Flour Types

I don't know the answer, but I'd like to know, so I'm following!

Hi, we use a lot of wheat flour. The Dobrudga region in north east Bulgaria produces good wheat as the soil is perfect for it.

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Thank you, EVTRA. Very helpful info. 

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Flour types ... well it is pretty much like everywhere else. In Bulgaria and according to the Bulgarian National Standard there are several types of flour, based on the quantity of ash remnants, after burning the flour and weighting the remnant.

During the milling process, a kernel of wheat is separated into its three components: the endosperm, the germ, and the bran. To make white flour, just the endosperm is milled. To make whole wheat flour, varying amounts of the germ and bran are added back in to the flour.

This means, that the bigger the number you see on the Type of flour, the higher quantity of the external coatings of the grain are left within the flour.

Basically the types used in Bulgaria are the following:

Type 450 and type 500/520 - white flour.
Type 700, 800, 1150 and 1850 contain more parts of the external coatings and therefore are considered healthier.
Type 1850 is actually a wholegrain flour,

But there's another important part here and this is the kind of wheat that was used for producing the flour. No producer will provide this information .... and generally the high quality wheat is exported.

Thanks for that.

hi all does anyone know what all purpose flour is in bulgaria good for pastry thank you.

@geoffreywebb21

It's брашно in Bulgarian, just plain white flour, and you'll sometimes find it also written in English - several different varieties, (usually with a picture of wheat on the front, type 500 etc )in the supermarkets. Self raising flour is somewhat more difficult to find, but I have also had this.

@geoffreywebb21

Hi I like baking cakes so far iv been using the cheap stuff with the wheat logo in it ... Often they put a picture on it so I dont  use the one with bread on it ..  Yes seams to come out OK .. Look for the little packets of baking soda. About. 5  portions in a packet and also vanila sugar comes in little portion packets but you get about 10 portions   in a packet very cheap to... 50% cheaper than UK..

Next time I'll bring baking  powder from UK ..  Desacated coconut it cheaper here as well.

Phil

@mckayphil

You can get baking powder here too, if you add 2teaspoons per 8 oz plain  flour, it serves as self raising flour for baking cakes 🎂. Happy baking.

I'm thick.  is baking powder and baking soda the same thing?

@Snowball6

Nooo, they are very very different

Thanks.  Good job I asked!!

@Snowball6

I think as a general rule, baking powder for cakes & baking soda is sometimes used  in cookies etc helps them crisp up ......

"What Are Chemical Leaveners? Can You Substitute Baking Powder For Baking Soda And Vice Versa?

Baking Powder and Baking Soda are both chemical leaveners that work to create light textures in baked goods. They release gases, primarily carbon dioxide, through chemical reactions between acids and bases – but both only work under the correct conditions. Although baking powder actually contains baking soda, the two leaveners are very different and cannot be simply swapped in recipes"

Baking soda is food grade bi carb, baking powder is bicarb and creme of tartre mixed together as a raising agent for cakes I believe.

Yes. It's about creating a natural chemical reaction between an acid and an alkali that produces bubbles. Baking soda (bicarb) is just the alkali, so will only produce a strong rise if there's some acidic ingredient in the recipe for it to react with. Baking powder has both the alkali (bicarb) and the acid (cream of tartar, a byproduct of winemaking) so it usually gives more rise. Yeasted bread gets it's rise a different way as the live yeast produces bubbles of carbon dioxide.

Thank you for your post about the wheat flour I will look for it at the market

This has been a really interesting and useful topic for me.  Thanks everyone.  Might have a go at battering some fish (not literally!!).

@Snowball6

And if you use to much bi carb it makes you tongue go numb .. Use with baking powder or not as is your like.. Not seen bi carb of soda so far here in BG

@janemulberry

And that's why pikelets have air bubbles .. Love them. But sometimes my tongue goes numb if they use to much .. 

    @Snowball6
And if you use to much bi carb it makes you tongue go numb .. Use with baking powder or not as is your like.. Not seen bi carb of soda so far here in BG
   

    -@mckayphil

You can get it at https://www.zoya.bg

LOL, yes, I put a little too much bicarb in my last batch of cookies and got the numb tongue!

As @SimCityAT said, Zoya, an excellent online health food store who Ekont stuff to anywhere in Bg, sell it in any amount from 100g to kilos, though it's pricier than buying in bulk in the UK on Amazon. But it's an excellent shop especially for any special dietary requirements.

Or I've bought bicarb at the village shop in small blue and white boxes, labelled сода. I think it was 60 stotinki last time I got a box. It looks to be sold more as an indigestion remedy than for cooking, but it's definitely the same as bicarb and is intended to be swallowed so must be food grade. The apotek probably sells it, too. I haven't bothered looking anywhere else as I try to support the village shop whenever possible.

Jane is correct, bicarbonate of soda is sold throughout Bulgaria, I pick mine up in Kaufland etc very cheaply.

@SimCityAT

Thanks for the info 🙂

I got baking powder and vanilla  sugar at Lidl

The vanilla was so cheap 25pence for 10 sachets  bargain .. think I paid £2 for 3 sachets in Sainsbury just before xmas.. been looking for sultanas but only ever found raisins not quite as nice in me cakes oh and I do like a bread and butter pudding with plenty of sultanas .. perfect for there dried up bread... Something else to bring from UK ... Birds custard it's the best 

@philip Mckay

Oh is the bread rubbish? That was something I was going to ask, because I struggle with the bread in France.

I like the bread, but it's not like UK bread. For me, the usual loaves tend to have a good flavour but be drier with chewier crusts and goes stale faster. Only good fresh on the first day, but is then fine for toasties, bread-and-butter pudding, tomato and bread salad... Though I buy a plain loaf from the village shop so the supermarket may have a better range.

It's basically how I remember bread was in the 1960s and early 70s, before the soft squishy sliced white sandwich bread that somehow stays soft for a week appeared. Probably why in Bulgaria a "sandwich" is a cheese and ham toastie! The bread doesn't make good fresh sandwiches.

Bulgaria also has some delicious speciality breads, often with egg and cheese in them, more a tear and share type thing. Those are wonderful. The village shop versions are good enough, and my neighbour bakes amazing special occasion breads.