Foricher Les Moulins: Seven Generations of French Milling Craft

When a flour is designed around a particular style of bread or pastry, it gives you more than a bag of milled wheat. It gives you a clearer starting point.

Foricher – Les Moulins is an independent, family-run French milling business built on seven generations of milling tradition. Founded by qualified miller Yvon Foricher in 1997, the company works closely with artisan bakers to produce high-quality, additive-free flours for traditional French bread, viennoiserie and pastry.

From the classic Bagatelle range to stoneground, organic, rye and speciality flours, Foricher offers a genuinely specialist selection for bakers who want greater control over flavour, texture and dough performance.

From Family Milling Tradition to Modern French Flour

Yvon Foricher comes from a family with seven generations of milling experience. In 1997, he founded his own company as a trading business supplying flour exclusively to artisan bakers.

The business moved into production in 2000, when Foricher acquired the Moulin des Gaults in Poilly-lez-Gien in the Loiret region. This historic site became the foundation for Foricher’s own milling operation and allowed the company to produce the flours it had previously supplied.

Over time, the business grew while retaining its focus on artisan baking. Today, Foricher operates three mills and two depots, employing around 90 people. Its work remains centred on careful wheat selection, milling expertise and close relationships with professional bakers.

That connection with the bakery trade is important. Foricher does not simply create generic flour and leave the baker to adapt. Its range is developed around specific applications, from traditional baguettes and sourdough to croissants, brioche, rye bread and wholemeal loaves.

Foricher’s own history and milling story offer a useful insight into the people, places and expertise behind the flour.

Why We Stock Foricher

Specialist French flour
Foricher gives us a genuinely specialist French flour range rather than a generic substitute labelled for baguettes or croissants. Each flour is selected for a particular style of baking, helping you choose with greater confidence.

More control over the finished loaf
Our range includes traditional baguette flour, croissant and brioche flour, stoneground and organic bread flour, rye and specialist seeded blends. That variety gives both bakeries and ambitious home bakers more control over flavour, crumb, crust and fermentation.

Quality certifications and additive-free milling
Foricher focuses on high-quality, additive-free flour. Selected Bagatelle flours carry the French Label Rouge quality certification as well as the CRC mark, giving you clear assurance around specification, grain selection and traceability.

Formats for testing and scaling
Many Foricher flours are available in smaller bags as well as professional formats. Try a flour in your home kitchen, then move to a larger sack when it becomes part of your regular production.

What Makes Foricher Flour Worth Buying?

French flour types are often shown as T45, T55, T65, T80, T130 or T150. The number describes ash content, which broadly indicates how much mineral content from the grain remains after milling. It is not a direct measurement of protein, gluten strength or dough performance.

In practical terms:

• T45 is commonly associated with refined pastry and viennoiserie flours.
• T55 is used for pastry and general white-flour applications.
• T65 is strongly associated with traditional French bread and baguettes.
• T80 is a higher-extraction flour with more grain character and colour.
• T130 and T150 are commonly used for rye and wholemeal baking.

The T number is useful, but it should not be the only thing you consider. Two flours with the same French type can behave differently, so always check the flour’s intended use and strength before choosing.

Label Rouge and CRC

Label Rouge is a French quality certification awarded to products that meet an approved specification and demonstrate a higher quality level than the standard product in that category. Selected Foricher Bagatelle flours carry this certification.

CRC relates to certified grain selection. It is associated with wheat grown according to defined environmental criteria and provides a controlled route from grain selection through to milling. For bakers, it adds useful reassurance around provenance, consistency and traceability.

Why T80 Is So Useful for Sourdough

T80 stoneground flour is made using the miller’s ancestral technique of grinding wheat on a stone wheel. It produces a semi-wholemeal flour with more of the grain’s natural character, giving bread a deeper colour, fuller flavour and pleasantly creamy crumb.

It is particularly well suited to sourdough baking because the additional grain content can encourage fermentation activity and bring more flavour to a long-fermented loaf. Use it on its own for a rustic, characterful bread or blend it with a lighter T65 flour for a more open and balanced crumb.

For more inspiration, explore our wider range of sourdough baking supplies.

In the Range at Ratton Pantry

Explore the full Foricher collection, or browse our wider French flour collection for more options.

For baguettes and traditional bread

Foricher Bagatelle CRC T65 Traditional French Baguette Flour is the natural starting point for classic French baguettes. It is a strong, slightly coarse bread flour designed to produce a light, open crumb and crisp crust.

For a darker and more substantial loaf, Foricher Bagatelle CRC T80 Stoneground Flour brings more colour, mineral character and grain flavour.

Foricher Tour de Mains CRC T80 Seeded Multigrain Stoneground French Bread Flour combines stoneground flour with grains and seeds for a rustic loaf with extra texture and a satisfying, nutty finish.

For croissants, brioche and pastry

For laminated doughs and enriched baking, choose Foricher Bagatelle CRC T45 Croissant & Brioche French Patisserie Flour. Its fine, delicate texture is suited to croissants, pain au chocolat, brioche, puff pastry and other viennoiserie.

The same flour is also available in a practical 1kg Bagatelle T45 format, ideal for testing the flour at home.

For cakes, biscuits, pancakes and general patisserie, consider Foricher Bagatelle CRC T55 French Patisserie Flour. It is a versatile choice for lighter pastry and everyday French baking.

For wholemeal, rye and organic baking

Foricher Brun de Plaisir CRC T150 French Wholemeal Flour is made for rich, full-flavoured wholemeal bread and 100% wholegrain recipes.

For rye loaves and sourdough blends, choose Foricher Seigle CRC T130 French Rye Flour or the deeper, more substantial Foricher Seigle CRC T170 French Rye Flour.

For an organic French bread flour, Foricher Perbelle Biologique Organic T65 French Bread Flour offers a carefully selected alternative for traditional bread making.

Choose Your Foricher Flour

• Making baguettes? Start with Bagatelle T65 for a traditional French loaf with a crisp crust and open texture.
• Baking croissants or brioche? Choose the dedicated Bagatelle T45 croissant and brioche flour.
• Looking for more grain flavour? Try the Bagatelle T80 stoneground flour, either alone or blended with a lighter flour.
• Baking wholemeal bread? Choose Brun de Plaisir T150 for a deeper, fuller wholegrain loaf.
• Working with rye? Choose Seigle T130 or T170 depending on the intensity and extraction you want.
• Supplying a bakery? Compare professional formats and select a flour suited to your regular production.

Discover French Milling Craft

Foricher brings seven generations of milling knowledge to a focused range of French flour for bread, pastry and viennoiserie. Whether you are making your first sourdough or managing a professional bakery, the collection gives you clear choices and dependable formats.

Explore Foricher baking supplies online and choose a flour designed for the bake you have in mind.

Orders placed before 2pm Monday to Friday benefit from same-day dispatch, with express next-day delivery options available. If you are a bakery, café, pizzeria or food business, our trade account service can make ordering your wholesale baking ingredients simpler and more reliable.

If you are unsure which format or flour strength is right for your production, we would be happy to help.

Foricher Les Moulins FAQs

What do the French flour numbers T45, T55, T65 and T80 mean?

The numbers describe the flour’s ash content, which broadly indicates how much mineral content from the grain remains after milling. They do not directly measure protein, gluten strength or dough performance.

Which Foricher flour is best for baguettes?

Foricher Bagatelle CRC T65 Traditional French Baguette Flour is the natural starting point for traditional French baguettes. It is designed for bread making and produces a light, open texture with a crisp crust.

Which Foricher flour should I use for croissants?

Choose Foricher Bagatelle CRC T45 Croissant & Brioche French Patisserie Flour. It is made for yeast dough, puff pastry, croissants and enriched doughs such as brioche.

Is T80 flour suitable for sourdough?

Yes. T80 brings more grain flavour, colour and fermentation activity to sourdough than a highly refined white flour. It can be used alone or blended with a lighter flour.

What is Label Rouge flour?

Label Rouge is a French quality certification for products that meet an approved specification and demonstrate a higher quality level than the standard product in their category. Selected Foricher Bagatelle flours carry Label Rouge certification.

What does CRC mean on Foricher flour?

CRC relates to certified grain selection produced according to defined environmental criteria. It supports traceability and controlled grain sourcing from the field through to the mill.

Does Ratton Pantry supply Foricher flour to professional bakeries?

Yes. Ratton Pantry offers selected Foricher flours in smaller formats and professional sacks. Businesses can also apply for a trade account for a more straightforward wholesale ordering service.