A very geeky bread post, for my fellow bakers…
. . . . .
My friend Tania (of My Kitchen Stories) works for Lario International, a Sydney based importer of fine Italian wine and produce.
One of the many products they stock is this amazing Buratto flour. At $45 per 5kg bag, it’s waaay out of my price range (particularly given the rate at which my sons consume bread), so I was pretty excited when Tania offered me this broken bag of flour to play with…
Produced by Mulino Marino, this organic Italian flour is stone ground first to retain its germ and bran, then carefully roller-milled at a low temperature. The process preserves the wheat germ oil, producing a “fatty” flour with a buttery quality (and hence the name “Buratto”). The flour is then sieved – I believe to 80% extraction – to produce a largely white flour with a higher protein content suitable for bread making. More technical details can be found in this information sheet that Tania sent me.
The flour itself is intriguing – it comes out of the bag very clumpy and needs to be sieved before use…
According to the package label, the flour is made from a soft wheat, which is evident during the kneading process – the dough doesn’t feel as elastic or strong as it does when made with regular bakers flour. Here’s the formula I used:
- 300g ripe sourdough starter (at 166% hydration, fed at a ratio of equal parts water to bakers flour, by volume)
- 600g cold water
- 1kg flour
- 18g fine sea salt
I made two sourdoughs – a half batch with 100% Buratto flour, and a 50/50 bakers/Buratto hybrid. Both doughs rose beautifully over seven hours.
The 100% was shaped into a round boule…
and the 50/50 into batards…
The hybrid loaves were very nice, and I loved the rabbit shape in this crumb shot…
..but the 100% Buratto loaf was amazing…
The crust was hard and chewy, and the light grey crumb was elastic and firm, with a delicious, nutty flavour. It was also noticeably more sour than the hybrid loaves (Pete has a theory on that – he thinks: higher fat = lower carbohydrates, so the yeast organisms consume them faster during the proving process, and therefore the dough starts to sour sooner)…
. . . . .
On my second attempt, I made a high hydration (78%) sourdough using all Buratto flour. The dough rose slowly but surely…
The finished crumb was elastic and full of giant holes…
I’ve had a fabulous time playing with gorgeous flour. Thanks again, Tania!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
You never cease to amaze me! What an interesting flour, I had never heard anything about it… The last loaf is my favorite, but I would welcome many slices of each… :-)
Sally, it was such an interesting product to play with! I was feeling very lucky to have had the opportunity! :)
they all look yummy to me Celia
Thanks Linda..
Isn’t it great how one man’s trash is another man’s treasure? And at $45/ 5kg bag, what a steal! Your loaves look gorgeous. I am particularly fond of examining the crumb on each one. Which one did you like the best? xx your geeky bread friend :)
Em, definitely the higher hydration 100% loaf, but the other 100% one was very good too. Pete pointed out that the crumb doesn’t squish – it’s very resilient and elastic, so when you have a slice and press the crumb together, it just bounces back (does that make sense?). The nuttiness is very nice too! :)
Grab a slice and butter – YUM:)
Oh, it’s REALLY good with butter, Renee! :)
That is fascinating. I read a report which suggested that coeliac disease became more common as bakers moved to harder flours to get a faster prove.
It would be nice to use that flour but ouch! at the price!
Pat, I wonder about that too – I do know that slower proving sourdoughs are much better for our sugar levels than fast yeast loaves…
We get that lovely chewy bread around Bagni di Lucca sometimes. I wish I knew what to ask for because I love it.
I really like our Aussie flours and use them most of the time, but some of the stuff coming from Italy is just sublime and there’s nothing locally that can compare! :)
There are so many flours and so little time. True for flour as well as books.
I have a pastry flour that is clumpy from the bag- it is a softer dough though without the gluten push. I love the crumb on these experiments of yours- especially the last picture!
Thanks Heidi! The nice thing about blogging is that it lets me keep track of all the different batches, so I can compare them at a later time! :)
That’s so kind of Tania to think of you. The rabbit is very cute. That sure is a lot of money to pay for a bag of flour though but clearly, it’s of great quality xx
Charlie, it’s some of the best flour I’ve ever used. Just lovely stuff. And yes, it really WAS very kind of Tania! :)
Oh to have friends in high places :-). How wonderful that you got to experiment with such a premium product. I guess that means it’s worth its $45 price tag? The finished loaf sure looks worthy!
The flour is definitely WORTH its price tag. That doesn’t mean I can afford it though – two different things.. :)
*holds out her plate*
*cuts a slice and hands it over*
It makes me so happy to see you use this flour with such obvious pleasure. It is used in a great deal of fabulous restaurants around Sydney and Melbourne for both bread and pizza making. Its also organic, Celia . Thats just to make you feel better after such an obvious bread orgy
Tania, I’ve just had the best fun with it, thank you. Our neighbour stopped me the other day and asked, “what are you doing differently, because that last loaf of bread was amazing!”. I told him I had secret squirrel flour. :)
Isn’t it fun to play with new ingredients Celia! And isn’t Tania lovely to share, I’ve had so much fun with some of the Lario products too. It all looks delicious! Xox
She’s very kind, Becca! This was really a big treat, and we’ve had a blast with it. I’m going to try rolls with the last of this bag…
Do you think it was lumpy due to the breakage in bag and moisture got in there. Like the look of the texture.
Roz, I actually think it’s the high fat content!
These loaves look beautiful, Celia. Your friend picked the right person to give the flour to. Can’t wait to see what else you’ve planned.
Apropos to nothing, I saw a post where long beans are curled and cooked. It’s an interesting technique and I hope you like it. Here’s the link: http://dentistvschef.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/stir-fried-long-bean-curled-with-ground-chicken-meat-ala-dentist-chef/
Thanks John, I’ll check it out! I thought of you when I heard that the flour was called buratto! :)
I’ve never heard of that flour either, Celia. I might just have a little look around for some now, though.
Amanda, Tania just told me they’re getting a pallet-load of flour next week! ;-)
Lovely loaves Celia. Great for us to learn about the Burrato flour as well! Cheers, Craig
Craig, I wish you were closer, I’d have shared it with you! Hope it’s all going well! xx
Hehe I’m becoming a bread nerd-I just took out some of my sourdough to make some bread!! :D This flour is a new one to me, how fabulous to be able to play around with it :)
Lorraine, I was pretty chuffed!
I’m driving over Celia…..don’t worry about giving me your address, I’ll just follow the fresh bread smell…………..waft…………………
Lina, it DID smell amazing! Hey, thought of you today – I made moghrabieh for dinner! :)
moghrabieh for dinner! The weather was great for it wasn’t it??? I made chicken soup with fresh baked bread! and made sure I fed Jethro! But I’m vry interested in getting my hands on some Buratto flour! I’ll keep a look out!
Reply Comments
I have been ‘salivating’, to use rather impolite terminology, over Lario’s catalogue for a couple of days – ever since Tania published the link on her blog! Those loaves of yours look absolute works of art, as does Tania’s risotto with made with Carnaroli rice I have also not used before :) ! Oh the temptations!!!
Eha, they really have some amazing products at Lario’s!
They all look fantastic! I shall look out for the flour in Italy :)
Hope you find some, Tandy! :)
This is very interesting Celia, lovely bread as always. I think I met Tania at Eat, Drink, Blog in Adelaide last year. I have just remembered that I bought my husband some very exclusive dark chocolate from the Lario website for Christmas a few years ago. I need to revisit the website I think.
There is such a huge variety of flour out there isn’t there?
Jane, there are SO many flours to experiment with! And Lario’s import Amedei chocolate, which I think is the best in the world! :)
Dear Celia,
I think it would be a dangerous heart attack in the making for me when you bake like this and there is copious amounts of Pepesaya butter to spread.
Fear not, Chopinand, I’d ration you.. :)
What an exciting discovery Celia – gosh the Italians know their produce don’t they! No stuffing it up, nice and slow. And you’re such a talented breadhead! I can only imagine the flavour and gorgeous crust!
Sharon! How nice to put a name and face to your blog! The flour was truly gorgeous – I haven’t seen anything quite like it here. You’re right, the Italians mill some amazing flours!
Your bread looks wonderful, so crusty! Just to let you know that my IMK is posted.
Sue, thank you! I’ll get your post listed straight away, sorry I missed it yesterday! x
Interesting, I hadn’t heard of it before. Your bread does look super Italian in style and colour Celia.
Thanks Rose! It was a very popular loaf here! :)
It’s so much easier when someone else does all the work and experimenting. Did the dough feel different to work with? I’ll have to put my home milled flour though a finer sieve and see if I can get anything close to that flour.
Love the rabbit loaf – very Easter bunny.
Anne, it was quite different to work with – the dough is quite shaggy and doesn’t get the same smooth coat as a regular bakers flour does after the initial knead. It shaped and rose beautifully though..
There is so much fun in your life! Love the rabbit.
Thanks Jo! We had fun eating it! :)
What an interesting point about the lower sugar levels with slower proving sourdoughs. Isn’t Tania wonderful? What a clever woman she is and to be given this treat is very special. :)
Maureen, there’s lots of research to suggest sourdough is lower in GI than yeasted bread, even wholemeal. In our house, it’s more pragmatic – the boys don’t like the taste of yeasted bread, and neither do Pete and I. And yes, Tania is wonderful! :)
Gorgeous Celia! So many amazing flours to play with aren’t there.
(I had to squint very hard to see the rabbit…oh RIGHT! Rabbit! :-)
It really IS a rabbit, Brydie, honest.. :)
Wow, you can really see the difference in the crumb with this flour. Who would have thought that flour could cost so much or that there were so many different sorts. I obviously have a long way to go before I qualify who full geek, happy to be a geek in training though! xxx
Ali, as I was saying to Claire above – the flour is definitely WORTH the money. Whether or not I can afford to buy it though, is a different thing altogether.. :)
your loaves look so damned good celia..x
Jane, thank you! I made rolls from the flour today – went down a storm with the boys! :)
I’ve never thought about flour as much as I do now, I am sure it’s because of your bread baking and posts like this. I had trouble with a cookie recipe a few weeks ago and now I bet it was the difference in flours (I had just bought an organic flour).. it may have been softer than an all-purpose flour that I usually use. I think it’s so cool how the crumb changes each time. My favorite is the rabbit shaped one:)
ps I am going on a long holiday and don’t trust my kids with my starter.. so I won’t be starting my starter :) until I get back. But I’ve already got the perfect name for her.. xx
Barb, have a wonderful holiday! Can’t wait to see how you go with the starter! I tend to have mixed results with organic flours – sometimes they’ve absolutely wonderful, and other times they’ve produced very dense loaves…
The trouble with going down the ‘geeky’ road is that one just ends up wanting to know more. I am curious as to what ‘soft’ means in this context as it is also described as a Type 1 flour on their site. It clearly isn’t soft as in only suitable for pastry and cakes, so must refer to something else, maybe your importer friend knows a bit more about it? As far as my limited understanding goes, soft refers to the type of grain, how it is processed thereafter has a huge impact on how the final flour performs. Stone milling vs roller milling and here they seem to have a unique process which involves both and some very fine sifting. The protein content of grain, though a guide, isn’t the whole story, as your miller friends can probably tell you better than me. If you are getting an elastic crumb then it must have good quality gluten in it, and be a reasonably ‘strong’ flour. I wondered as well about the clumping, is that to do with the oil or fat content of the flour? And I suspect it has a shorter shelf life on account of the oil content, as that is the reason why it is stripped out of bog standard flour.
I would love to try this flour too and see if I can make breads as beautiful as yours! I will keep my eye out for it and see if someone has it here. I can get their maize/polenta here in the supermarket for an eyewatering price, but I have never bought it as I don’t fancy stirring for 90 minutes, but I am sure it is very good xx
Jo, I think “soft” here refers to the wheat – apparently there is a difference between soft and hard wheat which I used to know, but now can’t remember. But I do recall being told that whether the wheat is soft or hard doesn’t necessarily correlate to whether it is high or low protein.
I believe the clumping is related to the fat content, and you’re right – I was told by a milling friend, that the flour would probably have a shorter shelf life than regular bakers flour.
I need to try that flour! I will look for it in specialized baker shops! Your breads look amazing & just like I love my breads to be! You can sell them! they look stunning! I love, love sourdough bread but never made it at home yet. I must make a sourdough starter soon!
Sophie, it’s really interesting flour! And it works very well with the sourdough flavours! x
what a pleasure to use such fine ingredients! I’m also struggling not to have bowl envy as well :)
Sorry to do that to you, Claire. But if you want just a little more bowl envy, here are my earlier posts.. ;-)
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2012/06/28/turkuaz-motif/
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/02/02/ceramics/
It’s the percentage hydration thing that still has me baffled. I don’t have a ‘maths’ brain. These loaves are beautiful and it was really interesting to learn about the buratto flour.
you’ve been lucky to receive this flour, it’s an expensive product, but believe me…it’s one of the best mill we have in Italy…next time ask your friend if she can find Enkir or Pandisempre…..