For years, industrial flour mills have pushed the idea that more protein equals better bread. It sounds convincing—higher protein means stronger gluten, which leads to more structure, better rise, and an overall “better” flour.
But here’s the thing: that’s not the full story.
The High-Protein Agenda: A Convenient Fix for Broken Flour
Modern industrial flour is a shadow of what wheat used to be. Over the past century, large-scale milling operations stripped wheat of much of its natural structure, nutrients, and
fermentation-friendly properties. Instead of fixing the problem by milling better wheat—or, say, leaving in the good stuff—big flour companies took a shortcut: they started breeding wheat for ever-higher protein levels.
The result? Modern flour varieties boasting 14% protein or more. And while that extra protein can help compensate for what’s missing, it’s not inherently better. It’s just a band-aid solution to a problem of their own making.
Professor Steven Jones, a wheat breeder at Washington State University and director of the
Bread Lab, has criticized this high-protein focus, saying:
“The industrial system selected for high protein, but in doing so, it selected for the
absence of other things, like flavor, nutrition, and functionality. Farmers now get paid based on protein content, not actual baking quality.” (source)
So, if more protein doesn’t necessarily mean better baking, what does?
Why Lower Protein Flour Still Bakes Beautifully
Here’s where things get interesting. Traditional flours—like our Heritage White Flour—don’t need 14% protein to bake well. With a naturally balanced protein level of 10–11.5%, it performs just as well (if not better) than high-protein modern flour.
Why? Because baking is about more than just gluten strength.
When wheat is milled with care and left as close to its natural state as possible, it retains
natural enzymes, micronutrients, and wild yeast-friendly compounds that make
fermentation work. This is why a simple sourdough starter—just quality heritage flour and water—will come to life with our heritage flour.
Chad Robertson, founder of Tartine Bakery and one of the most respected voices in modern artisan baking, has emphasized the importance of working with lower-protein heritage wheats, saying:
“Flours with a lower protein content actually create more extensible dough, which can lead to better fermentation and superior flavor. Many high-protein flours are too strong, requiring added hydration and longer mixing times to compensate.” (source)
In other words, high-protein flour isn’t the magic bullet we’ve been led to believe it is.
Nature Decides: How Weather Affects Wheat Protein
There’s another wrinkle in the protein story: Mother Nature has a say, too.
While industrial wheat is bred for consistently high protein, heritage wheat responds to the conditions of the growing season. Factors like rainfall, temperature, and soil health all affect how much protein ends up in the final grain.
For example, in a hot, dry growing season, wheat plants experience more stress and produce higher protein levels. In contrast, a wetter season tends to yield wheat with a more moderate protein percentage.
Our most recent harvest of organic heritage Turkey Red wheat tested at 13–14%
protein—higher than usual—because of this very reason. The dry growing season
concentrated the wheat’s nutrients, including its protein. But even though the number looks similar to modern industrial flours, there’s a major difference: this wheat wasn’t bred for high protein—it developed naturally in response to the environment.
Dr. Stephen Jones of the Bread Lab explains this natural variability well:
“The protein level of wheat should be viewed in context. Farmers can’t always control the protein outcome—it’s influenced by rain, heat, soil conditions. What matters more is whether the wheat was bred and grown for flavor and baking quality, not just protein content.” (source)
This is why traditional bakers—especially in places like France—never relied on
ultra-high-protein wheat. Instead, they worked with what nature provided, using fermentation techniques to bring out the best in the grain.
Baking With Intuition: Embracing Variability Instead of Fighting It
Modern flour companies promise consistency. Every bag of their flour is the same, down to the tenth of a percent in protein. But nature doesn’t work that way.
Heritage wheat, grown in the soil rather than engineered in a lab, varies from year to year. The flour from one harvest might absorb a little more water than the last. The dough might feel slightly different in your hands. And that’s a good thing.
Baking, at its heart, isn’t about following rigid formulas—it’s about paying attention,
developing intuition, and working with the flour instead of forcing it to fit an artificial standard.
Raymond Calvel, the legendary French bread scientist, put it best in The Taste of Bread:
“Good flour is not made in a factory. It is made by the farmer, by the miller, and by the baker who understands it.” (source)
Modern industrial flour has tried to eliminate all natural variability, but in doing so, it has stripped away everything that makes wheat special.
The Bottom Line
More protein doesn’t mean better flour—it just means modern wheat needed fixing. When you start with well-grown, well-milled wheat, you don’t have to compensate with excess protein. You get flour that ferments beautifully, bakes up with excellent structure, and delivers deep, complex flavor.
And remember: even within heritage wheat, nature will have the final word. Some seasons will yield higher-protein wheat, others lower. But as long as the grain is farmed and milled properly, the result is the same—flour that works with your baking, not against it.
High-protein flour? That’s big flour’s solution to a problem they created.
Heritage flour? That’s bread the way it was meant to be.
Want to See the Difference?
Try making a sourdough starter with nothing but our Heritage White Flour and water. Give it five to seven days, and watch it come to life—no raisins, no tricks, just real, living flour.
Let’s bring back better bread. Not by chasing protein numbers, but by respecting the wheat itself.
Sources & Further Reading
- Civileats.com, The Bread Lab Wants to Change the Way You Think About Wheat
– Read Here - Calvel, Raymond. The Taste of Bread (1990) – Find It Here
- Tartine Bakery, Chad Robertson on Baking with Lower Protein Flours – Read
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