Flour in France

Types of flour, and what the grading means

Farine additionnée de 3% de levure chimique/ farine spéciale gâteaux Farine de blé complète (type 150) – wholegrain flour.
Farine type 45 – pastry flour.
Farine type 55 – multi-purpose flour.

The grades are based on the amount of flour which has been extracted from the grain of wheat. This ranges from 70% of the grain for white flour, type 45, up to 95% for wholegrain flour – type 150. The browner the flour, the more husk is in it, and more husk means more herbicides, insecticides etc are found in the flour, unless you choose organic.

Type 45 flour is for pastries, 55 is used for white bread, and types 65, 80, 110 and 150 are for various kinds of brown bread. Clearly, the higher the type, the browner the bread.