French flour equivalent

Toast
luca6901 on 15 Nov 2021 at 01:56

Hello there,

I'm just making my way into sourdough bread but I'm a bit lost since I live in France and flour are named differently:

'Strong Bread Flour' -> T55, T65 or T80 ?

'Whole Wheat Flour' -> T110 or T150 ? (traduction: 'farine complète' : T110 -> farine semi-complète ; T150 -> farine intégrale)

I've searched a lot on internet but every post has a different answer, and the post on this forum does not mention T80 and T110.

 

Thanks for any help!

'Strong Bread Flour' is mostly a British/Canadian term. Unless otherwise specified, this is white flour so either T55 or T65 could be used but definitely not T80. You should know that neither T55 nor T65 will behave exactly like strong white bread flour because a) wheat grown in different climates is different, and b) most French flours will not have a protein content over 12%. 

Not all brands of french flour are the same (just like everywhere else), but in my experience T65 is more suited to lean 'artisan style' sourdough breads in comparison to T55. T55 is often seen in baguette recipes though.

'Whole Wheat Flour' is a US term. In UK recipes you usually see 'wholemeal flour'. This would be T150. T110 is basically T150 with less of the bran and germ, so a lot like high extraction flours.

T80 really has no substitute. One could say it's half-wholemeal, but it looks nothing like mixing wholemeal and white flour, and behaves nothing like mixing wholemeal and white flour. I believe traditionally pain de campagne is made with T80 and wholemeal rye sourdough starter.

Actually, if you're comfortable with recipes in French, that's probably the way to go rather than looking for substitutions because those recipes were tested with French flours so you can expect your own T65 or T55 etc. to behave reasonably like the recipe tester's flour.

You won't find T80 or T110 mentioned a lot on this or other anglo-phone forums because outside of France it can be impossible/difficult/expensive to find any.

 

Thanks a lot for this! I'll try to find french recipe, since I can't find any store in EU that sells King's Arthur bread flour.

I also found this : http://aulevain.canalblog.com/archives/2008/08/21/10304760.html

And it is said that T80 is fine for sourdough bread too. I'll stick with my T65 12% protein for my future loaf, and maybe feed my starter with T80.

Just to clarify, what I meant was that if a recipe calls for strong bread flour, T80 is not a recommended substitute because T80 is not a white flour. (Whereas T65 and T55 are within reason as substitutes.)

But that is not to say T80 is not suitable for bread, sourdough or otherwise. T80 is a lovely, lovely flour, and since you have access I definitely recommend you try it out. It lends breads a distinct wheat-y heartiness without the coarseness you can get from wholemeal flour because of all the bran. 

This video shows a baker making sourdough bread using T80. A very bare-bones recipe, but he demonstrates the basic principles/techniques common to lean French breads and working with French flour.