Flour types don’t simply translate.
Countries use different combinations of ash, protein and grind size for their trade classification of grain mill products. Use this tool to convert from a flour type you found in some recipe to the one that you can actually buy.
Find the flour to buy
Say where the recipe is from and what it calls for, then where you shop. You get the designation to buy, the figures side by side, and what might change in your bake.
tipo 00Common wheat
plain / soft flourCommon wheat
Workable with adjustmentWhere the figures come from
- Much weaker, about 2.3 pp less protein. Reduce water by 4–6 %, mix briefly, shorten the proof, expect a flatter and more tender result. Not a base for long-fermented bread.
- “tipo 00” only caps ash. Italian mills sell everything from a 9 % biscuit flour to a 14.5 % pizza flour under that name, so check the W value or the protein figure — that, not the number, decides what it does.
- United Kingdom: protein itself is not regulated, so two bags of the same designation can vary significantly. Read the nutrition panel for the actual number.
Higher ash content More water absorbed, faster fermentation, more flavour. The bran particles can impair the gluten network. Mix gentler, ferment shorter.
Protein up More water needed, longer mixing, better gas retention and oven spring, chewier crumb. Wrong for sponge and shortcrust.
Grind coarser Slower hydration. The dough firms up over the first twenty minutes after mixing, as the water is absorbed.
Practical implications of these numbers
Higher ash content More water absorbed, faster fermentation, more flavour. The bran particles can impair the gluten network. Mix gentler, ferment shorter.
Protein up More water needed, longer mixing, better gas retention and oven spring, chewier crumb. Wrong for sponge and shortcrust.
Grind coarser Slower hydration. The dough firms up over the first twenty minutes after mixing, as the water is absorbed.
The standards side by side
Each national standard is displayed on one horizontal track, ordered and aligned by ash content, which is the common denominator across most systems. Each bar marks the range of ash content for the type. Fill dot size represents the grind, the little icons inside the bars signal protein content. Filled marks and solid lines mean the standard fixes that figure; hollow ones and dashed lines mean there is no regulation, and the values are taken as typical market practice. Where a standard fixes only one end of a range, only that end of the bar is drawn solid; the protein meter answers for the whole band, so it fills if either end is fixed.
How to read the chart
Each national standard is displayed on one horizontal track, ordered and aligned by ash content, which is the common denominator across most systems. Each bar marks the range of ash content for the type. Fill dot size represents the grind, the little icons inside the bars signal protein content. Filled marks and solid lines mean the standard fixes that figure; hollow ones and dashed lines mean there is no regulation, and the values are taken as typical market practice. Where a standard fixes only one end of a range, only that end of the bar is drawn solid; the protein meter answers for the whole band, so it fills if either end is fixed.
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Flour properties, explained
While the type of grain, its provenance, and fertilization influence the protein content, the mill can adjust particle size and ash content, as well as blend different batches of grain for consistency.
What parts of a grain are used
A roller mill not only cracks the grain, but also sorts the fragments and re-combines and re-grinds the separated fractions. This allows to control the amount of the outer layers vs inner parts of the grain that end up in the flour. Because the core of a grain is almost entirely made of starch, and the outer shell has almost all the minerals, this choice determines the mineral content of the finished product. This property of the flour is also called 'extraction': lower extraction means less of the outer shell is in the finished product.
Mineral content is measured as ash content by (dry) weight. A sample of flour is burned, leaving behind only the minerals.
How it is measured
Mineral content is measured as ash content by (dry) weight. A sample of flour is burned, leaving behind only the minerals.
EN ISO 2171 · ICC 104/1
More water absorbed, faster fermentation, more flavour. The bran particles can impair the gluten network. Mix gentler, ferment shorter.
EN ISO 2171 · ICC 104/1
How finely it is ground
When sorting the grain fragments, the mill can also control the particle size of the product. Note that this is different from extraction: Flour of the same extraction grade (i. e., with the same mineral content) can have different particle size.
Particle size is determined for classification by sieve analysis. In some countries (mostly those using the Austrian tradition) coarser products are just another kind of flour, in others (the majority), coarser products are not classified as flour.
How it is measured
Particle size is determined for classification by sieve analysis. In some countries (mostly those using the Austrian tradition) coarser products are just another kind of flour, in others (the majority), coarser products are not classified as flour.
ÖLMB B 20 · D.P.R. 187/2001 · 21 CFR 137.105
Slower hydration. The dough firms up over the first twenty minutes after mixing, as the water is absorbed.
ÖLMB B 20 · D.P.R. 187/2001 · 21 CFR 137.105
What the grain is made of
Protein (both total mass and quality) are determined by the grain variety, the soil and the amount of nitrogen fertiliser. The mill cannot change this, but will blend different lots for product consistency. Protein content is mostly watched in wheat varieties, because of its relevance in bread making.
Protein content and quality, in particular of wheat, is critical for how well the dough holds gas when leavening. It is measured most easily as total protein mass, (N × 5.7), but because the actual composition of the protein is also relevant, there are methods to measure the quality of gluten formation directly, using either a farinograph or an alveograph (see 'W value').
How it is measured
Protein content and quality, in particular of wheat, is critical for how well the dough holds gas when leavening. It is measured most easily as total protein mass, (N × 5.7), but because the actual composition of the protein is also relevant, there are methods to measure the quality of gluten formation directly, using either a farinograph or an alveograph (see 'W value').
ISO 20483 · ISO 21415 · ISO 5530-1 · ISO 27971
More water needed, longer mixing, better gas retention and oven spring, chewier crumb. Wrong for sponge and shortcrust.
ISO 20483 · ISO 21415 · ISO 5530-1 · ISO 27971
A fourth property you might encounter: W-value
Because the total protein mass is not sufficient to determine the baking properties of flour, laboratories also measure protein quality by direct experiment. This property is rarely found on end user products, but is very relevant between mills and professional customers. In Italy, France and Spain, you can sometimes find a W value on the package. This is measured by a device called alveograph and specifies the energy it takes to inflate a disc of dough into a bubble until it bursts. This has practical consequences for baking: two flours at 12.5 % total protein can sit as far apart as W 180 and W 320. For context: biscuits require 90–130, bread 250–300, long-fermented pizza 300–350. In some countries, you may find certain brands of flour marketed as a special-purpose flour, this can indicate different protein qualities, but because this is rarely regulated, and mostly not indicated on end-user products, it is deliberately not an axis here. There is an alternative method of determining protein quality via dough viscosity, called a farinograph. This is used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland, among others, but, like the alveograph reading, this is mostly relevant in professional use and not easily apparent to the average consumer in a supermarket. Alveograph and farinograph have different measuring principles, and the readings are not convertible.
The standards themselves
Below are the original documents for the national standards which were used on this page. Where a system does not regulate a parameter, the ranges shown are taken to be typical market practice and are marked as such.
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DE
Germany
- DIN 10355:2017-11 — Mahlerzeugnisse aus Getreide Mehl types for wheat, rye and spelt. Classifies Weizendunst and Weichweizengrieß but assigns them no type number. Paywalled: the Bavarian food authority defers to it rather than reproducing the bands, so the figures here are unverified.
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AT
Austria
- Codex B 20, Anhang Tabelle 1 — Aschetoleranzen Type bands for every Austrian entry. Weizengrieß and Weizendunst are typed alongside Weizenauszugsmehl at 480.
- Codex B 20, Anhang Tabelle 2 — Korngrößen Particle bands: Grieß 355–1000 µm, Dunst 125–250, Mehl griffig 90–355, Mehl glatt to 180. The optional-label clause of Pkt. 2.3 covers only the glatt / griffig / Universal hints on Mehl; the Grieß and Dunst bands are fixed.
- Codex B 20 — konsolidierte Fassung des BMSGPK The current ministry text: GZ 2022-0.419.616 with the amendments 2023-0.411.233 and 2024-0.368.201. The WKO copy cited above is the unamended 2022 snapshot; the three annex tables read identically in both.
- Codex B 20, Anhang — amtliche Online-Fassung Tabelle 1 (Aschetoleranzen, Säuregrad), Tabelle 2 (Korngrößen) and Tabelle 3 (Schrote) as HTML — the page that resolves to the annex itself rather than to the chapter.
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CH
Switzerland
- VLpH, SR 817.022.17, Art. 62 — Begriffe Defines Griess as shell-free endosperm particles, Dunst as finer cleaned Griess, Schrot as the coarse grind of whole kernels including the germ, and Mehl by particle size — mostly under 180 µm. No ash limit attaches to Griess, Dunst or Schrot.
- VLpH, SR 817.022.17, Art. 63 + 67 — Normalmehl, Anforderungen Weissmehl max 0.63 %, Halbweissmehl 0.64–0.90, Ruchmehl 0.91–1.69. Vollkornmehl is set by extraction — at least 98 % — not by ash. Water max 15.5 %.
- VLpH, SR 817.022.17, Art. 68 — Behandlungsverfahren Bleaching and chlorine treatment of flour are prohibited, unlike under 21 CFR 137.105.
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FR
France
- Arrêté du 13 juillet 1963 — homologation des types de farine de blé Every wheat type, on one scale: 45 below 0.50 %, 55 at 0.50–0.60, 65 at 0.62–0.75, 80 at 0.75–0.90, 110 at 1.00–1.20, 150 above 1.40. Reproduced in the Code des usages, §2.
- Arrêté du 24 décembre 1963 — homologation des types de farines de seigle et de méteil Rye and meslin: type 70 at 0.60–1.00 %, 85 at 0.75–1.25, 130 at 1.20–1.50, 170 above 1.50. The arrêté homologates the same four types for méteil as for rye — one table, two commodities — so the méteil rows here sit in the rye lane, the closest the grain list can come to a wheat–rye mixture.
- Code des usages « Farine » (ANMF), octobre 2016 Carries technical approval from the DGCCRF, September 2015. Labelling must state either the ash content or a homologated type. §1.d fixes the only French protein figure: farine de gruau is blé tendre, « un Type 65 maximum », protéines > 12 % (N × 5,7, sur matière sèche). Flours of other cereals — spelt among them — carry no type obligation, so the épeautre band here is market practice.
- Décret n° 63-720, abrogated 1 July 2016 by décret n° 2016-884 Left millers free to compose flours as they wished, while fixing the gruau denominations — gruau 45 needed protein of at least 11.5 % and a Chopin value of at least 220. Repealed in the recodification of the code de la consommation. It never set the type scale; the arrêtés did.
- Arrêté du 27 mai 1957 — caractéristiques des semoules de blé dur The text that actually fixes semoule de blé dur, which the Code des usages does not cover at all: ash ceilings of 0.80 % for the pasta-grade supérieure (SSS E) and 1.30 % for the courante (SSS F) (art. 2–3), and 1.00 / 0.90 / 0.80 % for the three direct-consumption grades by grenaison (art. 4). Ceilings only — the arrêté fixes no lower bound and no protein. The generic « semoule de blé dur » row beside these is the trade's catch-all for what a shop actually sells under that name; its band spans the named grades and is market practice, which is why it is the one durum row here with no ceiling from this text.
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IT
Italy
- D.P.R. 187/2001, art. 1 — grano tenero Ash maxima 0.55 / 0.65 / 0.80 / 0.95 for tipo 00 / 0 / 1 / 2 with minimum protein 9.00 / 11.00 / 12.00 / 12.00, and farina integrale at 1.30–1.70. Tipo 00 may also be sold granular, as granito.
- D.P.R. 187/2001, art. 2 — grano duro Semola max 0.90 % ash and protein at least 10.50; semolato 0.90–1.35 and 11.50; semola integrale 1.40–1.80 and 11.50; farina di grano duro 1.36–1.70 and 11.50.
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CZ
Czechia
- Vyhláška č. 18/2020 Sb., příloha č. 1 Groups and subgroups: krupice sits beside mouka, not under it.
- Vyhláška č. 18/2020 Sb., příloha č. 2, tabulka 2 Ash ceilings and sieve specs for every mouka subgroup. Ceilings only — no lower bound is fixed.
- Vyhláška č. 18/2020 Sb., příloha č. 2, tabulka 3 krupice hrubá and krupice jemná, both capped at 0.50 % ash.
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PL
Poland
- PN-A-74022:2003 / PN-A-74032:2002 Mąka pszenna and mąka żytnia types. Paywalled, so the figures here are unverified. No standard identified for kasza manna, which is a kasza rather than a mąka — its band is market practice.
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HU
Hungary
- Magyar Élelmiszerkönyv 2-201, 2. kiadás (2019), 2. melléklet 1–3. táblázat The edition the figures here come from: ash, wet gluten, farinograph group and sieve spec for every wheat, spelt and rye entry. Étkezési búzadara and durumbúza simaliszt are listed with no ash figure at all; BL 55, BFF 55, BTL 50 and RL 60 carry a ceiling only, DTD and RTKL a minimum only.
- Magyar Élelmiszerkönyv 2-201 (régi 2-61), 3. módosított kiadás (2011) The previous edition, kept for comparison. It prints BL 112 at 0.89–1.12 rather than 0.89–1.18, gives BFF 55 a wet gluten minimum of 27 rather than 25, fixes no ash at all for the durum dara, codes the pasta flour TL 50 rather than BTL 50, and has no spelt: tönkölybúza and tritikálé were added in 2019.
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UK
United Kingdom
- Bread and Flour Regulations 1998, Schedule 1 Fortification only — calcium carbonate 235–390 mg/100 g, iron at least 1.65, thiamin 0.24, nicotinic acid 1.60. No grades, type numbers, ash, protein or granulation are defined anywhere, so every UK band here is market practice.
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US
United States
- 21 CFR 137.105 — Flour Non-durum wheat, at least 98 % through a No. 70 sieve, moisture max 15 %, and ash capped at one twentieth of the protein plus 0.35 — a formula, not a band, which is why the US ash ranges here are market practice. Chlorine bleaching is permitted.
- 21 CFR 137.220 — Durum flour Durum wheat, at least 98 % through a No. 70 sieve, moisture max 15 %, and a flat ash ceiling of 1.5 % — the only US ash figure that is neither a formula nor tied to a coarse grade. No lower bound, so the floor here is market practice.
- 21 CFR 137.300 — Farina Non-durum wheat, ash max 0.6 %, passes a No. 20 sieve with at most 3 % through a No. 100.
- 21 CFR 137.320 — Semolina Durum, ash max 0.92 %, same sieve spec as farina — the two differ by wheat species and ash, not coarseness.
- 21 CFR 137.225 — Whole durum wheat flour Whole wheat flour milled from durum: the section fixes the sieve spec and moisture only and no ash figure at all, so the band here is market practice.
Further reading
Not standards. Background on the milling, the trade conventions and everyday practice behind the figures above. The tag gives the language each is written in.
- Particle size distribution control during wheat milling EN International Journal of Food Science & Technology How milling fineness moves damaged starch, water absorption and crumb — the evidence behind weighting grind heavily here.
- Mehl DE Wikipedia The German milling categories, and why Dunst and Grieß carry no type number.
- Mouka – typová čísla CS Jan Vavříček What the Czech T-numbers mean, given the decree defines none.
- Mouky na pečení: jak se v nich vyznat CS Upeč si chleba Which Czech type suits which bake, from a baking-practice site.
- Griffiges Mehl: Definition und Verwendung DE EDEKA German usage for griffig — and it recommends it for pizza, against the Italian tradition.
- Glatt, griffig, universal: Welches Mehl benötigt man wofür? DE Land schafft Leben The Austrian view of glatt, griffig and universal.
- Kasza manna PL Wikipedia Why Poland files semolina as a groat rather than a flour.