DEAR SUN SPOTS: I accidentally bought bread flour and had it in the canister before I noticed my mistake. Online recipes using bread flour are for bread machines. I do not have (or want) a bread machine. If I use the recipes to make bread the traditional way, will the bread turn out OK? — No Name, Vienna

ANSWER: From what Sun Spots found online, it looks like using the bread flour for your bread will be fine, although it will increase the gluten content.

Here is a thorough explanation of the difference from ochef.com:

“Bread flour is a high-gluten flour that has very small amounts of malted barley flour and vitamin C or potassium bromate added. The barley flour helps the yeast work, and the other additive increases the elasticity of the gluten and its ability to retain gas as the dough rises and bakes. Bread flour is called for in many bread and pizza crust recipes where you want the loftiness or chewiness that the extra gluten provides. It is especially useful as a component in rye, barley and other mixed-grain breads, where the added lift of the bread flour is necessary to boost the other grains.

“All-purpose flour is made from a blend of high- and low-gluten wheat, and has a bit less protein than bread flour — 11 or 12 percent vs. 13 or 14 percent. You can always substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour, although your results may not be as glorious as you had hoped. There are many recipes, however, where the use of bread flour in place of all-purpose will produce a tough, chewy, disappointing result. Cakes, for instance, are often made with all-purpose flour, but would not be nearly as good made with bread flour.”

At howstuffworks.com, the explanation is expanded to include other types of flour:

“The main difference among flour types is in the gluten content, which varies depending on whether the flour is made from hard wheat or soft wheat. Gluten is the protein that helps yeast stretch and rise.

“To achieve the best baking results, use the type of flour a recipe specifically calls for. All-purpose flour is designed for a number of uses, including cookies, quick breads, biscuits, and cakes. A mixture of high-gluten hard wheat and low-gluten soft wheat, it comes in both bleached and unbleached forms, which can be used interchangeably.

“Bread flour is an unbleached, high-gluten blend of mostly hard wheat and is best used in yeast breads.

“Cake flour is made predominantly of soft wheat. Its fine texture and high starch content make it ideal for making tender cakes, cookies, biscuits, and pastries that do not need to stretch and rise much.

“Pastry flour is similar to cake flour but has a slightly higher gluten content. This aids the elasticity needed to hold together the buttery layers in flaky doughs such as croissants, puff pastry, and pie crusts.

“Self-rising flour is all-purpose flour that has had baking powder and salt added to it. Use it in yeast bread recipes in place of all-purpose flour by omitting salt, and in quick bread recipes by omitting salt and baking powder.”

DEAR SUN SPOT: I am in search of Great Western Extra Dry Champagne. I used to buy it at Hannaford but cannot find it any more. I tried ordering it online at Pleasant Valley Wines of New York but they do not ship to the state of Maine. Are there any distributors in the area for Great Western? Thank you for your great service. — No Name via email

ANSWER: Sun Spots discovered that this wine is made in New York. She also found a website that said that the vintage is sold out. Perhaps the grapes did not cooperate in 2012?

She did not find a distributor. This is Sun Spot’s second failure on an alcohol-related question. The last time a reader provided the answer. Perhaps another reader will once again know more.

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