actually quite different.
These two properties are affected by two naturally occurring proteins in the flour ... Read more
Sekowa Special Baking Ferment
We have got a great Sekowa (pronounced “Sek-o-va”) introduction and recipe on our Sekowa produce page.
But I wanted to extend on this for beginner’s top tips. I am very new to bread making, so I am yet to learn how your dough should look to be successful. It’s taking a bit of trial and error to get the perfect loaf. But here are a few ... Read more
We got ourselves a bit confused by these questions when adding the new Molino Bongermino range of Italian flours so we thought that we need to get our own house in order before confidently talking about them. Semolina or Semola or even Semolato - Here is our guide to demystify these flours which we hope you will find useful.
Some basics – Semolina or Semola and what is it for?
Let's ... Read more
What is fortification?
It’s when vitamins and/or minerals are added to foods in order to enhance or “fortify” the flour and give it heightened nutritional and health benefits.
So what is flour fortification in the UK?
Currently, in theory, all milled white and brown non-wholemeal wheat flour manufactured and sold in the UK has calcium, iron, thiamine and niacin added. Folic ... Read more
BakeryBits is the UK's leading online stockist of couche linen.
Many of you have bought it already and we’re very happy that you like it so much. But there will be some of you who have no idea what it is, how it can improve your bread baking, and why so many bakers consider it essential. So here is a guide to buying and caring for your couche linen cloths.
Check out our full couche ... Read more
What is… strong flour. I guess by the name strong flour has strength, but what does that mean?
If a particular flour contains high-quality protein that in tests produce a elastic, resilient dough, then it’s correct to describe it as strong flour. In the USA the more straightforward term “bread flour" is used, and baking bread is what strong flour should be good for, or wherever ... Read more
Ok, so plain flour in the UK is "cake and pastry flour", am I right?
Maybe. Or not. The thing is, it’s not a specific thing, and that makes it hard to categorise. Bread flour – called strong flour in the UK – is generally assumed to have good levels of gluten, probably something around 11-14% protein, and score pretty well on strength and resilience tests; however plain ... Read more
So I’ve read that 00 Italian flour is the best for bread and pizza, is that true?
Forse sì, forse no. That’s Italian for maybe yes, maybe no. With that phrase alone you can go a long way in Italy, and get into some very tricky situations. See, the thing is those zero numbers have nothing to do with the doughmaking characteristics of the flour, but really only tell how finely ... Read more
