100% Italian Gentil Rosso soft wheat

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Gentil Rosso is an ancient soft wheat variety originating from Tuscany.

Gentil Rosso is an ancient variety of wheat, cultivated in Italy since the early 1900s and for 30 years it was the most widely grown wheat in the entire peninsula.
It is a fairly tall ear with a reddish color when ripe.

Like all ancient grains, it has a good protein content, but little gluten, so in terms of bread development it is less than modern grains, but the result is a well-smelling and tasty bread.

The difference between modern and ancient varieties in terms of protein content lies not in the quantity but in the quality and variety of proteins: ancient grains contain a wide range of different, digestible and nutritious proteins.

Modern wheat, on the other hand, contains few types of proteins optimized for industrial processing and nutritionally deficient; therefore, they are difficult to digest.
Furthermore, ancient varieties are particularly rich in mineral salts and secondary metabolites.

In the 19th century, Francesco Todaro selected Gentil Rosso 48, along with other grains, for its superior yield and stability. Its ears, with semi-cylindrical, hazelnut-colored seeds, are remarkably tall, estimated to reach 150 cm or even 160 cm in height.

This wheat is notable for its strong disease resistance, especially rust, and for its good hardiness and adaptability. To generate a robust plant with root propagation—that is, multiple stems from a single seed and as many ears—furrows 20 cm deep, 30-40 cm x 50 cm deep, and continuous, regular earthing up/weeding are required.

Gentil Rosso flour can also be used to make focaccia and pizza, desserts, and egg pasta. For piadinas and puff pastry, it can be used plain, resulting in a dough that won't be very elastic. For pizza, it can be blended with small amounts of other flours.

The Gentil Rosso is suitable for organic cultivation and is Rich in iron, magnesium, and vitamin B. As already mentioned, Gentil Rosso has a very low gluten content, its strength (W) is 48, and its balance, tenacity, and extensibility (P/L) ratio is 0.56; very different from modern wheat flours that have around W200 or strong flours like Manitoba that reach peaks of W400.

From an organoleptic point of view, all ancient grain flours, rigorously stone-ground, are further characterised by a high content of lipids, amino acids, vitamins and mineral salts.