British Flour
Over 200 different kinds of bread are produced in the UK - from butter rich brioche and crisp baguettes to farmhouse loaves and focaccia, soft ciabatta and crumpets to chapattis and flaky croissants. This diversity is only possible because of the vast range and quality of British flour available.
Not so long ago, bakers were encouraged to look abroad for quality flour. Now, the flour they use to create the blistered crusts and richly flavoured crumb of our finest breads is British. Every year in the UK, millers produce over 4.4 million tonnes of some of the best flour in Europe and 85% is milled from wheat grown in the UK. Home grown grains, blended with small amounts of imported wheat, and the unsurpassed skill and efficiency of our millers, means that Britain is consistently producing exceptional flours.
Wheat Varieties
Variety is the spice of life. In Britain, there are flours for all kinds of foods and all kinds of tastes. Like wine, British flours may vary in their scent and flavour from strong, creamy white flours to pungent, malted flours. Bakers used to face great difficulties in trying to produce excellence daily. Now by careful selection and blending of different wheat varieties, the flavour and quality are constant.
In the UK, the milling of wheats and blending of flours is an artform. Good breadmaking varieties from the UK include Malacca and Hereward - wheats with superb breadmaking qualities that have replaced older varieties such as Avalon and Mercia. These high protein wheats contain the high levels of good quality gluten that are vital to an elastic dough and well risen loaf. They are also hard wheats meaning they produce a flour that absorbs water easily during baking to produce a silkier dough and outstanding bread with an excellent texture that does not stale quickly.
Wheats for biscuit and cake making need to be softer and less resilient than breadmaking wheats. They also need to contain lower levels of protein and gluten. Too much and the texture of cakes, biscuits and other patisserie products can be affected. British farmers grow a number of varieties of wheat, including Riband, Consort and Claire that produce ideal cake and biscuit flour.
