Austrian and German Flour Types Explained: The Complete Guide for Home Bakers

If you've ever tried to follow an American sourdough recipe with Austrian flour and ended up with a flat, dense loaf, flour type differences are almost certainly why. Austrian W700 and American bread flour have the same purpose — they're both intended for yeast-leavened bread — but they behave quite differently in a recipe.

Understanding the Austrian and German flour classification system takes about ten minutes and immediately improves every bake. It tells you what any flour label means, how to convert between systems, and crucially, when and how to adjust a recipe written for a different country's flour.

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The Numbering System: Ash Content, Not Protein

In the United States, flour is classified primarily by protein content. Cake flour has 7–9%, all-purpose has 9–11%, bread flour has 12–14%.

Austria and Germany use a completely different system based on ash content — the amount of mineral residue left after burning a sample of flour at high temperature. The type number represents milligrams of mineral ash per 100g of flour, dry weight.

A higher ash number means more of the bran and germ are present in the flour. Lower numbers indicate a more refined, whiter flour with most of the outer grain removed.

What this means in practice:

• Low type numbers (W480, Type 405): refined white flour, mild flavor, fine texture
• Mid type numbers (W700, Type 550): standard bread flour, slightly more mineral flavor
• High type numbers (W1600, Type 1050): nearly whole grain, more flavor and nutrition, stronger fermentation

The mineral content also correlates loosely with protein content — whole grain flours contain more protein than refined ones — but this correlation isn't tight enough to use as a substitute measure.

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Austrian Flour Types (W-Scale)

Austria uses the W-scale for wheat flour, where "W" stands for Weizen (wheat). The number is the ash content in mg per 100g.

W480 — Pastry and Cake Flour

The most refined Austrian wheat flour. Equivalent to German Type 405 and roughly comparable to American cake flour.

• Protein: ~8.5–9.5%
• Use: Pastries, cakes, delicate baked goods, pasta
• Not suitable for: Sourdough, yeasted bread (insufficient protein for gluten development)

W700 — Standard Bread Flour

The workhorse of Austrian baking. Equivalent to German Type 550 and closest to American all-purpose flour, though its protein content sits between Austrian pastry flour and American bread flour.

• Protein: 10.5–11.5%
• Use: Sourdough, most yeasted breads, pizza dough, rolls
• Key difference from American bread flour: 1.5–2.5% less protein, meaning weaker gluten, lower water absorption capacity

W1600 — High-Extraction Flour

A darker, more mineral-rich flour with significant bran content. Equivalent to German Type 1050.

• Protein: 12–13%
• Use: Rustic country breads, mixed rye-wheat loaves, hearty sourdoughs
• Character: Nutty flavor, more active fermentation than white flour

W2000 and Vollkornmehl — Whole Grain Wheat

W2000 retains almost all of the bran and germ. Vollkornmehl (whole grain flour) is the full-extraction equivalent, nothing removed.

• Protein: 13–14%
• Use: Whole grain sourdough, dense hearth loaves, blended with white flour for texture
• Fermentation: Whole grain ferments faster — reduce bulk fermentation time by 20–30% when using significant amounts

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German Flour Types (Type-Scale)

Germany uses a similar ash-based system but with slightly different numbers and the label "Type" instead of "W":

German Type	Austrian Equivalent	Approximate protein	Common use
Type 405	W480	8.5–9.5%	Cakes, pastry, pasta
Type 550	W700	10.5–11.5%	Standard bread, sourdough
Type 812	between W700–W1600	11–12%	Mixed breads
Type 1050	W1600	12–13%	Rustic breads, rye blends
Type 1700	W2000	13–14%	High-extraction breads
Vollkornmehl	Vollkornweizenmehl	13–14%	Whole grain bread

The W-scale and Type-scale numbers don't map exactly — Austrian W700 and German Type 550 are close but not identical. In practice, they're interchangeable for most home baking purposes.

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Austrian vs. American Flour: The Critical Difference

This is the most practically important section for home bakers following recipes from different countries.

American bread flour: 12–14% protein, high water absorption Austrian W700: 10.5–11.5% protein, lower water absorption

When you follow an American sourdough recipe written for bread flour using Austrian W700, two things happen:

1. The dough will absorb less water — the same hydration percentage produces a slacker, wetter dough
2. Gluten development is slightly weaker — the dough has less structural capacity

Practical adjustment:

• Reduce hydration by 5–10% when using W700 for American bread flour recipes
• A recipe calling for 75% hydration with bread flour: use 68–70% with W700
• If a dough feels unworkably sticky with W700 at a recipe's stated hydration, hold back 20–30g of water and add only if the dough handles well

Conversely, if you're writing your own recipes or following Austrian sources, W700 hydration percentages are already calibrated for the flour's lower absorption capacity.

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Austrian Flour Textures: Glatt, Griffig, Doppelgriffig

Austria has a secondary classification system based on particle size (grinding coarseness) that has no direct equivalent in other countries. This texture designation is independent of the type number and appears on the bag alongside it.

Glatt — Fine / Smooth

Standard fine-ground flour. The most common texture sold in Austrian supermarkets. Behaves like flour you'd expect: absorbs water quickly, mixes smoothly, suitable for most bread baking.

Griffig — Coarse / Grainy

Coarser-ground flour with larger particles that absorb water more slowly. The texture is noticeably granular — almost sandy — when you rub it between your fingers.

• Best for: Knödel (dumplings), Spätzle, certain pasta, Striezel
• Not ideal for: Sourdough bread (slow absorption can make dough behave inconsistently; the slower hydration isn't useful for fermented doughs)
• Common confusion: Griffig W700 behaves very differently from Glatt W700 — don't substitute one for the other in bread recipes

Doppelgriffig — Double Coarse

Even coarser than griffig. Rarely used in home bread baking; primarily for traditional dumpling and noodle recipes where slow absorption and a firm texture are specifically desired.

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Rye Flour (Roggenmehl)

Rye behaves fundamentally differently from wheat and deserves separate treatment.

Rye contains very little gluten-forming protein. Instead, it gets its structure from pentosans — water-absorbing carbohydrates that form a gel-like network. This network is far weaker than wheat gluten and requires acid to stabilize it.

At high temperatures, rye flour's amylase enzymes become very active and can break down starch completely, turning the bread into a gummy mess. Sourdough acid inhibits these enzymes. This is why rye bread must use sourdough when rye makes up more than 30% of the total flour.

Austrian Rye Flour Types

Type	Description	Use
R480	Light rye, most bran removed	Mild rye flavor, mixed breads
R960	Standard dark rye	Bauernbrot, rye sourdough, Mischbrote
R1150	High-extraction rye	Dense rye loaves, traditional Schwarzbrot
Roggenvollkornmehl	Whole rye flour	Pumpernickel, dense hearth rye

R960 is the standard Austrian bread rye — what most Austrian recipes mean when they say "Roggenmehl." It produces the characteristic flavor of traditional Austrian Bauernbrot.

Hydration: Rye absorbs significantly more water than wheat. Rye doughs should be hydrated 10–15% higher than equivalent wheat recipes. A 100% rye loaf at 75% hydration would be considered relatively stiff; most Austrian rye breads run at 80–90% hydration.

Fermentation: Rye ferments faster than wheat. Reduce bulk fermentation time when using significant rye percentages.

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Spelt Flour (Dinkelmehl)

Spelt is enormously popular in Austria and deserves attention because it behaves differently from both wheat and rye in ways that trip up many home bakers.

Spelt has higher protein than wheat — typically 13–15% in Austrian Dinkelmehl — but don't let this mislead you. The gluten structure in spelt is fundamentally weaker and more fragile than wheat gluten of equivalent protein content. Spelt gluten develops quickly but also breaks down quickly.

Austrian Type	Description
Dinkelmehl Type 630	Light spelt, equivalent to W480 range
Dinkelmehl Type 812	Medium spelt, most common for bread
Dinkel-Vollkornmehl	Whole spelt, strong flavor

Baking with Spelt

• Reduce water by ~5% compared to equivalent wheat recipes — spelt absorbs water slightly faster
• Shorter mix time — spelt develops quickly, over-mixing destroys the gluten
• Fewer folds — 2 stretch-and-folds is typically sufficient vs 4 for wheat
• Prefer coil folds over stretch-and-folds — gentler handling preserves gluten integrity
• Shorter bulk fermentation — spelt ferments faster than wheat, especially in warmer kitchens
• Handle gently at shaping — aggressive shaping tears spelt gluten easily

Many bakers start with spelt by blending it 50/50 with W700, which gives the nutty flavor without the handling challenges of 100% spelt.

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Which Flour for Which Bread: Quick Reference

Bread type	Recommended flour
Standard sourdough boule	W700 (glatt)
Rustic country loaf	W700 + W1600 (50/50)
Austrian Bauernbrot	W700 + R960 (mix)
100% rye sourdough	R960
Spelt sourdough	Dinkelmehl Type 812
Semolina/pasta	Hartweizengrieß
Knödel, Spätzle	W700 griffig
Pastry, Strudel	W480 glatt

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I substitute W700 for W480 in a cake recipe? Not directly — W700 has more protein, which will develop more gluten when mixed, making cakes tougher. For pastry and cakes, stick to W480. For bread and pizza, W700 is the right choice.

What's the closest Austrian flour to American all-purpose? W700 glatt is the closest match in terms of use case, though it has slightly less protein (10.5–11.5% vs 9–11%). American all-purpose is somewhat analogous but behaves differently — especially for bread, where Austrian bakers find American recipes need hydration reduction with W700.

Does the flour type affect fermentation speed? Yes, meaningfully. Whole grain flours (W1600, W2000, Vollkornmehl, R960) ferment faster because they contain more wild yeast and bacteria, more amylase enzymes, and more minerals that feed the starter. A dough with 20% R960 may complete bulk fermentation 30–45 minutes faster than the same dough in pure W700 at the same temperature.

Why does my Viennese sourdough recipe say "griffig" flour? Traditional Austrian recipes using griffig flour (particularly for dumplings and noodles) rely on the slow water absorption for specific textural results. For bread baking, glatt flour is almost always preferable. If a bread recipe specifies griffig, it's typically for a very specific traditional result.

Is Austrian T700 the same as German T550? Similar but not identical — they use the same classification system but the ash content boundaries differ slightly between Austria and Germany. In practice, they're interchangeable for home baking purposes. Both are considerably less protein-rich than American bread flour.

Can I use American bread flour if I can't find W700? Yes, with adjustment. Reduce water by 5–10% from Austrian recipe quantities, and expect slightly more structure and chew. Or use it at the stated hydration and expect a slightly firmer dough than the recipe intends — still bakes well.