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The Best of Bread Flour & When to Choose it Over All-Purpose Flour

There are many types of flours to consider when baking in small batches or in bulk. For the best of breads, bread flour is an important ingredient to distinguish when it comes to quality and customer satisfaction. From bakeries to restaurants to at-home cooking, using a high quality bread flour ensures that your bread-based products bake into a satisfactory result. Learn more about the variety of bread flour, what makes it different from all-purpose flour, and how to choose one that works best for your needs.

What is Bread Flour?

Bread flour is a special type of flour made specifically for the purpose of making bread-based recipes. The ingredients of bread flour include a high-protein content and an increased amount of gluten. Typically, it is a white flour that is milled from hard red spring wheat grains, which are specific grains that contain a higher gluten content. The higher gluten and protein contents in the bread flour results in a flour that produces more structure and a better chew for a quality bread product.

Types of Bread Flour

Bread flour can be found in a variety of types. At Bremer Ingredients, a highly popular bread flour choice includes the bulk winona flour, due to its great fermentation and machining tolerance. Other exceptional choices include artisan bread flour and King Midas. Each different type of bread flour allows for varying results. For example, artisan bread creates a pleasant aroma and flavor, and results in a crustier, crisper bread with a softer inside. The unbleached winona flour – known as a durable bulk flour – is used for this product due to its premium quality and strength. Discover the variety of Bremer’s bread flours to find the option that works best for your bulk ingredient needs.

Bread Flour vs All-Purpose Flour

There are many distinct differences between bread flour and all-purpose flour. All-purpose flour is good to use for a wide range of baked goods, commonly known as H&R (hotel and restaurant) flour. All-purpose flour is the better choice for simple, tender baked goods like cookies, biscuits, or as a thickening agent for sauces and gravies. However, it lacks the high protein and gluten content that bread flour consists of to make quality bread, pizza dough, pretzels, and more. Bread flour creates a more structured, chewy texture, while all-purpose flour results in flakey, tender texture that is not sustainable for some types of dough.

Discover Quality Bread Flour at Bremer

When you’ve chosen bread flour for your baking needs, purchase bulk bread flour at Bremer for guaranteed quality and satisfaction. In need of all-purpose flour, pastry flour, or gluten alternatives instead? Be sure to check out the other types of bulk flours offered at Bremer for all of your flour needs.

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Sea Salt vs Table Salt: Their Uses & Benefits

Salt is an important ingredient for a variety of recipes, whether you’re seasoning chicken or baking cupcakes. Sea salt and table salt are both popular choices, but which one should you choose? Both types have different components that separate their flavor profile. Discover the differences between sea salt and table salt to learn more about which salt best fits your cooking or baking needs.

What is Sea Salt?

Sea salt is produced by the evaporation of saltwater by the sun, wind, and time. It carries trace minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and iron, and is usually available in fine grains and crystals. Due to the trace minerals, sea salt is known for having more of a complex, full-bodied flavor. The crystals are usually bigger, and are available in forms of flakes that are popular for finishing purposes. Sea salt is commonly used to enhance recipes with its bold flavor profile and more defined crystal size. At Bremer, our bulk sea salts are purified, and are most commonly used for items like salad dressings, margarine, canned vegetables, and pickled vegetables.

What is Table Salt?

Table salt is produced by mining from underground deposits. Table salt is processed to remove minerals and impurities, and is typically fortified with iodine to prevent clumping and create a fine texture. Table salt has a sharper taste due to the elimination of minerals and impurities, and is commonly used in small quantities for baking. Too much table salt can cause a metallic taste, so it’s important to use this ingredient in moderation. For a fine-textured salt, explore Bremer’s salts, which include iodized salt options.

What’s the Difference between Sea Salt and Table Salt?

The main differences between sea salt and table salt are the taste, texture, process, and shelf life. Sea salt brings a richer, complex flavor, and is used in flake form for topping off baked goods and recipes. Table salt is best used in small doses, ringing  true to its name. Sea salt has a crunchier, flakier texture, while table salt is fine and made to dissolve. Sea salt lasts longer and has a longer shelf life compared to table salt, due to the added iodine and preservatives. Table salt can last up to five years before its minerals break down over time.

Fulfill All Your Sea Salt & Table Salt Needs At Bremer

No matter what type of salt you’re looking for, Bremer supplies a variety of types for your bulk ingredient needs. From bulk sea salt and iodized salt to flour salt and reduced salt alternatives, Bremer makes sure to deliver quality items at competitive prices.

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How to Properly Store Oils & Shortenings

One of the keys to successful food preparation is knowing how to store and maintain your ingredients. While oils and shortenings may not seem like they need to be carefully stored in order to remain fresh, taking certain steps to properly preserve them can actually be quite valuable. By understanding factors to consider when storing oils and shortenings, as well as the best ways to preserve them long-term, you’ll be set up for success when cooking.

Considerations for Proper Oil & Shortening Storage

The first thing to understand when storing oils and shortenings is the shelf life of both. Cooking oils typically last for about a year when kept stable, and shortenings are good for two years when unopened and approximately three months once they are opened. Depending on the type of oil or shortening – variations range from canola and corn oil to all-purpose and donut frying shortening – these time frames can vary, however.

Unsurprisingly, shelf life also depends heavily on how the products are kept. The quality of stored oils and shortenings can diminish over time when the ingredients’ packaging is not sealed properly or is exposed to too much light. It’s also important to consider contamination risks when storing oils and shortenings. Making a conscious effort to keep the ingredients away from heavily odored items that could potentially spoil your product is wise.

The Best Ways to Store Oils & Shortenings

To ensure your oils and shortenings are stable for as long as possible, there are a few best practices you should follow when storing them. We recommend keeping the products in their original packaging and limiting significant oxygen exposure to the containers. Proper ventilation is important to avoid the build-up of moisture, however, so the ingredients should have some access to fresh air. Finally, try to keep oils and shortenings away from direct sunlight by storing them in a cool, dry place, such as the interior of a pantry or cabinet.

Preserving Oils & Shortenings for Future Use

If you’re interested in preserving oils and shortenings past their expiration date, freezing or refrigerating them is a possibility. For oils in particular, doing this will keep the product fresh for longer; just make an effort to let the oils thaw to a room temperature before using them to ensure their quality. It is recommended that shortening not be kept in the refrigerator, but freezing the product for up to one year is an acceptable way to extend shelf life.

While taking these steps will keep oils and shortenings stable for a longer period of time, it’s still important to change out your oils and shortenings semi-regularly and not keep them too long. Once oils and shortening have eventually gone bad, there are a few signs to look out for. Expired cooking oil typically has a bad smell and tastes sweet or fermented. While it likely won’t make you sick, consuming bad oil still isn’t fun. As for shortenings, this ingredient will harden, darken in color, and smell off once it’s out of date.

There isn’t one correct way to preserve your oils and shortenings, but learning the steps you can take to better do so and paying attention to how you’re storing your ingredients is important. For additional insights on storing oils and shortenings, contact us – we’d be happy to help determine the best preservation method for your situation.

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The Best Spices & Seasonings for Fall Baking

The weather’s getting cooler, the leaves are changing colors, and the fall season is in full swing. What better time to perfect your apple pie recipe — or finally try making the pumpkin scones you’ve been craving? Make the most of your baking this season by incorporating some of the best spices and seasonings for fall.

Which Spices & Seasonings to Use in the Fall

Fall typically emulates warm and cozy feelings, and while those sensations don’t directly translate to taste, they do often inspire a certain spread of foods. Pumpkin breads, cinnamon rolls, or apple crisps — to name a few — are all best made with a few certain spices that help create pleasant, homey feelings.

  • Cinnamon is a popular spice derived from the inner bark of a cinnamon tree. It is typically used in both sweet and savory dishes as a form of sweet to bittersweet flavor.
  • Best used fresh, nutmeg has a sweet and spicy flavor that works well alongside cinnamon and adds an extra kick to baked goods.
  • Cloves come from the dried flowers of a clove tree and add a rich, deep flavor to a variety of bakery favorites.
  • A good addition to anything from cupcakes to cookies, vanilla offers a sweet and mouth-watering flavor to baked goods.

The Value of New Flavors in Different Seasons

No matter the time of year, spices help to enhance a food’s flavor, color, and overall taste. However, we often associate different sensations with the changing seasons and the dishes we cook tend to reflect this shift. Fall and winter prompts warm and cozy feelings, which makes us more inclined to revisit our favorite soup or bread recipes. With their warm, earthy qualities, spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove fit easily into fall-inspired dishes.

Adding Fall Spices & Seasonings to Your Baked Goods

While some fall-inspired recipes already include these seasonings, they don’t have to be in order for you to add them to your dish. Seasonings can be used in a variety of ways, whether they change the entire flavor of a recipe or simply provide an extra kick of spice. What you decide to incorporate and how much will likely depend on the goal of your dish.

For bakeries looking to elevate their fall flavors and incorporate fitting seasonings into their dishes, Bremer Authentic Ingredients distributes premium bulk ingredients across the Midwest. Whether you’re looking for a wholesale spice supplier or quality bakery supplies, Bremer has what you need. Send us a message to start getting the fall flavors you need.

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