European flour equivalents

German flours are catagorized by the amount of “ash” in the flour, not the amount of protein like American flours. This makes it hard to come up with an exact replacement.

Here are some suggestions to try:

Type 405 - .50 ash - Similar to American pastry flour

• Item #3331 Unbleached Pastry Flour (9.2% protein, .42 ash)
• Item #3338 Italian-Style Flour (8.5% protein, .40-.45 ash)

Type 550 - .50-.58 ash - Similar to American all-purpose flour

• Item #3005 Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (11.7% protein, .49 ash)
• Item #3323 Select Artisan Organic All-Purpose Flour (11.3% protein, .54 ash)

Type 812 - .64-.89 ash - Similar to American all-purpose flour, but higher ash

• Item #3334 French Style Flour (11.5% protein, .70 ash)

Type 1050 - 1.05 ash - Similar to American “First Clear” flour

• Item #3337 First Clear Flour (14.8% protein, .80 ash)

Type 1600 - 1.60 ash - The closest you could get to this would be a light-colored whole wheat flour.

• Item #3311 White Whole Wheat Flour (13% protein, 1.80 ash)

American equivalents to German flours:

German flour type numbers (Mehltype) indicate the amount of ash (measured in milligrams) obtained from 100 grams of the dry mass of this flour.

Very White	404
Medium White/Whole Wheat	1050
Whole Wheat	1700
Medium Rye	1150
Slightly Darker	1370
Dark Dark Dark	1800

USA versus European Flour

Every now and then, a customer asks what US flours are equivalent to flours they have used for baking in Europe. European flours are sold by “Type” with a corresponding number. Here is the listing; this is particularly appropriate for German flours and the flours of bordering countries. The flours in parenthesis represent the flours we offer that would best match the type listed:

German/European Flour by Type Numbers

Wheat Flour:

• Type 405 - is used for fine Pastries and Cakes - in Austria it is #480 (Unbleached Pastry Flour)
• Type 550 - is used for tender breads, biscuits, croissants, cookies, and muffins, etc. (King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour)
• Type 1050 - is used for light grayish looking bread - light wheat flour (White Whole Wheat Flour)
• Type 1700 - is for used for hardy bread - dark wheat flour (Traditional Whole Wheat Flour)

Rye Flour:

• Type 815 - for small pastries - ground very fine (White Rye Flour)
• Type - 997 - or 1150 - for light rye bread - ground fine (White Rye Flour)
• Type - 1150 - for regular rye bread - it is little darker then 997, but also ground finely - and is called Graubrot (gray bread) (Medium Rye Flour)
• Type - 1370 - dark rye bread, also used for mixed breads (wheat and rye) is ground even finer (Medium Rye Flour)
• Type - 1800 - whole grain rye used for basic for all full grain breads (Pumpernickel)

These are specific types in Germany and close bordering countries.

Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.

Happy Baking.