Alright, let’s talk about this Stafford County flour. I’d been seeing the bag around, you know, the simple paper kind. Heard some folks mention it, saying it was decent, no-nonsense stuff. My usual brand was getting kinda pricey, and honestly, sometimes it felt a bit… processed? So, I figured, why not give this Stafford County All Purpose a try.
Found it down at the local market. Grabbed a five-pound bag. Felt substantial, like flour should. Took it home, set it on the counter. Needed to make some simple sandwich bread the next day, nothing fancy. Thought that’d be a good first test.
Putting it to Work
So, next morning, I got my ingredients out. Opened the bag. The flour looked, well, like flour. Maybe a bit creamier in color than the super bleached stuff, but that’s fine by me. Scooped it out, measured it.
- Texture: Felt pretty standard. Not too coarse, not too fine. Smooth enough.
- Mixing: It mixed in well with the water, yeast, salt, and bit of sugar. Didn’t notice any weird clumping. Just came together into a dough ball like you’d expect.
- Kneading: Kneaded it for about 10 minutes. The dough felt good. Elastic, developed nicely. Didn’t feel sticky or too dry. Seemed to handle the hydration well.
Let it rise. It rose just fine, maybe even a bit faster than I expected, but the kitchen was warm. Punched it down, shaped it into a loaf, put it in the pan for the second rise. Again, no problems. Rose up beautifully.
Baked it off. The smell filling the kitchen was just… good bread smell. Exactly what you want. The crust browned up nicely, got that nice golden color.
The Result?
Let it cool down – the hardest part, right? Finally sliced into it. The crumb was nice. Not too dense, not ridiculously airy. Just a good, solid sandwich bread texture. And the taste? It tasted like bread! Clean, simple, wholesome. Didn’t have any off-flavors. It made a great sandwich later that day.
Since then, I’ve used it for pancakes, some cookies, thickening a gravy. It just… works. It’s become my go-to. No frills, no fuss, just reliable flour that does what it’s supposed to do. Seems like a solid choice if you just want dependable flour for everyday baking. Did the job for me.
