U.S. Equivalent of French T80 for Sourdough Pain de Campagne

Question

I'm a home sourdough baker in the U.S. and want to try a recipe that calls for the French T80 flour. Some questions: - I have read T80 described as half whole wheat/half bread flour, and also as all bread flour (i.e., white flour). Can it really be one or the other? - What is the equivalent of T80 in the U.S., if any? - If there is no equivalent, what comes close, or what combination of flours would come close?

Answer 1

You would want to look for a high gluten bread flour, in the 14% protein area. I found this helpful for understanding different flours. In the Fresh Loaf Discussion Forum, a user suggests combining whole wheat and bread flour in a ratio of 80/20.

Here in the US, you probably have access to King Arthur flours. Their whole wheat is 14%, white whole wheat is 13%, and bread flour is 12.7% protein. I doubt you want to go 100% whole wheat flour, so you could use some of the information I provided to create a blend that would work well.

It looks like you could also order from French T80 here. Although, I should point out that this product description is a little confusing because it describes T45 flour below, and a protein content of 10%, but you might be able to contact them for the product you desire.