Flours of the worldAsh · Grind · Protein
What can I use in place of T45 in the United Kingdom?
The recipe asks for France's T45. On a shelf in the United Kingdom the closest designation is plain / soft flour — workable with adjustment. Below: the figures side by side, what changes in the bake, and the standards both come from.
§ 01
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.
Recipe from
France
The recipe calls for
T45Common wheat
Ash / mineral contentA 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.0.30–0.50 %maximum fixed by the standardProteinProtein (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.9.0–12.0 %typical market range, not regulatedGrind / particle sizeWhen 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.finetypical market range, not regulated
Shopping in
United Kingdom
Buy type
1/5
plain / soft flourCommon wheat
Workable with adjustmentAsh / mineral contentA 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.0.40–0.55 %typical market range, not regulatedProteinProtein (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.8.0–10.0 %typical market range, not regulatedGrind / particle sizeWhen 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.finetypical market range, not regulated
T45→plain / soft flour
Workable with adjustment
Ash / mineral contentA 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.
+0.08 %
0.30–0.50→0.40–0.55 %
maximum fixed by the standard→typical market range, not regulated
ProteinProtein (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.
−1.5 %
9.0–12.0→8.0–10.0 %
typical market range, not regulated→typical market range, not regulated
Grind / particle sizeWhen 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.
about the same
fine→fine
typical market range, not regulated→typical market range, not regulated
Where the figures come from
Ash / mineral content
0.30–0.50→0.40–0.55 %
maximum fixed by the standard→typical market range, not regulated
Protein
9.0–12.0→8.0–10.0 %
typical market range, not regulated→typical market range, not regulated
Grind / particle size
fine→fine
typical market range, not regulated→typical market range, not regulated
What you might have to change
- About 1.5 pp less protein. Reduce water by 2–4 %, mix less, handle gently — it tears sooner and holds less gas.
- 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.
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.
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.
Other options
- strong white bread flour Limited as a substitute Ash / mineral content 0.50–0.65 % Protein 11.5–13.5 % Grind / particle size fine
- very strong white Limited as a substitute Ash / mineral content 0.50–0.68 % Protein 14.0–15.5 % Grind / particle size fine
- brown flour (~85 %) Limited as a substitute Ash / mineral content 0.90–1.30 % Protein 12.0–14.0 % Grind / particle size fine
The standards behind these figures
-
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.
-
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.