Occident flour is a staple flour you should have on hand because you can use it for pretty much any baking recipe.
It is a fundamental building block for baked goods. This guide will share information on occident flour and their usage in everyday life.
What is Occident Flour, What is it Used for?
Occident flour also known as all-purpose flour is made from hard wheat or soft wheat or a combination of both. After the brown covering has been removed, it is then milled, refined, and bleached.
Depending on the type of wheat used the protein/gluten content of occident flour ranges from 8 to 13%. Occident flour is very common in making Indian cuisines, especially for various Indian bread.
Unlike whole wheat flour that is grainy and creamish, occident flour is powdery and white. It can be used to bake pastries, cookies, pies, cakes, and other desserts. It can also be used for making pizza crusts, spaghetti, pasta, and noodles. You can use this flour as a thickening agent or as a crusty coating for fried food.
Bleached vs. Unbleached
Occident flour is available as bleached and unbleached. Bleached flour has a softer texture, and it is usually treated with chemicals that whiten and dry it out quickly. Unbleached flour retains more of the wheat nuance and it takes a longer time to produce it. This is because the whitening and aging happen naturally. Bleached flour is a bit finer in texture while unbleached flour is less so on both counts. They also behave differently in baking: unbleached flour contains more protein, so it forms stronger gluten. This makes it the ideal choice for yeast dough. Bleached flour is better for making tender cakes. Bleached occident flour is best used for pie crusts, quick bread, muffins, and cookies. Unbleached flour is best used for pastries, eclairs, cream puffs, and yeast bread. Unbleached occident flour is usually better because it gives baked goods more structure.
Is Occident Flour the Same as Bread Flour?
Both bread flour and occident flour are sub-categories of wheat flour. The difference lies in the nutritional value, production, and source materials. The usage of both types varies accordingly.
Production
Occident flour is a blended product made by a combination of high and low gluten wheat varieties. Bread flour, on the other hand, is produced from hard wheat type, which is the hard spring crop. Sometimes, other grains like barley and rye are added in producing bread flour.
Nutritional Value
Occident flour is a low protein flour, while bread flour typically contains high amount of gluten. One of the occident flour nutrition facts is that the gluten content is about 12%. Some brands of occident flour contain only 9% gluten while the gluten content in bread flour can be more than or up to 13%.
Versatility
Occident flour is used in household baking recipes like pizza dough, rolls, and crusty breads, whereas bread flour is perfect choice for all pizza crust recipes and yeast bread baking. Recipes prepared by using bread flour usually retains the desired texture and shape after baking, which is not so in case of occident flour.
Price
As earlier mentioned, the gluten content in occident flour is low (9 to 12%) when compared to that of bread flour (13 to 14%). So it is obvious that occident flour is less expensive than bread flour.
Based on the purpose of using each of these flour types, they are equally valuable when it comes to baking bakery products. In certain cake recipes, bread flour will produce a dissatisfying and tough product. However, you may get a better result if you substitute bread flour with occident flour. To get delicious and spectacular products, it is important to use these types of flour correctly and apply your culinary skills when making different recipes.
Best 8 Occident Flours
The Ardent Mills Occident Flour is milled from hard wheat and refined thoroughly to remove the all-bran. This offers superior mixing tolerance as well as absorption and fermentation. It has a high protein content that ranges from 11.9% to 12.5%, so it has a high volume potential. This makes it the ideal ingredient to have on hand in the bakery. It can be used to make dinner rolls, specialty pan bread, and hearth bread for your bakery. This flour is also great for making hot dog buns, homemade hamburger, as well as yeasted breakfast pastries such as coffee cake. This flour is also great for making croissants, pretzels, tortillas, pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, and coffee cakes. Ardent Mills Occident Flour is a versatile bread flour that produces strength in the dough, and allows your foods to hold their shape well, even when ingredients like whole grains and seeds are added. Stock your kitchen with this 50-pound bulk bag of occident flour so you can be in good supply even during your busiest hours.
Not all brands of occident flours are the same, so the brand you opt for can influence the outcome of the baked goods. Each brand produces a slightly different result in terms of texture and rise. If you want your recipe to come out the way you want it, it is important to know what you are getting with any given brand of occident flour.
The Arrowhead Mills Unbleached White Flour is milled from hard winter wheat that is enriched with iron and vitamins B. It is a good source of folate and it is low in fat. This flour is aged naturally, so it is great for making pastry, cake, or yeast bread. The Arrowhead Mills Unbleached White Flour makes it easy to handle the dough. It contains only 8% of protein and it is unbleached. It has a fine texture that is not gritty or grainy. It comes in an easy to manage size and it stands up for scooping.
The Gold Medal All Purpose Flour is great for almost anything as it doesn’t add color. It is great for baking cakes and white bread. It is made from bleached wheat flour that is rich in iron, niacin, folic acid, riboflavin, and thiamine mononitrate.
It has 10.5% protein which helps to ensure you have a more consistent baking result. The Gold Medal All Purpose Flour is strong enough to take any high rising yeast bread to a new height and soft enough to make your favorite pie crust recipe. The easily resealable plastic bag the Gold Medal All Purpose Flour comes in makes it convenient to use.
The White Lily All Purpose Flour has a protein content of 9%, making it more similar to pastry flour. The low protein content of the soft winter wheat makes it perfect for delicate baked goods. It is milled from 100% winter wheat.
This flour is very versatile and you can use it for creating fluffy and light-textured baked goods including scones, muffins, brownies, pancakes, pie crusts, cookies, cakes, and more. We loved the fine and silky texture of this flour and how the biscuits turn out fluffy, light, and high.
The Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Flour is milled from hard red wheat. The germ and bran have been removed, leaving only the unbromated, unbleached endosperm. This makes it the perfect choice for making pizza crusts, pie crusts, quick bread, muffins, cakes, cookies, yeast bread, and more.
It produces high and well-textured loaves of bread which makes it a favorite for any professional bakers. The malted barley in the Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Flour helps to enhance the rise in your baked goods. The 10 to 12% protein content in this flour ensures a satisfying texture and a good gluten development. This makes it better suited for making yeast breasts than pastry flour or cake flour.
The Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour is a blend of soft and hard wheat which makes it appropriate for all uses. This flour is bleached to improve baking performance and improve color. The Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour is sifted more than 100 times.
This makes it appropriate for all recipes whether they require sifted flour or not. The hard wheat helps it to deliver an exceptionally white and fine all purpose flour. It is great for making hearth bread, buns, rolls, pan bread, and many specialties baked products. The Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour has a 12.6 percent and is also available as unbleached.
The Heckers Unbleached All Purpose Flour is milled from high protein hard winter wheat. This flour is perfect for any recipe from cookies to artisan yeast bread. It has a creamy and rich color. It is unbleached, so it is great for yeast baking.
It is also great for making cakes, rolls, pierogies, polish dumplings, pizza crusts, and much more. The Heckers Unbleached All Purpose Flour has a protein content of 11.4% to 11.8%.
The Hodgson Mill All Purpose Unbleached White Flour is milled from pure wheat without the use of artificial enrichment, artificial coloring, and preservative. It has 9.5% to 10.5% protein content.
The heavier germ and bran of this refined flour is separated out leaving just the lighter endosperm. This makes it ideal for making light baked goods with a neutral taste. The Hodgson Mill All Purpose Flour guarantees delicious cookies, muffins, bread, and cakes with a creamy ivory color and pure taste.
Many people find this flour a great way to make their favorite recipes a bit healthier and become accustomed to whole grain baking.
Occident Flour Recipes
You don’t need any fancy flour to make a loaf of homemade unyeasted quick bread or yeast bread. Here are 5 yummy bread recipes you can make using occident flour.
Easy White Bread
This is the most versatile bread recipe you will find. It can be made with basic ingredients you can find in your kitchen. You can also add nuts and fruits to the bread dough if you want to make your loaf of bread unique.
Country Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe
The country cinnamon swirl bread recipe is a one loaf of bread recipe. It produces a slightly sweeter flavor than the regular white flour bread. The cinnamon swirl that goes through the middle of this recipe helps to add an extra punch to the bread.
Orange Breakfast Bread Recipe
This is a single loaf recipe that is great for beginners. It is an easy yeast bread flavored with orange juice, orange zest, and brown sugar.
Apple Cinnamon Batter Bread Recipe
This belly warming bread is not too sweet and is great for those colder months of the year. It requires no kneading as it is a batter yeast bread.
Lemon Yellow Squash Quick Bread Recipe
This is an easy, quick bread recipe that gets its bright flavor from lemon both in the glaze and in the batter. It is not as greasy as some quick bread because you can use butter instead of oil.
Occident Flour Protein Content
Occident flour is made up of two main components: protein and starch. However, the amount of protein in any given brand of occident flour varies.
The protein content in occident flour is important because of the more the protein in the flour the higher its ability to form gluten. Gluten is a network of proteins that give baked goods a structure. The protein level of occident flour is determined by the type of wheat it is made from.
Typically, occident flour is made from hard winter wheat, which contains 10 to 13% protein, though many occident flour manufacturers mix in soft wheat which has a protein count of 8 to 10% to meet protein specifications. The difference between the two can easily be felt with your fingers: soft wheat floors have starchy, fine texture while hard wheat flours have a subtle and granular feel.
I have an Occident Photo-Method Bread & Roll recipe pamphlet Copyrite 1952. I baked out of it a lot as a teenager back on the farm in North Dakota. Are these still available.
Marjean Hill
Hmm, I’m not familiar with that recipe pamphlet