Wheat Flour

part of: Wheat

Plain white wheat flour is one of the most fundamental ingredients in Australian kitchens. It’s the default flour for cakes, biscuits, pastry, batters, sauces, and thickening — essentially any recipe that calls simply for ‘flour’ without further specification.

Plain flour is made from the starchy endosperm of the wheat grain, with the bran and germ removed. It has a moderate protein content, which makes it suitable for most general baking but not ideal for bread — that’s where strong or bread flour comes in. Self-raising flour is just plain flour with baking powder already mixed through.

Australia is a major wheat-producing nation, and locally milled flour is widely available. Most supermarket plain flour is a blend of wheat varieties chosen for consistent performance across a range of uses.

Farmed
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Wheat grains are cleaned and tempered with water to toughen the bran for easier separation. The grain passes through a series of steel rollers that crack it open, progressively separating the white starchy endosperm from the outer bran layers and the oil-rich germ. The endosperm fragments are ground finer and sifted repeatedly until the desired fineness is achieved. The result is white flour — typically around 75% of the original grain weight, with the bran and germ removed.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 353kcal
Protein 10g
Carbs 73.2g
Fat 1.3g
Fibre 2.2g Sugar 1.9g
Mass Distribution

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon ≈1.99kg
Freshwater ≈864.13L
Land ≈4.93m²

≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Where this comes from →

Where it comes from

In the kitchen

Used as

all-purpose baking staple

Goes well with
butter egg yeast sugar milk
Classic dishes
  • Bread
  • Pasta
  • Croissants
  • Pizza Dough

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Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

FSANZ

How it was calculated

Analysed

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

Where to next

made fromWheat, endosperm goes well withbutter goes well withegg goes well withyeast goes well withsugar goes well withmilk shares a sourceBaked Goods & Pastries shares a sourceBread shares a sourceBreadcrumbs & Coatings shares a sourceCrackers & Savory Biscuits shares a sourceFlatbreads & Wraps shares a sourcePasta & Noodles shares a sourceWheat Cereals & Porridge shares a sourceWheat Grain & Kernels
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