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The Flours:

Bolles

• Protein Content: ~14.5%—high, excellent for strong gluten development.

• Flavor: Clean, mild wheat flavor with a smooth finish.

• History: A Minnesota heritage hard red spring wheat, bred for both strength and adaptability to local growing conditions.

Linkert

• Protein Content: ~12%—moderate strength, softer and more extensible dough.

• Flavor: Gentle, subtle whole grain taste—earthy but not overpowering.

• History: Developed at the University of Minnesota; named after Earl Linkert, an influential wheat breeder.

Red Fife

• Protein Content: ~12-13%—variable.

• Flavor: Rich, nutty, with hints of spice and sweetness—distinctly flavorful.

• History: Heirloom wheat from the 1840s, brought to Canada by David Fife; prized for both flavor and resilience.
  
  

The Recipes:

Hydration was adjusted as fresh flours tend to be thirstier, the adjustment is based on the protein content of the flour - but could use some tweaking, some of the doughs came out stickier than is ideal for the lamination process.

• Bolles - 65% Hydration

• Red Fife - 60% Hydration

• Linkert - 58% Hydration

• 50/50 Bolles/Red Fife - 62% Hydration

My Notes:

• Bolles - Forms tons of gluten very rapidly, easy to overwork the dough. Slightly lower hydration may be ideal. I think it used up a lot of it's enzymatic activity early in the heat, as these did not have as much oven spring.

• Red Fife - I had a lot of trouble with this flour, I think the gluten content was lower than expected as this batch of dough tears very easily and didn't do a good job holding up to lamination - too sticky as well. I'll try reducing the hydration. Did not proof as well in the oven.

• Linkert - Easiest to roll - this one had the most similar consistency to my normal dough but still with a slight increase in stickiness.

• 50/50 Bolles/Red Fife - Not bad, the goal was balancing flavor and gluten development and I think it worked out.

Enzymatic activity was incredibly high in all flours, they proofed incredibly quickly which made them difficult to work with (mind you this is while my AC was still out so the kitchen was hot! For future batches I'll chill this dough immediately. All of the flours have a much stronger whole grain taste than my typical flour, which makes sense as the bran and germ are not fully sifted out. Next time I'm going to try a blend of a conventional flour and fresh to balance out the bitterness a bit.