Best of
The best flours for sourdough - and when to pick which
Eight flours every sourdough baker should know, what each does to your loaf, and the one I'd start with if I had to pick.
Choice of flour shapes everything: rise speed, crumb openness, crust colour, flavour profile. The lazy default ('use whatever bread flour the supermarket has') gets you 70% there; understanding flours gets you the last 30%.
The picks
Tools we'd recommend for home bakers looking at sourdough flours.
T550 / bread flour
The reliable workhorse
Standard German bread flour. Strong gluten, predictable behaviour, neutral taste. If you bake one loaf a week, this is your default flour - and it should be 60-80% of every bake's flour mix.
Strengths
Trade-offs
Best for
Your default 70-80% of any sourdough mix.
T1050 / whole wheat
Flavour + nutrition + faster rise
The bran is full of wild yeast and minerals - whole wheat ferments faster than white and adds nuttiness. Use 20-30% in any mix to deepen the flavour without making the loaf too dense.
Strengths
Trade-offs
Best for
20-30% of any mix to add flavour + speed.
Whole rye
Fastest fermentation, deepest flavour
The fastest-fermenting flour by a wide margin. Almost no gluten, so 100%-rye loaves are dense and pumpernickel-like. Used at 10-30% in a wheat mix, it accelerates everything and adds the classic German country-loaf tang. Rye is also the go-to for reviving a sluggish starter.
Strengths
Trade-offs
Best for
10-30% of any mix; or 100% for pumpernickel.
Spelt (Dinkel)
Sweet + delicate
Ancient wheat ancestor with a sweet, slightly nutty flavour. Lower gluten than modern wheat, so loaves are softer and don't open as dramatically. Beloved in southern Germany; underrated everywhere else.
Strengths
Trade-offs
Best for
30-100% of any mix when you want a soft, sweet loaf.
Einkorn / Emmer
Ancient wheat, deep flavour
Two of the oldest cultivated wheats. Strong nutty flavour, weaker gluten than modern wheat, often used at 20-40% to add complexity without sacrificing structure. Expensive; worth it for special bakes.
Strengths
Trade-offs
Best for
20-40% of a mix when flavour beats price.
Khorasan / Kamut
The buttery one
Large-grain ancient wheat with a butter-yellow crumb and a mild, almost dairy-like sweetness. Higher protein than einkorn but still not as forgiving as modern bread flour. Stunning in 30-50% mixes.
Strengths
Trade-offs
Best for
30-50% of a mix for a striking golden loaf.
T80 / artisan flour
Between white and whole wheat
A semi-whole flour - bran is partly retained, partly sifted out. The middle ground that small bakeries love: more flavour than white, less density than whole wheat. Classic French country-loaf flour.
Strengths
Trade-offs
Best for
70-80% of a mix when you want a real French country loaf.
Durum / semolina
The pasta wheat
Hard durum wheat ground fine. Yellow crumb, subtle nutty taste, classic in southern-Italian breads (pane di Altamura). Used at 20-40% in a mix for a distinct loaf.
Strengths
Trade-offs
Best for
Italian-style sourdoughs at 20-40% durum.
If I had to pick one mix to start with
70% T550 + 20% T1050 + 10% whole rye, 75% hydration. The T550 gives reliable structure, the T1050 adds flavour and accelerates fermentation, the rye wakes the starter and adds the country-loaf tang. Bake this mix three times before changing anything; it's a forgiving baseline that teaches you the rest.
Infographic: what goes into great bread
Here's the whole thing on one page. Tap it to download, or pin it for your next bake.
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Written by
Julia Yukovich
Co-Founder + CEO
Julia is one of the Co-Founders. She handles design, development, product direction, and most of the support replies that arrive in the morning.