The Best Flour for Homemade Bread in the UK (What to Buy)

Walk down the flour aisle and face a wall of choice: strong white, very strong, wholemeal, spelt, 00… Here’s the best flour for homemade bread in the UK — what each type does, which brands are worth it, and what to use for every kind of loaf.

The key number: protein content

Bread needs gluten, and gluten comes from protein. The protein percentage on the packet tells you what the flour is for:

• 12–14% protein: bread flour — strong gluten network, good rise, chewy crumb
• 9–11% protein: plain/all-purpose — fine for quick breads, poor for yeasted loaves (weak rise)
• Below 9%: cake flour territory — never for bread

Rule one of bread-making: use actual bread flour. Half of all “my bread didn’t rise” complaints trace back to plain flour.

Strong white bread flour (the everyday workhorse)

Your default for sandwich loaves, rolls, pizza dough and most yeasted baking:

• Allinson’s Strong White (£1.80–£2.20/1.5kg) — the UK standard; reliable, widely available, 12.5% protein
• Tesco/Sainsbury’s own strong white (£1.20–£1.50/1.5kg) — perfectly good; blind tests show minimal difference for everyday loaves
• Matthews Cotswold Strong White (£2.50+/1.5kg) — stoneground, superb flavour; the upgrade pick
• Shipton Mill — the artisan favourite; organic options, exceptional quality

Very strong / Canadian flour (for serious structure)

13–14% protein — for bagels, pizza with long ferments, and enriched doughs (brioche, panettone) that need extra strength. Allinson’s Very Strong White is the easy find. Overkill for a basic sandwich loaf, essential for chewy bagels.

Wholemeal bread flour

• 100% wholemeal: denser, nuttier, more nutritious — but heavier rise. For a lighter loaf, use 50/50 white and wholemeal (the best of both worlds and my recommended starting point).
• Allinson’s Wholemeal or Dove’s Farm Organic Wholemeal (£2–£2.80) — both excellent
• Wholemeal absorbs more water — add an extra 20–30ml per 500g flour and expect a slightly stickier dough
• Stoneground wholemeal (Matthews, Shipton Mill) has noticeably better flavour than roller-milled

Speciality flours worth knowing

• Spelt flour: ancient grain, nutty flavour, lower gluten — makes a lovely loaf but handles differently (less kneading, more water sensitivity). Dove’s Farm spelt is widely available.
• Rye flour: for rye and sourdough blends — low gluten, dense crumb; usually blended with wheat flour (try 30% rye, 70% white).
• “00” flour: Italian-milled, very fine — for pizza and pasta, not bread loaves. Caputo 00 is the gold standard for pizza.
• Malted/granary flour: Allinson’s Country Grain or Hovis Granary-style — malted wheat flakes for texture and sweetness; makes a superb granary loaf.

What about supermarket vs premium?

Honest answer: for everyday sandwich bread, supermarket own-brand strong flour is absolutely fine. The premium stoneground flours (Matthews, Shipton Mill) taste noticeably better — nuttier, more complex — and I’d choose them for weekend baking or sourdough. But flour quality is maybe 20% of the result; technique (kneading, proving, baking) is the other 80%. Master the method with cheap flour, then upgrade the flour.

Storage

• Keep flour in an airtight container (not the paper bag — it absorbs moisture and odours)
• Wholemeal goes rancid faster (the oils in the bran) — buy smaller bags, use within 3 months
• White flour keeps 6–12 months in a cool, dry cupboard
• Freeze flour for 48 hours when you buy it to kill any weevil eggs (common, harmless, but unpleasant)

The bottom line

Strong white bread flour (12%+ protein) for everyday loaves — Allinson’s or supermarket own-brand. 50/50 white/wholemeal for a healthier daily loaf. Very strong for bagels and long-ferment pizza. Stoneground premium (Matthews, Shipton Mill) when you want the best flavour. Get the protein right and the technique solid, and the brand barely matters. For what to do with it, see easy pizza dough and our guide to storing homemade bread.

Reading the packet: what the labels really mean

Flour packaging is full of meaningful terms and marketing fluff — here’s the decoder. “Strong”: meaningful — 12%+ protein, for bread. “Very strong”: meaningful — 13–14%, for enriched doughs and long ferments. “Stoneground”: meaningful — milled between stones, more of the grain’s flavour retained, slightly coarser texture. “Organic”: meaningful for pesticide avoidance, minimal difference in baking performance. “Unbleached”: standard in the UK (bleaching is rare here anyway) — mostly marketing.

“Artisan”: marketing — no legal definition. “Premium”: marketing. “Bread improver added”: meaningful — ascorbic acid and enzymes that boost rise (common in supermarket bread flour; fine, but purists prefer without). “Malted”: meaningful — malted barley flour added for flavour and crust colour (Allinson’s Country Grain style). The protein percentage is the single most informative number on the packet — everything else is secondary. Check it before buying; don’t trust the front-of-pack claims alone.

Bread flour FAQs

Can I use plain flour for bread in an emergency? Yes, with lowered expectations. Plain flour (9–11% protein) makes denser, less risen bread — the gluten network is weaker. Improve it: add 1 tbsp vital wheat gluten per 500g flour (available online — it is the missing protein), knead well, and accept a tighter crumb. Fine for pizza in a pinch; disappointing for a sandwich loaf. Don’t use self-raising (the baking powder interferes with yeast).

What’s the difference between bread flour and “00” flour? “00” refers to grind fineness (Italian classification), not protein — 00 flour can be 11–13% protein. Bread flour refers to protein content (12%+). For pizza: 00 (Caputo) — the fine grind gives silky, extensible dough. For loaves: strong bread flour — the protein gives structure and rise. They’re different axes; 00 is not automatically better for bread.

Is expensive flour worth it? For everyday loaves: no — supermarket strong white (£1.20/1.5kg) performs within 5% of premium in blind tests. For sourdough and special baking: yes — stoneground flour (Matthews, Shipton Mill, £2.50–£4) has noticeably better flavour (nuttier, more complex) that long fermentation showcases. The rule: master technique with cheap flour, upgrade flour when the technique is solid. A skilled baker with Tesco flour beats a beginner with Shipton Mill every time.

How should I store flour? Airtight container (not the paper bag — absorbs moisture and odours), cool and dry. White flour: 6–12 months. Wholemeal: 3 months (the bran oils go rancid — buy small bags). Freeze for 48 hours on purchase to kill weevil eggs (common, harmless, unpleasant). Smell it — rancid flour smells musty/off; when in doubt, throw it out (it’s £1.50, not worth the risk).

What flour for sourdough starter? Wholemeal or rye to start (more wild yeast and nutrients on the bran — faster, more reliable establishment), then strong white for maintenance feeds (cheaper, predictable). Stoneground organic (Matthews, Shipton Mill) gives the most vigorous starters — the less processed the flour, the livelier the microbial community. Unchlorinated water matters too (chlorine inhibits microbes — filter or leave tap water out overnight).

Related reading

Put it to use: easy pizza dough — and BBC Good Food’s bread baking guides.