Anybody use ATTA flour?

[chueh]

I bought ATTA flour, for I thought the protein content is higher than regular whole wheat flour from the States. By logic, my dough should be more springy and stretchy which results in airier bread.

BUT my atta flour can never ferment as well as regular WW flour. The dough feels OK at first once I mix up and knead. But after bulk fermentation, it gets all sticky and sloppy and loses all the strength. It doesn't matter if i use instant yeast, active yeast, or sourdough. They all turn out the same sticky mess.....

I don't understand why?/

any ideas? Please shed your light with me. Thanks

 

[dragnlaw]

What is ATTA flour? Never heard of it. Where abouts is it available?

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

ATTA flour is a whole meal wheat flour originating in India. It does have a high gluten content. It's generally used to make thin, flat breads. It is known to absorb more moisture than regular flour, which may be your issue. Also, the milling process for ATTA flour generates heat during the grind, and damages both the starch and proteins, which releases sugars that help define the flavor of Indian Flat breads, but results in poor western style bread making. ATTA flour generally isn't used to make leavened breads. Here's a link to where I gathered my info - https://www.kannammacooks.com/why-my-atta-flour-doesnt-work-in-bread-loaves/

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[taxlady]

ATTA flour is a whole meal wheat flour originating in India. It does have a high gluten content. It's generally used to make thin, flat breads. It is known to absorb more moisture than regular flour, which may be your issue. Also, the milling process for ATTA flour generates heat during the grind, and damages both the starch and proteins, which releases sugars that help define the flavor of Indian Flat breads, but results in poor western style bread making. ATTA flour generally isn't used to make leavened breads. Here's a link to where I gathered my info - https://www.kannammacooks.com/why-my-atta-flour-doesnt-work-in-bread-loaves/

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

I read the article on Wikipedia and the sources for that. They talked about the stone grinders and the damaged protein. But, that just didn't explain it well enough. This article explains a lot better. The thing I don't understand is the stone grinding part. I have made lovely whole wheat bread using stone ground whole wheat flour. The baguettes I buy use flour from a local mill that uses stone for grinding the flour. I wonder why the Indian stone grinding seems to damage the protein more than Canadian stone grinding.

 

[summer57]

You aren't the only person who's struggled with atta flour and bread. But, it is possible to make decent bread with atta flour.

Here's a comment from The Fresh Loaf:
Atta flour is often milled from Indian Wheat , which has good elasticity , but rather poorer extensibility. This translates to a dough that is inferior in terms of being able to withstand long fermentation without tearing or degrading. In other words, the dough made from atta is not ideal for long fermented artisan breads. However, it can still make lovely loaves, though not well risen. The texture of the crumb suffers too.
Having said that, I find the sweet taste of atta to be really appealing to my palate, and I think you'll like it too.

You'll find some recipes and recipes on The Fresh Loaf that should help you make bread with atta.

Here's a recipe you could try -- https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/68579/easy-100-atta-whole-wheat-sandwich-loaf

 

[karadekoolaid]

Atta flour is for making chapatis; Indian flatbread.
I would not, repeat NOT want to use Atta flour to make western-style bread. Different flours, different uses, different countries.

 

[summer57]

Atta flour is for making chapatis; Indian flatbread.
I would not, repeat NOT want to use Atta flour to make western-style bread. Different flours, different uses, different countries.

While atta is commonly used to make flatbreads, it can be made into western-style bread. I've posted one of many recipes above. People enjoy the sweet, nutty flavour and open crumb of atta flour, nothing wrong with that.
(Personally, I'd never restrict an ingredient to just one culture's cuisine.)

 

[karadekoolaid]

While atta is commonly used to make flatbreads, it can be made into western-style bread. I've posted one of many recipes above. People enjoy the sweet, nutty flavour and open crumb of atta flour, nothing wrong with that.
(Personally, I'd never restrict an ingredient to just one culture's cuisine.)

I´m not saying don´t use it: merely that, when the results are not what you expect, don´t be surprised.

 

[chueh]

Wow, thank you all so very much for all the info....
I did try to find the answers why my dough always turned into goop by typing questions in google search, but I got no answer from doing that.

Thank you thank you all