Czech flour: hladká, polohrubá, hrubá

Why

The Czech labels hladká (fine), polohrubá (medium-coarse) and hrubá (coarse) describe granulation, that is particle size: under Czech Decree No. 18/2020 Sb., at least 96 % of fine flour must pass through a sieve with a 257 µm mesh, of medium-coarse flour through 366 µm and of coarse flour through 485 µm, and coarse flour may contain at most 15 % of particles smaller than 162 µm. The words světlá (white), polosvětlá (light) and chlebová (bread) used for fine flour instead state the ash content, the minerals from the outer layers of the grain, and thus how dark the flour is; fine white flour may contain at most 0.60 % in dry matter, polohrubá and hrubá only 0.50 %. Coarser particles absorb water more slowly, so a dough made with polohrubá stays firmer and drier and a dumpling made from it holds its shape better in water or steam, whereas hladká combines quickly into a smooth dough, roux or sponge. That is why the amount of liquid is off when you swap them: hladká instead of polohrubá gives a stickier, softer dough, polohrubá instead of hladká a stiffer, grainier one.

How to do it

• Use polohrubá for Czech bread dumplings and doughs that are boiled, unless the recipe says otherwise.
• Reach for hladká for sponge cake, roux, thickening and delicate cakes; sift it into a sponge batter.
• When swapping flours, add the liquid a little at a time and let the dough rest briefly, as coarser flour absorbs water more slowly.
• In Austria buy glattes Mehl instead of hladká and griffiges Mehl instead of polohrubá; in Germany Type 405 matches white hladká and Weizendunst is closer to hrubá; use griffiges Mehl for polohrubá.
• In English-speaking countries plain or all-purpose flour replaces hladká; polohrubá and hrubá have no common counterpart there, and semolina is coarse wheat meal, not flour.

If it goes wrong

Firm up a sticky dough made with hladká instead of polohrubá with a little flour and let it rest briefly before adding more. Loosen a dough that is too stiff from polohrubá with a spoonful of milk or water. A dumpling that falls apart in the water can't be saved; steam the remaining dough instead.