Matthews Traditional French T55 Bread Flour

Best flour I have found (and I have tried at least 20) for bread making, including some bought in France (I am French). I use a version of Jim Lahey's method and this produces a golden, tender crumb with an excellent crust. The taste is out of this world, the perfect balance between yeasty and savoury. A reviewer said that because of the additives the flour is not suitable for a long rise: this is not correct. The dough does collapse with an 18h rise but rises again once in the oven. Having said that, it is possible to use the flour with very good result with a shorter rise (7-12h): the taste is a little less pronounced but the rise is slightly better. I won't be using anything else for baguette/bâtard/campagne breads (for Campagne, cut it with 1/5 rye flour). I do not have a bread machine but would imagine that it will do very well so long as the cycle is not too long (otherwise it might over-proof, which isn't a problem with the Lahey method because you shape the bread again but would lead to flatter bread in a machine). PS: my baguette/bâtard recipe: Note that this is a no-knead, very high hydration dough inspired by Jim Lahey's recipe for sourdough. The adaptation works fantastically well for baguette. Also note that it is easiest prepared in a Lekue silicone bread baker (on amazon, an excellent investment). 2 1/2 cups of Matthews T55, 1 1/4 tsp sea salt crystals (not ground salt), 1/4 tsp (yes, you read correctly, no more) SAF gold yeast (or SAF red but gold gives better flavour), about 35cl water. Mix everything to a very soft dough. The dough will NOT hold together, this is normal. Cover and let rise 17-8h. After 18h, use a dough scraper (not your hands, otherwise you'll be washing them forever) to lift and fold one side the dough on the other. Turn the bowl by a quarter, repeat about 6-8 times. Each folding gives the dough more strength for the rise. Don't overdo it though. The dough still won't hold together, that's required for a soft and flavoursome crumb. Scrape into the Lekue bread baker (check this out on amazon: these silicone bakers are great. I use 1 for a bâtard, 3 for three thin baguettes), close, cover with a dishcloth and let rise for 45mn. Place on a baking tray and bake 43mn at 235°C in a fan oven for the bâtard, 25mn for the baguettes. Unmold straight away and let cool on a rack. The bread will 'sing' as it cools. Alternatively, bake in a pre-heated cast iron pot as recommended by Lahey. You'll get a bit more rise but it's a lot more faff!

Best flour to use when making baguettes.

Arrived as stated the day after order and well packaged. Normally not keen on extra wrapping but essential for flour. Arrived in good shape. All that I need now is to use it to make croissants! Update: this is the first time I ever tried making croissants! This flour is perfect for the job! Will be ordering more !

Excellent quality French flour and perfect for making authentic French baguettes. Perhaps not quite as good as the T65 bio farine de blé I've been using, but my stock of flour bought in France was exhausted and I thought I'd give this a try. A simple mix of yeast, salt, sugar, water and flour, plus a few hours rising and proving and the baguettes were ready to bake. And after just 20 minutes in a very hot [240°C] steamy [add water or ice into a tray at the bottom] oven one had lovely crusty baguettes. Delicious.

Many other flours now use a mix of English, French and Canadian flours in the mix and still call it type 55. Being gluten sensitive I can't tolerate that and it took ages to work out why. The change has been unannounced. This however is really good. We use it for bread in a bread-maker, making french sticks, Focaccia, Ciabatta, Pizza and sponge cakes and puddings. . well everything you would use flour for really all are really light and fluffy. Excellent every time. 5 stars from me !

Great quality flour. Perfect for fine pastries

tbh must be the worst flour i have used. i will stick to normal non enriched not messed about with flour in future. tasted ok but really weak dough and went through a whole bag trying to get one single decent baguette from it. i reckon cutting it 20% with strong actual bread flour may work but i am not wasting my time . edit : just tried final flourr and added 1% gluten . came out perfect

If you like to make baguettes and croissants French flour is a must. This is a really top quality good value product. I use it now for all my bread making including in the bread machine. Try using it with fresh yeast and it takes your bread to another level.