Below are the answers to some of our FAQs (frequently asked questions) about our products. If you cannot find the information you require here, or elsewhere on our site, please use the form on the Contact page.
QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR PRODUCTS
Are your ingredients locally sourced?
Please explain the different types of flour and what they should be used for.
Where can I buy your products?
Why do you use palm oil and where does it come from?
What is the Doves Farm position on mandatory fortification of Folic Acid to flour?
What is the level of Aluminum in the Baking Powder?
Why is the Buckwheat flour now lighter in colour than before?
Why don't you use PET recyclable film?
Do you use recycled cardboard in food packaging?
Does Biobake Flour contain fungal or enzyme additives?
Why do your products no longer state they are suitable for Vegans?
COOKING, BAKING AND RECIPE QUESTIONS
How long should I knead dough for?
The gluten free bread recipe uses milk but I cannot drink cows milk. Is there an alternative?
The gluten free bread recipe uses vinegar, can I use any type of vinegar?
Why does the recipe on the gluten free flour pack tell you to weigh the liquid?
I’m looking for a recipe but can’t find it on your website. Please can you help?
What are the typical gluten levels of your gluten free products?
Do you have a recipe for gluten free wedding cake.
How long will Christmas cake and Dundee cake keep?
How do I convert the quantity of yeast in my recipe to fresh/dried/quick yeast?
There is the seed husk in my flour, where did it come from?
My gluten free pastry is crumbly and very hard when baked, what advice can you give me?
If a product is out of stock, when will it be back in stock
Help, I have got tiny insects in my kitchen cupboard. What are they and how do I get rid of them?
Website Query
What do I do if you’re out of stock of my favourite line?
When I try to pay the screen goes to a blank white screen and nothing happens.
What should I do if I am not happy with one of your products that I have purchased?
My order has just arrived but it’s incorrect
How do I know when my order, DF xxxxxx, will be dispatched?
I ordered ages ago and still haven’t received my package.
I live close by or am going via Doves Farm. Can I pick up my order rather than have it delivered?
A parcel has arrived but doesn’t have the packaging I was expecting.
Can you deliver to Northern Ireland?
Can you deliver to the rest or Europe, America, Africa, Asia or Australia?
QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR PRODUCTS
Q: Are your ingredients locally sourced?
We do like to source as much from the local area as possible and at harvest time a number of local farmers deliver direct from their field to our mill. However due to our climate in the UK we do not produce sufficient wheat to make bread that meets most consumer expectation. Millers must make a choice to add either refined wheat gluten or imported wheat when making l bread flour. At Doves Farm we do not add factory produced refined gluten and instead we choose naturally high gluten imported hard wheat. It is possible to make bread using soft wheat produced in the UK which will have a close crumb texture and excellent flavour. Other ingredients such as rice, maize, kamut grain, and buckwheat do not grow in this country and must be imported.
Q: Please explain the different types of flour and what they should be used for.
- Bread Flour – the flour should contain good quality gluten for bread making.
- Strong Flour – the flour is made from strong high protein wheat with good gluten for bread making. It is also used from choux and hot water pastry.
- Plain Flour - is made from soft wheat varieties and is ideal for pastry, scones and sauces.
- Self Raising Flour - is made from soft wheat with added raising agent for cake making.
- Wholemeal Flour – This is made by milling the whole of the wheat grain with nothing added and nothing taken away.
- Wholegrain Flour – Flour made by milling the whole grain.
- Gluten Free Flour – Flour that is made with ingredients that are naturally gluten free (and or refined starch products)
Q: Do you bleach flour?
No, the addition of bleaching agents is not permitted in the UK.
Q: Where can I buy your products?
Please refer to our stockists section.
Q: Why do you use palm oil and where does it come from?
Our palm oil comes from sustainable, non GM, organic suppliers in Columbia. It is fully traceable, and being produced in South America is in no way implicated in the destruction of Orangu-tan habitats. Indeed, our producers are dedicated to enhancing their local environment, for example setting aside at least 10% of their land for “wildlife corridors”, which is not only valuable for the natural fauna and flora in its own right, but helps control pests and diseases in the organic palm crop.
We use palm fat because it is one of the few “vegetable oils” that is naturally solid at room temperature. Most plant based oils require hydrogenation to make them solid but this is not allowed in organic products. Palm fat, butter and coconut fat are the only available options at this time. Butter, whilst very good, is not suitable for vegans. Coconut fat has a very strong flavor, making it unsuitable for many products.
Q: What is the Doves Farm position on mandatory fortification of Folic Acid to flour?
We would like to encourage the industry to fortify more foods with folic acid on a voluntary basis and increase the eductation of the population which are most susseptable.
This is our favoured option aw well as the favourite option for the Soil Association and the Institute of Biology.
With this option we can address a number of real concerns, not just folate deficiencies. Young women can be educated at to the dangers of folate deficiency and the complications that could arise through deficiency.
Q: What is the level of Aluminum in the Baking Powder?
The level of Aluminum in the Baking Powder is <0.5 mg/kg .
Q: Why is the Buckwheat flour now lighter in colour than before?
Buckwheat Flour is now lighter in colour as the rough outer hull is now removed before milling. Previously we milled the entire grain including the hull which was then sieved out, but some small dark pieces remained mading the flour appear a dark colour. Our Buckwheat Flour still contains all of the grain including the Bran, but now hardly any pieces of the outer hull.
Q: Why don't you use PET recyclable film?
Food grade PET cannot be used to wrap products that are in any way dusty as this compromises the seal. As all Doves Farm products produce an amount of dust the PET film currently available is not suitable for our packaging.
Q: Do you use recycled cardboard in food packaging?
Following recent suggestions that food could be contaminated from recycled packaging, the Food Standards Agency made the following statement: “ The evidence available so far doesn’t demonstrate that there is a food safety risk”. However, as it is very difficult for carton board manufacturers to guarantee the sources of the material they recycle, we do not currently use recycled cardboard for packaging that is in direct contact with food.
Q: Does Biobake Flour contain fungal or enzyme additives?
In 1991 Doves Farm Foods registered the name Biobake as a Trade Mark, no 1465880, in class 30 for flour and preparations made from cereals, bread, biscuits, cakes, pastry, yeast etc… The Biobake name has been in use ever since and is printed onto sacks of bakers grade strong organic flour. Doves Farm Biobake flour is an organic high gluten flour for professional bakery use. It is Soil Association certified and does not include any fungal, or enzyme derived additives.
Over the last 20 years, since we launched organic Biobake flour, we understand that there have been scientific developments using genetic modification, enzymes and nanotechnology to create many food additives, including those offered to the bakery trade. Doves Farm Foods have no connection with the manufacture or use of these types of additives.
We understand that Kerry Foods have recently launched a bread improver product with the name Biobake and that they are offering it for sale to bakers. Doves Farm Foods were very concerned to learn that Kerry Foods had applied the Biobake name to a range of highly refined bakery additives which are diametrically opposite to the credentials of our company, organic flour and other organic foods. The introduction, and coexistence, of a bakery improver with the same name as Doves Farm Biobake flour causes confusion to bakers and is detrimental to Doves Farm Foods product integrity. We are unable to contest the Kerry Foods use of the word Biobake as they have registered the name under a different class in the trade mark registry.
Q: Why do your products no longer state they are suitable for Vegans?
All of our cookies and bars, excluding the Butter Flapjacks, are made without milk or dairy products and comply with the standards of the Vegan society. Milk and dairy products are not intended ingredients and we clean our equipment between production runs. We have been advised that since there is a possibility of a miniscule amount of milk protein remaining after our clean down that the word Vegan could be interpreted as completely milk and dairy free making the product unsuitable to a person who is sensitive to milk and dairy products. For this reason we have changed our labels and on the advice of the FSA and our Trading Standards Officer.
Q: The colour of your wholegrain products is sometimes dark and sometimes pale, am I eating a different product or is there something wrong with it?
We try to source the best grain possible for our products and sometimes this means choosing different grain varieties. Factors such as the growing location, the weather and the season can affect the way it looks too. We often use different grain batches blended together to smooth colour variation, although this isn’t always possible. Rest assured that you will still be consuming the same great product.
COOKING, BAKING AND RECIPE QUESTIONS
Q: How long should I knead dough for?
For more information click here
Q: The gluten free bread recipe uses milk but I cannot drink cows milk. Is there an alternative?
The recipe will work with goat, sheep, soya, rice and oat milk.
Q: The gluten free bread recipe uses vinegar, can I use any type of vinegar?
Any type of vinegar can be used including cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, rice vinegar etc, beware of malt vinegar as this is made from barley that contains gluten.
Q: Why does the recipe on the gluten free flour pack tell you to weigh the liquid?
Weighing the ingredients will ensure accurate measurements and the best result.
Q: I’m looking for a recipe but can’t find it on your website. Please can you help?
We always try to help so please send us an email regarding your query and we will do our best to get an answer for you.
Q: What are the typical gluten levels of your gluten free products?
Please refer to our gluten free pages on this website.
Q: Do you have a recipe for gluten free wedding cake.
Use the Gluten Free Christmas Cake recipe.
Q: How long will Christmas cake and Dundee cake keep?
These cakes are rich in fruit sugar so will keep for some time if wrapped in tin foil in kept in a tin. Many people also like to ‘feed’ rich fruit cake with brandy. To do this make some holes in the base of the cake with a fork and allow a few drops of brandy to drip into the cake. Store as described above.
Q: How do I convert the quantity of yeast in my recipe to fresh/dried/quick yeast?
Please refer to our yeast conversion chart for guidance.
Q: There is the seed husk in my flour, where did it come from?
Wild oats are a common weed in cereal fields growing naturally alongside the crop. Inevitably some are harvested with the wheat and despite thorough cleaning some occasionally remain in the flour. Wild oats are not harmful to humans.
Q: I do not have a gluten free setting on my bread maker, which setting should I use for gluten free bread?
Try a rapid white programme.
Q: My gluten free pastry is crumbly and very hard when baked, what advice can you give me?
Gluten free flours need more liquid than conventional flours so add liquid until it is slightly sticky then rest the dough for 15/30 minutes during which time the liquid will be absorbed. If necessary roll the pastry out between two sheets of cling film.
Q: If a product is out of date, when will it be back in stock
The best thing to do it to keep checking the website. We get stock in on a regular basis so if it's not in stock visit again in a couple of days.
Q: Help, I have got tiny insects in my kitchen cupboard. What are they and how do I get rid of them?
Flour, milk powder, sugar and gravy can become infested with tiny grey/brown insects, even in the cleanest of kitchen cupboards. The best way to get rid of them is by hovering nooks and crannies in the kitchen, including shelves and throwing away any contaminated foods. It is natural, but wrong, to assume that the products themselves are always at fault. For more information visit http://www.kcl.ac.uk/psocids
Website Queries
Q: What do I do if you’re out of stock of my favourite line?
The best thing is to keep checking the website. We’re not normally out of stock for anything for very long.
Q: When I try to pay the screen goes to a blank white screen and nothing happens.
This isn’t an issue with our website or Secure Trading. We suggest that you report your card to the issuer as they might be able to shed more light on this.
Q: What should I do if I am not happy with one of your products that I have purchased?
We hope that our products have reached you in perfect condition; if not please let us know! Simply return the pack & contents to our freepost address below, explaining when & where they were purchased, and a brief description of what you think is wrong.
Doves Farm Foods
FREEPOST RG2974
Hungerford
Berkshire
RG17 0RF
Q: My order has just arrived but it’s incorrect
Tthe best thing to do is to email us as soon as possible on webenq@dovesfarm.co.uk and explain, with your order number, the issue.
Q: How much is delivery?
Look at the delivery section.
Q: How do I know when my order, DF xxxxxx, will be dispatched?
Log on to your website account, each order has an update of its progress. Once it has been dispatched there will also be a tracker number on your account. This can be used on the Parcelforce website.
Q: I ordered ages ago and still haven’t received my package.
In this unlikely scenario please send us an email with your order number and we will investigate what happened to your order.
Q: I live close by or am going via Doves Farm. Can I pick up my order rather than have it delivered?
Unfortunately not, we don’t have the facility for deducting the delivery charge or a real shop at Doves Farm.
Q: A parcel has arrived but doesn’t have the packaging I was expecting.
The outer packaging doesn’t represent the contents of the parcel. At Doves Farm where possible we use unwanted packaging to cut down on the waste this planet has to deal with.
Q: Can you deliver to Northern Ireland?
Yes we can, please check the delivery instructions
Q: Can you deliver to the rest or Europe, America, Africa, Asia or Australia?
At the moment we don’t have the facility to set up the pricing structure, this is the next step for us and we will be doing it as soon as possible. If email us your contact details we will get in touch with you when you can order from overseas.
