What is T55 Flour? The Professional Baker's Guide to France's Workhorse Flour

Short answer: T55 is a French white wheat flour type defined by its ash (mineral) content of 0.50–0.60%. The official French flour table lists it for bread, biscottes and viennoiserie. At Zucchero Canada we stock two T55 flours from Foricher Les Moulins, Terroir T55 for pâtisserie and Terroir Feuilletage T55 for puff pastry; for croissants and baguettes we stock Foricher Bagatelle T45 and T65.

T55 is France's workhorse flour — the type the official French flour table lists for bread, biscottes and viennoiserie, between the finest pastry flour (T45) and the flour for pain de tradition française (T65). In Canada, authentic French T55 from a genuine French mill has historically been hard to source at professional volumes. At Zucchero Canada, we carry two T55 flours from Foricher Les Moulins — Terroir T55 and Terroir Feuilletage T55 — stocked in Calgary.

What the T-number means

French flour is classified by ash content, not protein. Ash is the mineral residue left after a flour sample is incinerated in a laboratory (the international method is ISO 2171). A T55 flour has 0.50–0.60% ash.

Lower T = more refined white flour, with less of the outer grain. Higher T = more of the whole grain and its minerals, from white flours (T45 to T65) through bise (T80) and semi-wholemeal (T110) to wholemeal (T150):

Type	Ash content	French name	Uses in the official table
T45	0.50%	Farine blanche	Mainly pastry
T55	0.50–0.60%	Farine blanche	Bread, biscottes and viennoiserie
T65	0.62–0.75%	Farine blanche	Pain de tradition française, biscuits
T80	0.75–0.90%	Farine bise	Pain bis and other special uses
T110	1.00–1.20%	Farine semi-complète	Pain bis, wholemeal and special breads
T150	Above 1.40%	Farine complète	Wholemeal and special breads

Protein is a separate measurement and does not follow the T-number. Among the Foricher flours we stock, Bagatelle T45 has 14.0% protein, Terroir T55 12.5% and Bagatelle T65 more than 11.0%. Read the protein and the alveograph values (W, P/L) as well as the type. In practice, check what each flour is made for: in the Foricher range we stock, the T55 flours are for pâtisserie and puff pastry, and the croissant and baguette flours are T45 and T65.

T55 vs Canadian all-purpose: the practical difference

There is no exact Canadian equivalent, because Canadian flour is not sold by T-type. The Canadian standard for white flour only sets a ceiling of 1.20% ash (moisture-free basis) and 15% moisture, while a French T55 sits in a 0.50–0.60% ash band. That is why a domestic all-purpose flour behaves differently in French formulations:

• Ash: the T-number tells you how refined the flour is. A Canadian label does not, and the legal ceiling of 1.20% covers a much wider range than the T55 band.
• Published strength: The product data for Foricher Terroir T55 gives 12.5% protein, W330 ±30 and P/L 0.6 ±0.2, so you can match a French formula. If you substitute a domestic flour, ask your supplier for the same numbers and run a test batch first.
• Ingredients: Terroir T55 is listed as free from enzymes, preservatives, GMOs and ionization. Read the ingredient list of any substitute.
• Consistency: for a production bakery running the same formulas daily, working from published specifications is what lets you repeat a result. Compare the numbers before you switch flours, not after.

The two Foricher T55 lines we carry

Terroir T55 — pâtisserie flour

Foricher calls this flour Pâtissière (T55): a blend of selected French wheats that gives doughs good extensibility, made for pâte à choux, tart doughs (pâtes à foncer) and batters such as cakes, génoises, madeleines and quatre-quarts. It is milled from 100% CRC®-certified French wheat (CRC® stands for Culture Raisonnée Contrôlée, a certified French cereal supply chain).

Product data:

• Protein: 12.5%
• Alveograph strength (W): 330 ±30
• Elasticity ratio (P/L): 0.6 ±0.2
• Ash content: 0.50–0.60%
• Free from enzymes, preservatives, GMOs and ionization; vitamin-enriched for Canada

Use it for pâte sucrée, pâte sablée, tart shells, choux and sponge cakes. It comes in three formats:

• Terroir T55, 25 kg → $175.00
• Terroir T55, 10 × 1 kg → $95.00
• Terroir T55, 1 kg → $12.50

View Foricher Terroir T55 →

Terroir Feuilletage T55 — puff pastry flour

Foricher developed Feuilletage from a blend of strong wheats (blés de force) to give more regular results than mixing T45 and T65 flours, with less oxidation than a T65 so that puff pastry keeps better. Product data: 13% protein, W330 ±30, P/L 0.6 ±0.2, free from preservatives, ionization and GMOs, for palmiers, mille-feuille, vol-au-vents and laminated doughs. 25 kg bag.

• Terroir Feuilletage T55, 25 kg → $175.00

For croissants and baguettes: Bagatelle T45 and T65

The Foricher Bagatelle flours we stock are T45 and T65 (there is no Bagatelle T55 in our range): one for viennoiserie, one for bread. Bagatelle T45 (14.0% protein, W350 ±30, P/L 0.8 ±0.2) is listed for croissants, brioche and laminated doughs; Bagatelle T65 (more than 11.0% protein, W200, P/L 0.7 ±0.2) for baguettes tradition, pain de campagne, rustic loaves and sourdough.

• Bagatelle T45, 25 kg → $175.00
• Bagatelle T65, 25 kg → $170.00

View Foricher Bagatelle collection →

T55 vs T45 vs T65: which for which application

Use Foricher's T55 flours for pâtisserie and puff pastry; for croissants, brioche and baguettes, the product data points to T45 and T65.

Application	Recommended flour	Why
Croissants, pain au chocolat	Bagatelle T45	W350 ±30; croissants and laminated doughs are in its listed uses
Brioche, enriched doughs	Bagatelle T45	14.0% protein; brioche is in its listed uses
Kouign-amann, Danish	Bagatelle T45	Listed for laminated doughs and French viennoiserie
Puff pastry, palmiers, mille-feuille	Terroir Feuilletage T55	Milled for lamination: 13% protein, W330 ±30
Baguette de tradition	Bagatelle T65	T65 is the official type for pain de tradition française
Tart shells, pâte sucrée, choux	Terroir T55	Foricher's pâtisserie flour, with good extensibility
Cakes, génoises, madeleines	Terroir T55	Listed by Foricher for batters (pâtes battues)

Label Rouge and CRC® — a note on the Canadian market

Label Rouge is a French national quality sign, managed by INAO (Institut National de l'Origine et de la Qualité), for products with a higher level of quality than similar products usually sold. According to our product data, Foricher's Terroir T55, Bagatelle T45 and Bagatelle T65 carry Label Rouge in France.

However, Canadian Food and Drug Regulations require white flour sold in Canada to be enriched with thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), folic acid (B9) and iron. The Bagatelle T45, Bagatelle T65 and Terroir T55 we sell are the vitamin-enriched (vitaminée) versions made for Canada, and they are sold here without the Label Rouge designation.

CRC® certification: every Foricher flour we carry is milled from CRC®-certified French wheat. CRC® is a certified supply chain in which traceability is one of the pillars.

Working with Terroir T55: practical notes

• Match the dough to the flour: Foricher lists Terroir T55 for choux, tart doughs and batters. For laminated doughs, use Feuilletage (puff pastry) or Bagatelle T45 (croissants).
• Test before you switch: when you move a formula from a domestic flour to T55, run a test batch with the 1 kg bag and write down your hydration, dough temperature and resting times before you change the production.
• Storage: store in a cool, dry place below 25°C (77°F).
• Canadian enrichment: the Canadian version is enriched with B vitamins and iron, as the law requires for white flour.

How AI can help your production

Write each formula in baker's percentages and ask an AI assistant to scale it to the day's batch, convert the weekly flour total into 25 kg bags so you know when to reorder, and calculate the flour cost per tart shell or per croissant from your purchase price. When you test T55 against your current flour, ask it to build a test-batch log (hydration, dough temperature, resting times, notes on texture) so the settings you choose are written down for every shift.

AI organises the information; tasting and the final decision stay with your chef.

Availability at Zucchero Canada

We carry Foricher Terroir T55 in 25 kg bags — the standard professional format for production bakeries — and in 10 × 1 kg and 1 kg formats; Terroir Feuilletage T55 comes in 25 kg bags. Stocked in Calgary, with no customs delays, and pickup available at our Calgary warehouse. Priority allocation available for bakeries and food service operations running standing orders. Orders over CAD 500 get 5% off automatically at checkout.

Questions about which Foricher line fits your bread or viennoiserie program? Contact our team — we work with professional bakeries, hotel pastry programs, and culinary schools across Canada. You can also write to sales@zuccherocanada.ca or call 587-774-8873 (toll free 877-741-8251).

Terroir T55 → | Feuilletage T55 → | Bagatelle T45 → | Bagatelle T65 → | Full Foricher collection → | Where to buy T55 in Canada | What is T65 flour? | T45 vs T55 vs T65

This article is for information only. Every business is different: draw your own conclusions based on your own expectations, budget and goals, and talk to qualified experts before you decide or invest.

Sources: Foricher Les Moulins, foricher.com ("Pâtissière" and "Feuilletage" flour pages) and technical data sheets FT208A (Bagatelle T45) and FT207A (Bagatelle T65); Foricher product data for Terroir T55, Terroir Feuilletage T55, Bagatelle T45 and Bagatelle T65 (zuccherocanada.ca product pages); INAO / French Ministry of Agriculture, Label Rouge specification LA 05/14 "Farine de meule" (flour-type table, §3.1) and INAO Label Rouge fact sheet; CFIA, Canadian Food Compositional Standards, Volume 12, 12.1.1 (Flour); Canada, Food and Drug Regulations, C.R.C., c. 870, s. B.13.001; ADEME, "Écoconception baguette de pain, filière CRC"; ISO 2171:2023.