Bread Flour
1.000× absorption · 12.00–13.50% protein · hydration 65–78%
- Protein
- 12.00–13.50%
- Absorption
- 1.000×
- Hydration range
- 65–78%
- Category
- refined-wheat
About Bread Flour
Bread flour is the workhorse of hearth-style sourdough. Milled from hard red winter or hard red spring wheat, it provides the 12-13.5% protein content needed to develop the robust gluten structure that supports open crumb and high hydration doughs. The absorption multiplier is the industry baseline (1.000) — all other flour hydration behaviors are measured relative to bread flour. King Arthur's classic unbleached bread flour and Central Milling's Artisan Bakers Craft are the reference specs for US bakers. Use it as 100% of the flour in baguettes and country loaves, or as the base (70-90%) in whole-grain blends. Bread flour tolerates extended autolyse, long bulk ferments, and retarded proofs without losing structure.
Technique
Autolyse 30-60 minutes with water at target dough temperature before adding levain and salt. For 75-80% hydration, add 3-4 sets of stretch-and-folds over the first 2 hours of bulk. Higher hydration (82%+) benefits from coil folds instead of stretch-and-folds. Shape cold (after overnight retard) for easier handling and better ear.
Hydration guide for Bread Flour
Baker's-percentage workable range: 65% — 78%. Absorption is 1.000× bread-flour baseline, so recipes written for bread flour need no adjustment when substituting Bread Flour.
Used in pizza dough styles
Bread Flour is the canonical flour for the following pizza styles (per their authoritative source citations):
- New York Style — 62% hydration · 3% oil · 550°F
- Detroit Style — 70% hydration · 4% oil · 500°F
- Sicilian (Sfincione) — 72% hydration · 5% oil · 475°F
Related references on this site
- Bread Flour at 72% hydration — formula — calculator pre-set with this flour and hydration combination
- Bread Flour hydration range deep-dive — 65-78% workable range with technique notes
- Guide: baker's percentage explained — how protein, absorption, and hydration combine in the math
- Guide: whole-grain hydration adjustments — absorption multipliers for whole-wheat, rye, spelt, einkorn
- All 15 flour types — grouped by category (refined, whole-wheat, rye, ancient-grain)
- Reverse calculator: water → hydration % — you have a flour-and-water weight, want the hydration