A guide to flours

Plain flour

Also known as all-purpose white flour, this is made from a blend of soft and hard wheat flours and can be used for almost any type of baking. If a recipe simply calls for flour, this is the one to use.

Strong (bread) flour

This is the best choice for any recipe that also uses yeast, as its texture will produce a finer crumb. It is similar in appearance to white flour, but is made from hard, high-protein wheat and has more gluten strength than plain flour.

Beer Bread

Wholemeal flour

Ground from the entire wheat berry, this flour has a full-bodied flavour and coarse texture.

Semolina flour

Famously used to produce high quality pasta, semolina flour is durum flour with the bran and germ removed. This is also a great addition in Italian breads and pizza crusts.

A guide to flours

Self-raising flour

This is plain flour with a little salt and baking powder added. Traditionally, one cup of self-raising flour contains the equivalent of 1½ teaspoons baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt. You can make your own self-rising flour by combining plain flour, salt and baking powder in these proportions. As baking powder can deteriorate over time, make sure you check the used-by dates on self-raising flour, to ensure you get the rise you'd expect when using this flour.

Rye flour

This flour is milled from the rye plant. Because rye gluten lacks elasticity, it is usually combined with a little wholemeal flour which allows it to rise a little and produces the characteristic moist, dense results.

Buckwheat flour

This flour is actually milled from a herb – buckwheat – to produce a well flavourful flour. It is becoming a common ingredient in pancakes, muffins, waffles, and pastas.

Rice flour

Rice flour is milled from brown or white rice. It is a popular substitute for wheat flours for people who are gluten intolerant and is great to use for thickening soups and stews.